The Palmer Township Board met Monday evening, with a planning and zoning update from Sherburne County staffers taking up the majority of the agenda.

Assistant Zoning Administrator Zach Guttormson and Senior Planner Marc Schneider were on hand to discuss the county’s efforts in updating the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (Comp Plan).  After the original adoption in 1970, the plan has undergone three major revisions in the past 28 years, including in 1994, 2004 and 2011.  Another major update is planned for 2023.

Earlier this year, a county-wide survey was conducted to gather resident input into guiding principles that will shepherd the development of the new plan.

While the overall plan is an all-encompassing document that guides nearly every action the county takes, the two men focused their discussion with the board in three areas: housing, natural resources and agriculture.

Housing

Schneider explained that Sherburne is one of just a handful of counties outside of the metro area that continues to see a growing population and this is putting a significant strain on the housing market.

Across the county and in Palmer township, there continues to be a shortage of entry level and senior housing.  The idea of residents being able to stay within their community throughout their lifespan was referred to as Life Cycle Housing and the needs for local residents were discussed.

Possible ideas to address the issue included having better defined growth areas, allowing accessory dwelling units and considering smaller lot sizes.

Natural Resources

Guttormson pointed out that in 2019, over 9 billion gallons of ground water were withdrawn from across the county and with the sandy soils in the area, this leads to pollution susceptibility. According to the county-wide survey, residents valued protecting water quality more than promoting tourism or increasing land use.

Supervisor Steve Demeules noted that the Briggs Lake chain experiences a higher level of water fluctuation than other lakes in the county and therefore a need to control development within the flood plain would need to be part of the future discussion.

Other needs identified included more education about things such as septic systems, as well as long term protection of soils suitable for agricultural production.

Agriculture

Approximately 35% of the county’s land surface, or 102,544 acres of land, are currently used for agriculture, and this production makes up 4% of the county’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). According to the two presenters, 96% of county farms are family owned and the resident survey indicated that local folks value protecting agricultural land for future farms, but also providing land owners with flexibility in developing their property.

One of the discussions was about whether or not to remove the 75% wooded requirement for new housing parcel development, while Chairman Mike Ganz asked about the possibility of having different zoning requirements for different sections within the township.

Schneider said this could be possible, as different tracts of land have different characteristics.

Supervisor Richard Larson asked about solar farm development and their effects on the environment and how it is taking acres out of food production.

Schneider noted that solar farms will have to be a major discussion point in the new comp plan and is currently part of the conversation. One resident asked about solar’s positive effects to the ground water issue, as he wondered how many gallons would not be pumped for irrigation.  Larson indicated there may be a need for ground water testing to resolve ongoing questions around the panels leeching toxic substances into the environment, and even suggested that utilizing synthetic liners might be a good requirement to contain any possible pollutants from reaching the ground water.

Next Steps

In the coming months Schneider indicated that there will be a vision statement created, along with goals and policies that will guide discussions until early 2023 when the comp plan starts to take shape.  He said there will be ample opportunity for the township to weigh in on different proposals.

In Other Business, the Board:

• Heard from SCSO Commander Ben Zawacki, who reported on 107 calls for service from September, including four motor vehicle accidents, 11 medicals and 37 traffic stops;

• Heard from Fire Chief Ron Koren, who reported on the township’s five calls last month, including four medicals and one fire alarm;

• Learned from Ganz that some culvert work will be bid in early 2023 (north side of Lake Julia) and an enormous amount of brushing has been accomplished on township roads;

• Approved trading in the current mower tractor and the New Holland ditch mower (not used in five years) to Arnold’s Equipment for a new mower, with the amount being only approximately a $1,200 difference;

• Heard from Demeules that the Lake Association is planning to send out weed control notices in early 2023.