Last Saturday morning, dozens of concerned citizens ventured onto the ice of Elk Lake to share their input about Sherburne County’s proposal to establish a 430 acre regional park along the north shore of the lake located in Palmer Twp. 

The parcel of land is privately owned, but the current owners approached the county in 2019, noting their interest in establishing the park to honor the wishes of their late father who resided at the location for many years.

Sherburne County’s current focus includes gathering input from taxpayers before the possible creation of a Master Plan, which will then be used to pursue grant funding for the acquisition and development of the parcel.

Saturday’s open house style event drew many homeowners who live along the shores of the lake, a 357 acre body of water situated on the border between Palmer and Clear Lake Twps.

On the ice, county staff had set up several stations where people could view maps and look at photos of possible activities that could be offered at the park. Participants had the opportunity to leave written feedback, as well as speak directly with the county staff members who were on hand.  Commissioner Tim Dolan was present at the event the entire time, welcoming the attendees at the first station and listening intently to their insights and opinions.

From the event’s location on the east-central part of the lake, people could look directly across the body of water to the proposed park location, which would encompass about one mile of the lake’s 3.47 total miles of lakeshore.  

Although Saturday’s event was originally advertised with pre-registration requirements for groups of up to 12 citizens to tour the stations in 20 minute increments, the crowds were much larger and it appeared most people stayed for longer periods of time to mingle with neighbors and discuss common concerns and ideas.

In listening to the many conversations, there was great diversity of opinion as to what should and should not happen at the site.

Some long-time property owners voiced complete opposition to the idea of a park because of the additional road traffic and noise it would generate.  In addition, there were concerns of a huge increase in watercraft usage on the lake, which the DNR lists as being 357 acres in size. (Sherburne County is home to two Elk Lakes, as the other one near Zimmerman is ironically referred to as “Little Elk” despite being five acres larger than “Big Elk” near Palmer).

Many residents cited the current rural feel to the lake, which has a maximum depth of just nine feet of water and according to the locals doesn’t currently see a great deal of boat traffic.  Adding a large, regional park with many visitors was something they felt would disturb the current, quiet environment enjoyed by the locals.

One individual offered that he had done research and he found that when parks were established, taxes usually went up on neighboring parcels, but home values went down.

Several residents, however, were less opposed to the concept of the park and cited what could happen to the lake and water quality if a developer were to build single family homes on the property and offer deeded lake access to dozens of homeowners.  However, these individuals still felt that there should be some strict rules and guidelines for the development of the area, focusing on preserving as much of the natural landscape as possible.

Another neighbor offered the opinion that the land should be offered up for sale and then developed for agriculture, including the idea of establishing rice paddies for Hmong farmers in the lowland swamp areas.

One area of apparent agreement among the many residents seemed to be an opposition to the county offering camping access at the park.  Trash, noise and other unruly behavior were all cited as reasons why a park should not welcome overnight guests.

Several taxpayers noted the apparently negative side effects afflicting the Ann Lake campground area near Orrock as a reason for prohibiting camping at the park.

The potential for perimeter fencing around the park was discussed by several area homeowners, with one county staffer noting that many public spaces instead have buffer zones of between 50 and 100 feet of undeveloped land.  This type of undisturbed area, as well as ample signage, was cited as the preferred method to discourage visitors from venturing off the county owned property.

Saturday was the first of several opportunities for the public to offer input on the proposal, as residents are also encouraged to go to the Sherburne County website to offer their concerns and ideas.

Updates on the county’s continuing efforts at gathering input and potential next steps will also be communicated via the website.