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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

CITY OF TOWER

RV park project still under fire from neighbors

More uncertainty over the direction of the project

Jodi Summit
Posted 8/5/20

TOWER- City residents could get another chance to weigh in on a proposed RV park proposal depending on which direction the developer, Dave Rose, chooses to go in the days ahead. Rose has sent …

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CITY OF TOWER

RV park project still under fire from neighbors

More uncertainty over the direction of the project

Posted

TOWER- City residents could get another chance to weigh in on a proposed RV park proposal depending on which direction the developer, Dave Rose, chooses to go in the days ahead. Rose has sent shifting signals to city officials, having recently proposed applying for a planned unit development for his project, which would require another public hearing.
Some residents near the proposed location of the RV park have expressed strong opposition to the plan. Several of those residents, from nearby Mill Point Plat, were at the Planning and Zoning board meeting on July 28 to voice their concerns about the conditional use permit, or CUP, that the city recently awarded to the project over the failure of former city officials to properly handle Rose’s applications for the permit. Rose first applied for a conditional use permit for the park in 2015, but city officials blocked his progress for years. The city attorney recently determined that the city’s failure to act within the legally-required 60-day period set in state law, meant that Rose’s CUP should have been awarded automatically.
The RV project is located alongside the East Two River, and the land is adjacent to some of the landowners in the Mill Point Plat.
Seven Mill Point Plat residents attended last week’s planning and zoning meeting, and resident Joan Broten read a letter from residents, which she then submitted to the board, outlining their concerns and requesting a written response.
In the letter, the residents contested whether the CUP should be awarded on several grounds, including their claim that the CUP application was submitted when the property was still zoned residential, and had not yet been rezoned to allow for an RV park. They also raised concerns because the total land area for the project has changed after Rose swapped some land with an adjacent landowner. A portion of that land he acquired may have been part of a former city dump, which could limit his ability to excavate there.
Mill Point residents are also concerned that current construction underway for a driveway is being done without a permit.
“We feel very frustrated that he has been allowed to go forward with a CUP without any conditions,” said Broten. “We just want our due process.”
Planning and Zoning Chair Mary Shedd said the city has already asked Rose to stop all construction until a plan is submitted and then approved by both the city and the city engineer.
“I can’t hide that as zoning administrator the driveway went in,” said Shedd, who is also the city’s volunteer zoning administrator. “There should have been a driveway permit.”
Shedd said it was Rose’s responsibility to get that permit.
“The way to address this is to ask him to stop all development and construction at this time,” Shedd said. “I notified him on some of those issues last week.”
Shedd said that Rose needs to submit a construction plan, which will include where the roads will be, elevations, fill areas, entrance setbacks, and other information.
“Largely he is in compliance,” Shedd said. “His setbacks are good.”
She also said that Rose is now aware of potential issues with digging on the former dump site, and said he would adjust the RV lots if needed to prevent disturbing those areas.
Shedd said Rose’s initial application was for land use, not the actual number of RV sites.
“Those details will come in the approved plan,” she said.
Shedd said Rose’s initial EAW showed that an environmental impact statement was not required. Rose is completing an updated EAW, and then the city would decide if an EIS is required.

Rose requests PUD permit
Rose submitted a letter to the board stating he was officially applying for a planned unit development permit process and asked for guidance on the next steps. Rose has recently informed the city that he intends to sell the lots in his RV park and Shedd had informed him that the change would require a PUD process. Under the city’s ordinance, the PUD process is handled as a conditional use, and in that case there would a public hearing, and the city would be able to place conditions on the PUD.
“One thing that might give you some satisfaction tonight,” said board member Marshall Helmberger, speaking to Mill Point residents, “is that this process is not at an end.” He added: “I think there is going to be a second bite at the apple.”
Helmberger noted that such a planned unit development would require that each individual site be platted and get a legal description. In addition, such a plan would require a homeowner association agreement, which the city would also get a chance to review. Helmberger also said that such a plan appears to be more financially feasible than a regular RV park, due to the upfront construction costs.
Yet, as has been the case since the beginning, Rose’s plans have been in constant flux. In communication with the city in the wake of the July 28 meeting, Rose has suggested he might go a different route, such as forming a co-op, which would allow him to move forward under his existing CUP, without the need for a PUD permit.
Other business
The board heard an update from Helmberger on the work being done to revise and simplify the city’s three zoning ordinances. A committee consisting of Helmberger and Joe Morin has met three times and is working to craft a single ordinance that adopts many of the processes employed by St. Louis County, while maintaining the zoning standards already established for the city.
The board agreed not to use the county’s performance standard system, which would add a layer of complexity for the user and would give the city a little less oversight than it currently has.
Helmberger said the work is ongoing and will take considerably more time before a full draft version is ready for review by the board, and then by the city council. Any changes to the ordinance will receive a public hearing at the both Planning and Zoning level, and then at the city council level, before being adopted.