Shoreland zoning reshapes county

Lake preservation at core of shoreland ordinance changes

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal…Published Monday, March 17, 2008

The revised Otter Tail County Shoreland Management Ordinance is in the hands of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) which will review the document. The effective date will come when the DNR gives its official okay to the document that has been in place, until the latest revision, since Jan. 1, 2004.

“We don’t see anything the DNR would object to, since we’re in compliance with the Statewide Standards for Management of Shoreland Areas,” county Land & Resource Director Bill Kalar said.

During the past several months the five-member county board revised several definitions in the shoreland ordinance. Changes were made in conjunction with input from county residents during both committee meetings and public hearings.

“Members of the county board clarified existing positions,” Kalar said.

The county board decided not to substantially change the one dwelling per lot rule. As things stand now, Recreational Camping Unites (RCUs) will have to be stored off of lake lots. However, a tent or tents not exceeding 100 square feet of space will be allowed at lake lots.

Impervious surface — a term used often during recent public input for revisions of the county Shoreland Management Ordinance — was at the crux of the debate as commissioners tried to balance manageable development while at the same time protecting lakes.

The term (impervious surface) refers to a constructed hard surface that either prevents or retards the entry of water into the soil. This, in turn, causes water to run off the surface in greater quantities and at an increased rate of flow than prior to development near lakes in Otter Tail County.

No more than 25 percent of a lake lot can be covered by impervious surfaces. Examples of impervious surfaces include decks, rooftops, sidewalks, patios, permeable pavers, storage areas and concrete, asphalt and gravel driveways.

“Surface water running off the lake lot property — rather than soaking into the ground — runs off into the lake itself, oftentimes carrying nutrients and chemicals,” Kalar said. “The new 2008 ordinance requirements are written to help curtail the amount of runoff.”

The revised ordinance also defines buildable areas. Lots going to be created must have legitimate areas for buildings and sewage (septic) systems.

With cluster developments, parcels of property must have sufficient lake or river frontage to provide a minimum of frontage per dwelling unit. This is done in accordance with lake or river classification and water frontage requirement. Residential density is one of the concerns.

The State of Minnesota requires all counties to have shoreland ordinances. Public hearings are required when changes to the ordinance are proposed. In the case of Otter Tail County, commissioners and county residents waded through two-thirds of the ordinance on Jan. 8 and reviewed the final one-third of the document on Jan. 15.

The original Otter Tail County Shoreland Management Ordinance was adopted on Oct. 15, 1971. Since then revisions took place in 1973, 1978, 1981, 1985, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2004.