Application 24-000467: Record Inquiry

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Planning and Zoning: Land Use

Inquiry Results

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MN
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT

Duluth

Virginia

Government Services Center

320 West 2nd Street, Suite 301

201 South 3rd Avenue West

Duluth, MN 55802

Virginia, MN 55792

(218) 471-7103

VARIANCE REQUEST PERMIT APPLICATION

Your Contact Information.
If the information is not correct, you may need to update your contact information using the 'Maintain Contact Information' option once you have filled out this application.

First Name: Field is required.

Benjamin

Middle Name:D

Last Name: Field is required.

Spalding

Address Line 1: Field is required.

603 1st Street

Address Line 2:--

City:

Colo

State/Province: Field is required.

Postal Code: Field is required.

50056

Business Phone: Field is required.

6413773110

Mobile Phone:5157083111

Home Phone:--

Fax:6413773111

Email Address: Field is recommended.

bhspalding@yahoo.com

Preferred Contact Method: Field is required.

Any

General - This application is used to apply for a Land Use Permit. Applicants will need to attach the appropriate worksheet(s) in order to process. Incomplete applications will be returned. Note that the 'clock' does not begin until after payment has been processed for the application. For more information, see our website at: www.stlouiscountymn.gov/BuildingStructures

Enter the Primary PIN and Associated PIN (if applicable) of the property to be reviewed.
PIN is found on your Property Tax Statement. For example, 123-1234-12345. Primary PIN: Parcel where Structure/SSTS are located. Associated PIN: Additional and/or adjacent property that you own or that is related to the project.
County Land Explorer: https://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/explorer
Property Lookup: http://apps.stlouiscountymn.gov/auditor/parcelInfo2005Iframe

Primary PIN Field is required.

732-0030-00130

Associated PINs

Is this application being submitted for a Rehearing?
If this application is being submitted because a previous Variance Permit application was denied or disapproved, please select Yes.

Enter Applicant Information

I am a:

Landowner

Applicant Name: Field is required.

Benjamin D Spalding

Address Line 1: Field is required.

603 1st Street

Address Line 2:--

City:

Colo

State:

Zip:

50056

Primary Phone: Field is required.

(515)708-3110

Cell Phone:5157083111

Fax:6413773111

Email:spaldingflattop@gmail.com

Contact Person Name: Field is recommended.

Benjamin Spalding

Contact Person Phone: Field is recommended.

(515)708-3111

Mailing Address Information.
This address can default from the address you selected. If the values defaulted are not correct, please enter the correct information.

Same as Applicant address?Yes

Name:

Benjamin D Spalding

Address:

603 1st Street

City:

Colo

State/Province: Field is required.

Zip:

50056

Primary Phone:(515)708-3111

Cell Phone:5157083111

Fax:6413773111

Email:

spaldingflattop@gmail.com

Site Information
If there is no site address, the application will be forwarded to 911/Communications to assign one.

Is there a site address for this property? Field is required.

Yes

Site Address:10166 Ash River Trail Orr, MN 55771

Is this leased property?No

Leased From?--

US Forest Service

Superior National Forest

8901 Grand Avenue Place

Duluth, MN 55808

MN Power

Shore Land Traditions

30 West Superior Street

Duluth, MN 55802

MN DNR, Area Hydrologist

7979 Highway 37

Eveleth, MN 55734

MN DNR Land and Minerals

1201 East Highway 2

Grand Rapids, MN 55744

St. Louis County - Duluth

Government Services Center

320 West 2nd Street, Suite 301

Duluth, MN 55802

(218) 725-5000

St. Louis County - Virginia

Land and Minerals

7820 Highway 135

Virginia, MN 55792

(218) 749-7103

Do you have written authorization from the leased property owner?
If Yes, you must attach written authorization form.

How is the property accessed?

Public Road

Private Road

Easement

Water

Other

Enter Project Information.
If you answered 'Yes' to any of the questions below, it is required that you submit a copy of a septic permit to construct or certificate of compliance approval or municipal/sanitary district approval when applying for a land use permit.

Is this project on a parcel less than 2.5 acres?

Yes

Is this project within 300 feet of a stream/river or 1,000 feet of a lake?

Yes

Is this project adding a bedroom?
Include home, garage, and accessory dwelling.

Yes

Total # of bedrooms on property after project completion.

Does this project include plumbing or pressurized water in proposed structure?

Yes

If Yes, please explain:

There is currently a holding take onsite along with a well. This project will have indoor plumbing for bathrooms, kitchen, and laundry.

Is this project connected to a municipal or sanitary district system?

VARIANCE REQUEST WORKSHEET

A variance allows the use of property in a manner otherwise forbidden by a zoning ordinance by varying one or more of the performance standards such as lot size, setbacks, etc. Variances from official zoning controls are defined under Minnesota Statutes 394.27 and require the landowner to prove that the property could not otherwise be used or enjoyed in the proposed way by complying with ordinance requirements and that there will be no negative impact on surrounding properties.
It is advisable that you discuss your request with Planning and Community Development staff prior to submitting the application. Approval or denial of your request is dependent on the justification you provide in answering the questions on this application. For more information, please check our website at: www.stlouiscountymn.gov/VarianceRequired

VARIANCE REQUEST INFORMATION

Complete this form along with the Land Use Permit Application

What kind of variance request is this?
If this is a Variance After the Fact, you must answer additional questions below.

Variance Request

Describe what you are varying from and the situation that makes it difficult to comply with county ordinances.
If your proposal includes a structure, please also list the length, width and height of the structure.

We are proposing a 50 foot setback from the river, in lue of the 75 foot zoning setback. This will allow us to maintain proper site drainage, avoid holding tank issues, and minimize the footprint of our 39L x 48W x 25H cabin. Our lot depth is different on each side, it is 195/186 feet deep, from the road to the river, and 110 feet wide. This lot has a diverse elevation change. Starting at the road it slopes toward the river. Then at about 102 feet from the road it sharply builds 3-4 feet in elevation and maintains that elevation for around 41 more feet. From there it sharply drops back off again 3-4 feet and levels off from there to the river bank. Long time locals have told us that the change in elevation is due to the excess soil/sand left from excavation done years ago to build a logging railway that ran through the back of the property. The elevation changes pose a challenge when building due to water drainage. Maintaining the 75 foot setback would push our cabin closer to existing structures. Once cabin grading is complete, shed water will most likely pose a danger to our current garage and our neighbors home. Our neighbors were already established before our ownership, their existing wells and holding tank limited our options for the placement of our well and holding tank in order to adhere to setbacks. Our placement was not ideal and is now posing an issue with the proposed cabin structure. Maintaining the 75 foot setback would butt the cabin up against our holding tank and not allow for appropriate building setbacks from the tank. In an effort to maintain the prestige of the location near a national park and the natural beauty of this heavily wooded lot, utilizing the hump would minimize the number of mature trees we would need to remove for building. Our goal would be to keep as much of the natural landscape and trees as possible. This will not only allow the cabin to blend in, but give our neighbors, vacationers, and ourselves more privacy.

Describe the intended/planned use of the property.

We plan to build a year round cabin for our family's use with the intention of vacationing and eventually a part-time home after retirement.

Describe the current use of your property.

We currently use this property for vacationing as we have a camper and garage on the property.

Describe other alternatives, if any.

Alterations have already been made to the foundation of the front porch, changing from full concrete walls to piers for porch support. This was done to help promote site drainage and to be cognizant of the requested setbacks. We have changed our cabin design to utilize the hump on the property, initial cabin drawings did not fit the property topography.

If approved, how will the proposed use, with the variance, fit into the character of the neighborhood/area?

If approved, it would put us more inline with our neighbors on both sides and other existing riverfront homes and cabins. Currently, we estimate that more than half of these existing cabins do not meet a 75 foot setback.

Describe how neighboring properties and the use of those properties will be impacted by the proposed use with the variance.

With the approved variance our impact will be minimal to our neighbors. If anything, it will be for the benefit of our neighbors by having an occupied tenant versus a vacant lot.

Describe how negative impact to the local environment and landscape will be avoided.

This is a large part of our proposal for 50 feet in lue of the 75 foot setback. From the day we bought this lot, the most important thing to us has been to keep and preserve as many of the trees as possible. We are located next to Voyageurs National Park and find it our duty to maintain a property that blends well with its surroundings. A 50 foot setback allows us to keep more of those trees. It also allows us to utilize the natural hump on this property. If we were to have to meet the 75 foot setback we would have to do a large amount of grating. The soil here is sand, when you move sand for gating, trees nearby fall. We are in fear of losing most trees on this lot if we were to have to level out that hump to build further from the river. We are also conscious of the materials we are using to build. Some of the trees that we have already needed to remove have been milled into stair treads and posts for this cabin. We plan to use a dark gray exterior to hide our cabin in the trees and to blend in.

Describe the expected benefits of a variance to use of this property.

The expected benefits for this variance are utilizing the hump, keeping the large mature trees, blending with our surroundings, avoiding watershed and holding tank issues, and privacy for our neighbors, vacationers and ourselves.

Include additional comments that will clarify your request for the Planning and Community Development staff members and the Board of Adjustment.

We have spoken with neighboring residence and resort owners of the Ash River community, and several have offered to write letters of approval or acceptance on our behalf. Unfortunately they were not completed and in hand prior to the due date of this applications, but will be available upon request once we have received them. We will have them with us at the May 9th hearing. We have attached cabin plans and foundation drawing. On cabin blueprints, please note that the front porch will now be built as a deck on piers and back (riverside) deck dimensions will be 12' by width of cabin. Also dismiss the site sketch in the cabin blueprints document. We have also attached a land use permit, note that the site sketch is the same as attached for variance.

IF YOU ARE RESPONDING TO A PERMIT VIOLATION, PLEASE ANSWER THESE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

Describe your reasons county zoning ordinance requirements were not followed.

Describe your effort to comply with the ordinance and to obtain a land use permit and/or other required permits.

Describe any substantial investments, construction and/or repairs made to the property before you discovered you needed a variance.

If there was construction or repair, on what date did it begin? What date did it end?

Start Date--

End Date--

Who performed the construction or repair work?

Was a survey of your property boundaries obtained?

Prior to the construction or repair work, did you speak with anyone from the Planning and Community Development Department?

By submitting this application, I certify and agree that I am the owner or the authorized agent of the owner of the above property, and that all uses will conform to the provisions of St. Louis County. I further certify and agree that I will comply with all conditions imposed in connection with the approval of the application. Applicants may be required to submit additional property descriptions, property surveys, site plans, building plans, and other information before the application is accepted or approved. Intentional or unintentional falsification of this application or any attachments thereto will make the application, any approval of the application and any result invalid. I authorize St. Louis County staff to inspect the property to review the application and for compliance inspections. Furthermore, by submitting this application, I release St. Louis County and its employees from any and all liability and claims for damages to person or property in any manner or form that may arise from the approval of the application or any related plans, the issuance of any resulting permit or the subsequent location, construction, alteration, repair, extension, operation or maintenance of the subject matter of the application.
If your name, contact information or email address have changed, you should update your contact information in the portal by selecting 'Maintain Contact Information' at the top of this page.

Submitted By:Benjamin D Spalding

Address:603 1st Street

City:Colo

State:IA

Postal Code:50056

Email Address:bhspalding@yahoo.com

I have read and agree to the statement above.

I agree

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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MNPLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT

VARIANCE REQUEST PERMIT APPLICATION

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MN
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT