Eureka Township, MN, Resolution 2015-11, signed by Eureka Town Board Chair Brian J. Budenski 2015.06.08. (Click to embiggen!)
At its Monday, June 8, meeting, the Eureka Town Board approved Resolution 2015-11 directing its attorney to start the process of ordering the owners of the property at 10132 235th Street West, Lakeville, MN (that’s Petter’s 57-acre Fur-Ever “Wild” fur farm) to “permanently remove all exotic animals.”
The resolution responds to an April 27 ruling by the Minnesota Court of Appeals that Eureka Township improperly rejected a nuisance complaint from neighbors of the fur farm. The Court of Appeals found that the township misread its own animal ordinances. The town board had previously ruled that Petter’s wolf-skinning counted as fur production from livestock, allowable under the township’s “right to farm” rules. However, the Court reminded the township that its own definition of “livestock” explicitly excludes “exotic animals.” The town board had also accepted Petter’s argument that her state game-farm, state fur-farm, and USDA exhibitor’s licenses. The Court said such licenses do not trump local ordinance.
The Court of Appeals remanded the case to district court to determine whether the township’s grandfathering exception would allow Petter to keep her critters. Eureka Township adopted the ordinance in question on June 7, 2005; the board became aware that Petter was keeping exotic animals in 2006. The grandfather clause would allow Petter to keep the number of animals she had prior to the ordinance, but as the Court of Appeals ruling notes, Petter appears never to have provided the town board with an accurate, dated list of the number of animals on her fur farm before or after 2005.
The township appears not to be waiting for a district court ruling; Resolution 2015-11 focuses on the language of the agricultural and exotic-animal ordinances, with no mention of the grandfather clause.
Fur-Ever “Wild” apparently cleaned up its act after an unofficial visit by a South Dakota animal control officer earlier this spring revealed unhealthy and unsanitary conditions. Clean and healthy or not, the township ordinance on exotic animals now appears clear: Petter must remove her wolves and other non-domesticated, non-agricultural animals from the property.
A motion was made by Supervisor Budenski and seconded by
Supervisor Rogers, to approve the Windmill LLC Interim Use Permit amendment to
allow a dry batch ready mix plant on the following
6 conditions taken from the
minutes of the June 23, 2015, Planning Commission meeting. Condition number 7, regarding a review by TDKA, is to be excluded.
1. The concrete plant can be located no less than 1,000 feet
from any dwelling.
2. The concrete plan can be located no less than 500 feet
from any property lines.
3. Hours of operation are Monday – Friday from 7:00 AM to
5:30 PM with no Saturday operation.
4. Dust free surface on the area traveling to and from the
mine.
5.
Notification to the Town Board and property owners within 1,000 feet if there is
any spillage or release of cement dust.
6. Height of structure shall not exceed the height of the
berm and/or screening.
(Information obtained from the Township Clerk).
The motion stated that the approval was subject to a condition upon the applicant and Township agreeing to an amended Development Agreement which shall include, but not limited to, siting, nature of material imported, and storage of imported material of the plant. (Information from a CD copy of the meeting).
July 13, 2015, Town Board Meeting:
KELLY AGGREGATES
A motion was made by Chair Budenski and seconded by Supervisor
Rogers, to approve an amendment to Kelly Aggregates Inc. Interim Use Permit to
allow, as an accessory use, operation of a dry batch ready-mix concrete plant
subject to the eight conditions listed below. Approval is also subject to the
applicant and Town Board agreeing to an amendment to the Development Agreement
which will include, but not be limited to, siting of proposed plant, nature of
materials to be imported and storage of said imported materials.
1. The concrete plant can be located no less than 1,800 feet
from any dwelling.
2. The concrete plan can be located no less than 200 feet
from any property lines.
3. Hours of operation are Monday – Friday from 7:00 a.m. to
5:30 p.m. with no Saturday operation.
4.
Recycled bituminous dust-free surface on the area traveling to and from the
mine, the turnaround and area in front of the facility.
5. Any
spills or release relative to the dry batch ready-mix plant need to be reported
to the MPCA, the Township and property owners within 1,000 feet, consistent with
MPCA regulations.
6. The
height of the structure shall not exceed the height of the berm and/or screening
east of Dodd to Highview, and no portion of the plant shall be visible to houses
on 235th Street, east of Dodd.
7. No
truck hauling to and from the mine on Eureka Township gravel roads except, for sites
within the Township.
8. Subject
to the applicant and the Township executing an amended Development Agreement. (Information obtained from the Township Clerk).
She's been at it faithfully for quite a while now. Jody Arman-Jones takes on the compilation of the "Eureka! The News" every quarter with oversight from the Planning Commission and the Town Board. She's a self-starter and very professional in her approach to the task. She endeavors to update you, the Eureka citizen, on news from the county, the Board, the Planning Commission, even the state. Many thanks to Jody for her continued dedication!
If you have been on another planet, the Township newsletter is now being delivered electronically. If you or someone you know hasn't done so yet, email the Town Clerk with your email address and request to be on the newsletter list.
If you or someone you know prefers "snail mail," that's fine, too. Simply let the Town Clerk know that a hard copy of the newsletter is desired and it will be delivered in that fashion.
While we are on the subject, did you know that by means of a simple request, you can be on an "alert" list with the Township for any Text Amendment hearings, any CUP or IUP hearings, and even any Special Meetings of the Board or Commission? All that is needed is that you request it of the Clerk and you will be notified. This has been a policy in Eureka for quite a long time. Take advantage of it and stay involved and informed!
The Township website is another forum for information. A quick call to the Clerk can give you such information as you need it. The official posting place for Eureka is the bulletin board on the south side of Town Hall. There are also two official newspapers that are used for public hearing notices as required by law.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
I believe the strength of a democracy lies in its citizens and their involvement in government - local or otherwise. How do you "measure up?" Meet your neighbors at Town Hall and make our "grassroots" government all it can be.
SPECIAL EUREKA TOWN BOARD MEETING - JULY 1, 2015 AT 6:00
A special meeting of the Eureka Town Board will be held to consider the application for an accessory use "dry batch ready mix plant" by Windmill LLC. A Public Hearing was held by the Planning Commission regarding Mr. Kenny Miller's application on June 10, 2015 ( the Public Hearing Planning Commission minutes, which include citizen comments, can be reviewed on the Eureka Website). The Planning Commission held a Special Meeting on June 23 to engage in discussion regarding the Public Hearing comments to develop the Findings of Facts and make a recommendation to the Town Board.
EUREKA PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING - JULY 2, 2015, AT 7:00
The Eureka Planning Commission will meet on July 2, 2015, to conduct a Public Hearing. The purpose of the Public Hearing is to consider the application by Kelly Aggregates, Inc. for an accessory use "dry ready mix plant." Citizens will be allowed to speak at the hearing and express their concerns or support of the application. If citizens are not able to attend the Public Hearing, they can submit written comments. It was agreed at the June 8, 2015, that Mr. Brosseth's documentation was submitted on May 14, 2015.
If citizens have a question regarding the history, reasons decisions were made, the questions asked and recommendations of the Township attorney, how Town Board and Planning Commission members voted, or the process utilized by the Planning Commission and Town Board to address the above applications, please review the following: Town Board and Planning Commission meeting minutes, Special Meetings and Public Hearing minutes (Windmill LLC.) from November 2014 to present on the Eureka Township website. ENJOY A SAFE 4TH OF JULY!
George Harrison aside, a "community solar farm/garden" could be coming to your neighborhood sometime in the future.
The Township Planning Commission has received inquiries of late concerning Eureka's permitting process for community solar farms from an energy company in San Francisco, CA. Individual Board members have also received informal inquiries on the subject from some landowners, presumably with prior contact with the CA company or others like it.
Although the first thought by some was "We don't allow them; there'd have to be a Ordinance Text Amendment request," further examination of the Ordinances, in particular Ordinance 3, Ch. 4,Section 13, B, 2, reveals the following:
2. Alternative Energy Systems All normal energy systems shall comply with State codes. To
provide for new and innovative approaches to the generation of
energy for use by residents, businesses and industry in the
Township, exceptions may be made to height regulations, setback
distances, lot coverage, accessory uses, and all other applicable
Ordinance 3 Ch. 4
80
standards in all districts for proposed innovative energy systems,
associated equipment and structures. All modifications will be made
through a conditional use permit process.
This has been a "hot" topic of late in the state as well, as evidenced by a few news articles provided below for your convenience:
Such panels, of course, have been installed on warehouse and home rooftops, and bring to mind large-scale ground operations such as those in California or in Arizona deserts. This use could offer larger landowners in the Township an alternate source of income.
Questions/comments raised at the last Town Board Meeting included: 1) We need/want to keep the Township agricultural; 2) Could such a use be limited to less productive farmland, preserving the more fertile acreage for agriculture in the usual sense? 3) What have other communities near us done on this topic? 4) Is this something the Township should examine in detail before any applications come as this hasn't been done before?
As a result, the Board passed a moratorium on solar energy uses to allow time for study. Under State law, the moratorium is in place for six months and can be extended for another six months. The Planning Commission was tasked with this effort. How this might be accomplished is likely to be a matter of initial discussion at the next Commission meeting. Supervisor Jennings has already provided the Commission a copy of Empire Township's solar ordinance as information.
The Planning Commission is very busy lately! Aside from its usual duties, it has been tasked with the Comprehensive Plan Update, an examination in greater detail of the Transfer of Building Rights Ordinance and Procedure, the Re-codification of the Ordinances, and now the solar issue.
Those of you who have testified atpublic hearings: Have you ever given thought to whether or not your words have been correctly documented in the written record? While the Clerks do a very good job of rendering minutes, it might be worth your while to proof your comments in draft form before they are approved and become the official record.
Just a word or two inadvertently omitted--"not," for instance--can make a significant difference in perceived intent. Well, yah! But this has actually happened in the past! Once the minutes are approved, they stay the way they are. Something about the error could be mentioned in a subsequent meeting's minutes, but good luck in that ever really being connected and making an impact. In spite of all benign intentions of those involved.
ad·mit
ədˈmit/
verb
1.
confess to be true or to be the case, typically with reluctance.
"the office finally admitted that several prisoners had been injured"
admit or acknowledge something reluctantly, typically because one feels slightly ashamed or embarrassed.
"I must confess that I was slightly surprised"
In another example, Yours Truly once was characterized as having "admitted" something at a hearing. See above. WRONG! I stated something. Thankfully, I was involved in meetings, read the draft, and protested the slant. The Planning Commission heard me and changed the text. It is of note, however, that if I hadn't said something, I would have gone down in history so to speak with all the connotations attached. After all, who has the greatest interest in making sure the minutes are accurate when it comes to your testimony?
Words make a difference!
Now that you are informed of the opportunity to read the draft minutes and are afforded the opportunity to do so, whether online, at Town Hall, or on your requested hard copy, it would be a good thing to do after a public hearing at which you spoke. Since you are the speaker, it makes sense that you can always request that the audio recording be checked again if you have an objection. Of course, what you said, IS what you said.
At last night's Town Board meeting, the Board adopted a policy or practice of posting draft minutes of meetings on the Town website as soon as the draft is finished by the Clerk.
This suggestion was brought up at the Round Table Meeting between the Board and the Planning Commission and was discussed again last night. Why is this of any significance?
Because the discussion made clear the public's opportunity and, indeed, right, under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) to access this information so as to be better updated sooner.
While the posting of any minutes on the Town's website is actually optional, it has been Eureka's practice to do so, enabling the public to more easily be informed of Township matters without having to attend each meeting. It is also helpful in researching how a particular matter was handled in the past, by going into the archives of minutes.
What is now new is the posting of the draft minutes. In the past, the only draft minutes that have been posted were those from the Annual Meeting. These are not approved until the following year's Annual Meeting. It is important to be aware that draft minutes CAN and often DO change. The minutes are not official until approved by the Board or the Commission. That is the reason for the large "watermark" saying "DRAFT" that goes across the pages diagonally.
What is not optional is the public's right to make a Data Practices request for (even) the draft minutes. Draft minutes and even the Clerk's notes in composing these minutes are considered to be public information under the MGDPA.
As a member of the public, you can come in and "inspect" the draft minutes, that is, read them at Town Hall. You can also request paper copies of the draft minutes at $0.25 per page. (This amount is set by the law.) This is similar to requesting a copy of the audio recording of a meeting before it is destroyed upon approval of the minutes from that meeting. The destruction of the disc is in keeping with Eureka's retention policy filed with the State, as required. As long as the government document is in existence, you have a right to request a copy, generally speaking. (There are some exceptions to the MGDPA.)
So now there is even less reason to say, "I didn't know that! Why didn't somebody tell me?" (Heard from time to time at public meetings!)
