Lake County planning office guides growth, permits and land protection

Lake County property owners can run into planning and zoning rules long before a foundation is poured or a dock goes in. In a county where shoreline, forest roads and scattered communities overlap, the permit question often comes first, whether the project is in Two Harbors, Silver Bay, Beaver Bay, Finland, Knife River or a rural township.

Why the planning office matters before work starts

Lake County’s Planning and Zoning function has been operating since the mid-1970s to protect the health, safety and general welfare of the public and environment. It does that by coordinating standards and requirements for economic, social and environmental factors in public and private investments.

In Lake County, the planning office is where you learn whether a cabin addition, a driveway, a septic upgrade or a shoreline project fits the land, the water and the road network around it. For owners on the North Shore of Lake Superior, the office is part of the basic due-diligence step before building or buying.

The permits that trip people up most

Lake County’s online permit system includes Land Use applications such as Grade/Fill and Structure Placement, and SSTS applications can also be submitted and paid for online. Grade/Fill is the one that catches many property owners off guard because it covers soil-disturbing activities, such as installing a driveway or shoreline restoration.

Structure Placement is equally important because it governs where a building sits on the land. That can matter when a home, garage, addition or cabin accessory building is being placed near a shoreline, a slope or an existing access drive. If the project changes the shape of the lot, the elevation of the site or the footprint of a structure, planning and zoning is likely part of the process.

Driveways, culverts and the cost of starting in the wrong order

Lake County’s Property Owner’s Resource Guide, revised in July 2007 and developed and funded by the Lake County Local Water Management Plan, requires driveway access permits before installing a culvert or constructing an access driveway off township, county or state roads.

A driveway can be a major land-use decision in a county with long rural stretches, public road access concerns and drainage issues. If the culvert or approach is built first, the owner may end up reworking the project around county requirements instead of building to them from the start.

Shoreland projects bring another layer of review

Shoreline property owners should contact their local zoning authority, whether city, county or township, because state shoreland regulations are administered locally. On Lake County’s Lake Superior coast, most shoreline projects and activities require permits, and the North Shore Management Board sets standards that are enforced locally.

Lake County’s shoreline handout states, “Everyone has a responsibility to protect our coast.” Anyone considering tree clearing, grade changes, shoreline restoration or work near the water is operating under that rule. Soil movement, structure placement and shoreline alteration all sit inside a stricter review environment than the average inland lot.

Septic systems are a land-use issue, not just a plumbing issue

SSTS, the county term for subsurface sewage treatment systems, is one of the most important categories for rural and shoreline properties. Around one third of Minnesotans rely on septic systems to treat wastewater, according to the University of Minnesota Onsite Sewage Treatment Program, which says well-designed and properly installed septic systems are critical to protecting surface water and groundwater from contamination.

A poorly placed or undersized system can affect nearby land and water, which is why septic review sits alongside land use and wetlands work. Lake County lists Mackenzie Hogfeldt as the environmental services professional for septic systems and wetlands, which is the right contact if a parcel depends on an onsite system or a replacement field.

Buying a cabin or adding a rental means checking more than square footage

Blake Ross handles general land use and permitting questions, Alexandra Campbell handles vacation rentals and Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment meetings, and Mackenzie Hogfeldt handles septic systems and wetlands.

If you are buying a cabin, converting a property to a short-term rental, or planning an addition that changes how the structure is used, those divisions can matter. A vacation rental can bring planning questions that are different from a simple remodel, and an addition can trigger structure placement, septic capacity and grade/fill review at the same time. The planning office is where those overlapping issues get sorted before they become a permit denial, a redesign or a complaint after construction begins.

The rules on paper are old, but they still control current projects

Lake County’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Ordinance is Ordinance No. 12, and it took effect June 23, 2017. Property owners should use the land use ordinance and the official ordinance for specific details.

For North Shore property owners, that makes the practical order of operations clear: check the shoreline rules, check septic needs, check driveway access, and then confirm where the structure can go.