Commission recommends no EAW for Silver Rapids proposal

TWO HARBORS- The Lake County Planning Commission once again tabled two land use applications for the Silver Rapids Resort at a meeting on Monday. At the same time, the commission approved a recommendation to the Lake County Board that a citizens petition seeking completion of an environmental assessment worksheet, or EAW, be denied.
Organizers of the citizens petition, which has over 300 signatures, had submitted the petition to the state’s Environmental Quality Board last month. That filing tripped a state regulation that bars any final action on an application before a decision is made on whether to conduct an EAW.
From comments at the meeting, it was apparent that planning commissioners felt that most of the environmental issues from the petition would be addressed through the normal regulatory permitting process, which may well include conditions to address citizen concerns.
The land use applications, which seek a conditional use permit along with preliminary plat approval, are expected to come back to the planning commission once the county board weighs in on the need for an EAW. The county board’s next meeting is set for Tuesday, Aug. 27, from 2-4 p.m. in Two Harbors, although it isn’t certain that the question will be on the board agenda, which was not posted as of the Timberjay’s Wednesday deadline. The planning commission is set to meet again on Sept. 5, at 5 p.m. in Two Harbors.
Background
The developers of the Silver Rapids Resort are seeking a conditional use permit for a commercial operation in a residential area, and for a preliminary plat to subdivide the property for 49 privately-owned timeshare cabins. In the resort’s version of the timeshare scheme, each cabin will be shared between four owners.
The resort makeover will remove all the RV sites, tent camping sites, park homes, and six of the resort’s 12 rental cabins. The developers plan to replace the current lodge and renovate the resort’s motel. They propose to add 12 new docks to the 15 already on site and to build a Tiki bar and restroom facility on the waterfront.
The developers have argued that the resort makeover will improve the area. They have already started work on fixing the septic system and received approval on Monday for their remediation plan to clean up the contamination from a leaking underground fuel tank. Developers say both these items will improve the environment around the resort.
The developers also contend that the aesthetics of the area will be improved through the removal of the tent sites, RVs, and park homes and the addition of the cabins and the new lodge.
Petition denial
The planning commission plowed through one question in its two-hour meeting on Monday, whether to require an EAW as part of the permitting process for the changes the developers are seeking to undertake.
The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board has already ruled that an EAW is not mandatory and that Lake County has the power to require a “discretionary” EAW if it determines that the resort’s makeover will have significant environmental impacts.
In considering that question, the Lake County ordinance sets the following criteria:
 Is the action likely to have disruptive effects such as generating traffic and noise?
 Are there public questions or controversy concerning the environmental effects of the proposed actions?
 Does the action have the potential for significant environmental effects?
The ten issues from the petition were:
Traffic generation on the road, including pedestrian safety and ATVs.
 Boat traffic on the lake and aquatic invasive species.
 Water supply.
 The number of docks, mooring sites, and parking.
 Fire suppression and emergency response.
 The need for a zoning variance for the Tiki bar or any structure within the setback zone.
 Impact on people who live in Fall Lake Township and housing.
 Contamination.
 Proximity to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
 Litter (from the Tiki bar) and waste management.
The developers brought two consultants to Monday’s meeting: Jesse Smith, a lawyer, and Julie Blackburn, an expert in preparing environmental assessments. Smith and Blackburn provided additional criteria for determining the need for an EAW.
Environmental impacts
The commissioners’ comments during the meeting indicated that they would trust regulatory agencies and the permitting process to prevent negative impacts to the resort and its surroundings. Many also commented that the proposed development would likely be an improvement over the current esthetics of the resort, which is now over 100 years old and in some disrepair.
The Lake County Environmental Services Director Christine McCarthy ran through a list of issues and the agencies that regulate them: “Since (the resort) would use over 1 million gallons a year, they would be required to go through (the Department of Natural Resources’ water appropriation) process.
“The Department of Health has jurisdiction on wells and how they are drilled, and on all the permits required. They will also provide the lodging license. The DNR will determine the total number of docks allowed, and they will review the water appropriation. Then, when you look at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, they have jurisdiction on the septic.” McCarthy also explained that MPCA has oversight for the remediation of the underground tank spill.
Traffic
Trent Prigge speaking on behalf of the developers provided data from a Minnesota Department of Transportation study performed last year, stating that MnDOT measured 1,500 trips per day. Prigge calculated that 680 of those trips were resort-related traffic. Prigge also calculated that the renovated resort would generate an additional 110 trips per day, for an overall increase of eight percent in total daily traffic.
“An increase of eight percent in traffic is not significant,” he said.
Noise
Commissioner Rich Sve remarked that noise mitigation and quiet hours were something the commission could include as a condition for granting the zoning applications.
“We heard a lot in testimony about noise,” Sve remarked. “(The resort has) been likened to a party on Minnetonka. Nobody wants to see that.”
Parking
The commissioners approved of the resort’s plan to provide onsite parking for guests and cabin owners.
Sve remarked, “I’ve talked to lifelong residents in that area, and they said how it used to be that they were parking down the roads to go into the restaurant or to the bar … but now you’re putting everybody on site with ample parking underneath county ordinances.”
Housing
The petition stated that the resort would make the lack of affordable housing in the Ely area worse than it already is. “There was a concern about a worsening housing crisis that is beyond the scope of an environmental assessment worksheet. I’ve not ever seen that before … We’ve never limited a development on that basis,” said McCarthy.
The commissioners appeared unaware of the Ely housing crunch and were directed by a meeting attendee to the recently completed city of Ely housing study.
Boundary Waters
The commissioners noted that the nearest entry point for the BWCAW was two miles away on the eastern side of Farm Lake. Blackburn remarked that the petitioners did not present any evidence that the makeover of the resort would lead to illegal trespassing of the Boundary Waters.
“It’s not the resort’s responsibility (to police illegal entry into the BWCAW) and shouldn’t be considered as a criterion for an EAW,” said Sve.
Transparency
During the discussion on the public’s concerns, Tanya Feldkamp, assistant director of Lake County Environmental Services, commented that one of the advantages of an EAW was that it provided transparency.
“Transparency — we hear that word thrown a lot around a lot,” Sve remarked. “Sometimes it’s deserved, sometimes it’s not.”
Sve suggested that transparency would be the result of the commission’s meetings and ongoing discussions with the developers.
“I think this commission, in my estimation, has a pretty good understanding of where we’re at right now,” Sve said. “What’s being proposed, there are missing pieces that we’re still going to get to. We probably talked about some of those tonight yet, but for this piece, I firmly believe that as we go forward, these questions (will be) definitely answered.”
Lake County does not provide access online to zoning and land use applications and their supporting documents. One Fall Lake couple, desperate to find out more about the resort project before the July 18 public hearing, drove 70 miles to Two Harbors to make copies of any application materials the county would share. They came back with just four pages which they gave to the Timberjay along with copies of the hearing notices mailed to the resort’s neighbors.
Since the close of public testimony on July 18, the public has been locked out of the application process. The developers have devoted their entire attention to the planning commission and the application process. They have not tried to engage or reassure residents, despite the proposal to create the largest resort operation in the Ely area. The feeling of exclusion has rankled many in the area.
“So far there has been little communication from either the resort or the county,” said Fall Lake resident Paula in a recent post to the “What’s Up, Ely?” Facebook group. “Comments were brushed aside and it seemed clear (to me at least) that the county is going to push it through and allow the resort to do whatever it wants … Nothing wrong with developing the resort but let’s get any potential issues out in the open and give credit to the residents who live near Silver Rapids Lodge and their feelings. That’s the way to get support.”