FALL LAKE TWP— Neighbors to Silver Rapids Lodge are raising concerns about a major proposed redevelopment at the site that would significantly increase the intensity of use at the long-time resort property, located at a narrows between Farm and White Iron lakes.
Zoning at the property is overseen by Lake County, which has given residents until Aug. 6 to comment on an environmental assessment worksheet, or EAW, on the proposal to redevelop the site and add as many as 45 new homes on the property. The county has, so far, rejected a request by residents for an extension of the comment period. Many residents of the affected area were evacuated from their homes or were told to prepare to leave for much of the comment period, due to threats from the nearby Camp Fire.
The Lake County Planning Commission is set to determine the adequacy of the EAW at their next regularly scheduled meeting, set for Aug. 17, at the Two Harbors Law Enforcement Center. A public hearing on that question is set for 6:15 p.m. The current agenda does not indicate that the commission will act on the requested conditional use permit.
The new proposal has reignited a controversy that had slowly simmered since developers withdrew an earlier plan for redevelopment at the site after the Department of Natural Resources and a local citizens group filed suit to block it. Neighbors are concerned the new plan isn’t substantially different from the earlier one in terms of the density of development and the intensity of the use at the site, which they fear is inconsistent with the character of the surrounding lake community.
In recent comments submitted on the project, the White Iron Chain of Lakes Association, or WICOLA, raised several concerns, including that the developers have yet to adequately address leaking fuel tanks on the site. According to the EAW, the developers plan to address the contamination as part of the site’s redevelopment, but WICOLA notes the developers offer no timeline for that work, and they ask that the county require completion of the remediation before construction begins.
WICOLA is a local nonprofit lake association representing 180 members who live or summer on the White Iron chain of lakes. The seven-lake WICOLA chain is a key headwater of the BWCAW and White Iron Lake is one of the state’s 25 “Sentinel Lakes,” which cannot be subject to any degradation. According to the organization’s comments, the “proposed $50-million Silver Rapids expansion will be the largest commercial development ever along our lake chain.”
In addition to concerns about fuel tanks, WICOLA is protesting the proposed doubling of the number of boat mooring spaces. They believe that increased boat traffic in the area will increase the risk of introduction of aquatic invasive species. “We appreciate that the developers have previously indicated a willingness to provide guests with AIS information and a boat cleaning station for mandatory use by their patrons,” states WICOLA in their comments. “We ask Lake County to require that.”
The group is also asking that the county prohibit the developers from using fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides as part of their plan to restore some areas of shoreline that have been degraded by past activity at the resort.
The group’s comments also cite concerns about boat refueling, increased storm runoff, and raise a question about the handling of chlorinated or salted water from a planned outdoor pool on the site. They also are asking the county for well testing to determine whether the local aquifer can handle the significant increase in water usage expected as a result of the new development.
The proposal does have supporters as well, who argue that the plan revitalizes a long-standing resort facility that has deteriorated in recent years. The estimated $50 million development would also add considerable tax base to Fall Lake Township and Lake County, as well as local jobs.