County pitching camping changes

By Lisa Kaczke | The Daily Journal

Published 12:00 p.m., November 30, 2009

Otter Tail County commissioners are continuing to move forward on amending a county ordinance to allow campers on shoreland property.

Once the commissioners agree on the wording of an amendment, residents will be able to give their input at a public hearing, which hasn’t yet been scheduled.

At issue during the Otter Tail County Board meeting last week was adding an amount of time a camper could be on the property and allowing a sewer connection, with commissioners wondering how it would be enforced.

The amendment would change the county’s Shoreland Management Ordinance, which currently calls for no campers on shoreland property if a residence already exists on the property.

Campers are a long-standing issue and were discussed at length at the board table before the ordinance was adopted in 2008.

The commissioners approved in a 4-1 vote in October to begin the process to amend the ordinance. Commissioner Roger Froemming voted against the motion.

Commissioner Doug Huebsch proposed allowing campers on shoreland property and is supporting the amendment because he believes property owners should be able to have their camper on their property while they load and unload it.

Froemming warned the commissioners Tuesday that they’ll be hearing from upset resort owners about the topic because the owners believe it takes business away from them. Commissioner John Lindquist argued that allowing campers on lake and river property won’t determine whether a resort survives.

A potential amount of time a camper could be in use is seven days out of 30 days and residents would be required to pay a fee if it’s used for more than seven days.

Lindquist wondered if county staff were going to drive by every day to check how long a camper has been there.

Huebsch pointed out that county officials aren’t enforcing the ban on campers now.

“So let’s make a new law we don’t enforce?” Huebsch said of adding an amount of time to the amendment.

Land and Resource Director Bill Kalar said he also was concerned with adding a time amount to the amendment.

Campers have previously been allowed to be used for storage. However, neighbors complained that people were living in them, Kalar said.

Commissioner Lee Rogness pointed out that neighbors are the ones who are enforcing the ordinance. The Land and Resource Department has received complaints from neighbors about several campers in past years.

Rogness also brought up sewer connections. If there’s a three-bedroom house on the property, the size of the septic system is for the house. Kalar added that if a camper is then added to the septic system, the system would be undersized.

The current ordinance allows campers to be placed on shoreland property temporarily if a residence isn’t already on the property. Temporary campers aren’t allowed to have a sewer connection on the property, according to Kalar.

Huebsch said he also likes the idea of having the campers licensed by the county.

The campers would be allowed only on standard size lots. Campers would continue to be disallowed on substandard size lots due to crowding issues, Kalar said.

A standard size lot depends on the classification of the lake or river the property sits on.

For a general development lake, the lot width is 100 feet and lot area is 20,000 square feet. On a recreational development lake, the lot width is 150 feet and lot area is 40,000 square feet. A standard size lot on a natural environment lake is 200 feet in lot width with an lot area of 80,000 square feet.

On an urban and tributary river, the lot width is 100 feet and lot area is 40,000 square feet. On a river classified as agriculture, a standard size lot has a width of 150 feet and an area of 40,000 square feet. For transition rivers, the lot width is 250 feet and lot area is 60,000 square feet.

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