[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6361333,"mediaKeyId","2170825-24e719d2ddd4a40c1318fbc68f99cdcf","parentId",2170825,"title","Clay County planning commission opens public hearing on consolidated Land Development Ordinance; key proposals include shoreland/floodplain updates, accessory‑d","audioSeconds",3429,"startMs",1661000,"endMs",5090000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2170825-24e719d2ddd4a40c1318fbc68f99cdcf&start=1661&end=5090","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2170825-24e719d2ddd4a40c1318fbc68f99cdcf/thumbnail_1661000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6361333/Clay-County/Minnesota/Clay-County-planning-commission-opens-public-hearing-on-consolidated-Land-Development-Ordinance-key-proposals-include-shorelandfloodplain-updates-accessoryd","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6361333-28bf4255d7762b4b47b1665c5899fa81/orig.mp4?Expires=1773656172&Signature=FxLiFNzDVEKc25YzbM6IPmSI2wcf6yH1KCQzdwn6XmxoaOk6RdyHkTEPoBf2bh6xvaGE1yjV~wApBN-3rY6dY6bGUnFEF4n7fNdLWM1xYmylwOn722j5Eq39zoYc63Ks3Bv2fyAthO~xED~CUbSYonIN8GUF6tZ7j~tgqUzHOvUNoUkEZhy5QJSpYXO9bQNTbU3mPrDHUzLyiXuJW4mTbGJmp54~46ZETjE9Y7j43psqPpyzkWu0E4xo2xpBAlaxWcdL8ClbSUQib~Z9qSl6Jd~I0No3JEbmyWhLZj57FJgneXmNLAChWFqBdzlBcEeBtQyU6V34qVtTTFUIj9a8DA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Clay County, MN","date","2025-01-30T15:55:05Z","article","Clay County planning staff opened a public hearing on a draft consolidated Land Development Ordinance that combines existing chapters and incorporates several substantive changes to zoning, subdivision and administration rules.

Planning staff said the draft folds previously separate renewable‑energy and other rules into the main ordinance, updates shoreland and floodplain provisions to align with Minnesota rules, and incorporates state feedlot standards. Staff recommended the county submit the amended shoreland and floodplain sections to the state for review.

Key proposed changes discussed at the hearing included removing lot‑setback averaging (a provision that currently allows an average of adjacent setbacks to determine a new setback), adding a one‑acre minimum lot area for Highway Commercial and Limited Highway Commercial districts (with exceptions for common‑interest communities), a parking table and an authority to require parking studies, and new sign standards that would reduce right‑of‑way setbacks to 10 feet and allow some off‑premise directional signs while keeping state road restrictions and conditional billboards in Highway Commercial districts.

Staff also proposed specific site‑plan requirements (detailed site plan contents to accompany permit applications), clarified county roadway access standards in coordination with the county engineer, and folded the previously separate renewable energy (wind/solar) rules into the ordinance text.

On subdivisions, staff recommended clarifying compliance with Minnesota Statutes chapters 505 and 519 (platting and common interest communities) and adding a township preapproval step to ensure town boards review proposed public road layouts before the county spends time on plat processing. Staff said this change would align the code with state law requiring town approval endorsals on plats in many cases.

Chapter 7 (Administration and Procedures) proposes clearer roles for the zoning administrator, the planning commission, the board of adjustment and the county board; spelled‑out processes for conditional‑use, interim‑use and variance hearings; and clarified appeals routes (including appeals to district court for Board of Adjustment decisions). Staff proposed administrative enforcement tools and a possible “three‑strikes” approach for permit condition violations that would give permit holders stages to remedy infractions before a revocation hearing.

During the public comment period, Morehead Township resident Matt Bridal asked whether accessory dwelling units (ADUs) would have size and foundation requirements. Planning staff said ADUs would be defined as a separate housekeeping unit on the same lot, require a permanent foundation, have a 150‑square‑foot minimum, be detached, not exceed 75% of the principal dwelling and meet septic and placement standards. On accessory structures that would not require a permit, staff said the ordinance would retain a requirement that all accessory structures meet required setbacks; after‑the‑fact variances would be the remedy where setbacks were not met.

Planning staff said the draft is effectively complete and invited written comments. They recommended a Planning Commission public hearing in February or a later March hearing if staff and the county attorney need time to incorporate state comments. The commission set a likely public hearing date in March to allow time for attorney review and state feedback; no final county action was taken at the meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Clay County MN Planning & Zoning Meeting 1/28/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Clay County planning staff opened a public hearing on a consolidated Land Development Ordinance that proposes updated shoreland and floodplain rules, changes to development standards and new administration and enforcement procedures.","taxTitle","Clay County, Minnesota","taxId",56510,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6361338,"Diversion authority presents update; DNR recommends quarter‑mile buffer near southern embankment, authority and staff say easements largely restrict development",921,59000,980000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2170825-24e719d2ddd4a40c1318fbc68f99cdcf&start=59&end=980","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2170825-24e719d2ddd4a40c1318fbc68f99cdcf/thumbnail_59000.jpg","/articles/6361338/Clay-County/Minnesota/Diversion-authority-presents-update-DNR-recommends-quartermile-buffer-near-southern-embankment-authority-and-staff-say-easements-largely-restrict-development","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6361338-3ce3c8a657c42e9d46f53883a39859d5/orig.mp4?Expires=1773656172&Signature=cqm1K8SMNne0ybGUCkUdmFlkZB6OfWWNFBCgp6s6zTN2AqAntuu1TD73u65zBFYQHi9ciObPmRl5h5FRcRBwVjTfx4xf0dlcY9li30II2uNqfvAGpWQzS0l2ebc-B-xdQh1yKWfoDhhvKgMgPAzf4UsM3weWXr0HVKofD1lXWzY8LUb~WTu3Zr3-HH684Yx7r1ABVSTyNr7YKb6rhH82igZ164T6IPKR64qfh1ERUwYtQf4JhClio9xB0dPtOG04fvRws2~jqBRAZ-MwHYEXn7dy-p01cCRD5-mcYS8h0QHTtot7U6hPpXQ~3lqV3C8KAld4t6stapg8P1aNFhsKBA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Eric Dodds, a consultant with AE2S working on the Fargo‑Moorhead diversion project, told Clay County planning officials the diversion is more than halfway complete and that the project team is finalizing a sixth version of its Property Rights Acquisition and Mitigation (PRAM) plan.

Dodds said construction progress slides show the project about 61% complete overall, with the P3 diversion channel about 56% complete, the Corps of Engineers’ southern embankment work about 68% complete and in‑town levee work roughly 80% complete. He said roughly 28,000,000 cubic yards of material have been excavated so far of an estimated 40,000,000 cubic yards total and that about 160 Minnesota parcels have had property rights acquired; upstream mitigation easements are “approaching 60% complete.”

The consultant described three major control structures on the southern embankment — the diversion inlet just south of Horace, the Wild Rice structure adjacent to Interstate 29 and a larger Red River structure — and said the embankment’s southern segment is about 22 miles long with county and township crossings in Clay County at roughly 130th, 140th, 150th and 160th (Comstock Road).

Dodds summarized a DNR permit condition (condition 45 of the dam safety and public waters work permit) that recommends local governments consider prohibiting development within a quarter mile of the dam or along river channels. He said the diversion authority does not have zoning power and had sent letters to local zoning officials — including Clay County, Horace, Pleasant Township and others — to share the DNR recommendation and offer to discuss it.

When asked whether any local jurisdictions had adopted zoning along those lines, Dodds said Pleasant Township in North Dakota has enacted a two‑tier restriction measured from the toe of the embankment: no buildings within 350 feet and broader development restrictions within 450 feet, with a narrow band where nonresidential uses may be allowed. He said Fargo staff had expressed informal interest in avoiding residential zoning immediately adjacent to the embankment but had not adopted formal rules.

Dodds also addressed questions about which lands were purchased. He said the diversion authority purchased property rights for the construction footprint and easements on the wet side to allow intentional flooding; it did not acquire land on the dry side beyond the footprint. He noted that in Clay County the flow easements for the upstream mitigation areas are categorized as Zone 1 in the authority’s system and that Zone 1 easements prohibit development and existing structures.

On flood elevations, Dodds said the top of the embankment is approximately elevation 928.5 feet, the probable maximum flood (PMF) surface elevation is about 923.5 feet (about 5 feet of freeboard at PMF), the 500‑year surface is about 922.5 feet and the 100‑year is about 921.5 feet — roughly 7 feet of freeboard at the 100‑year event. He said breach analyses informed the DNR’s recommendation, concluding that breach depth and velocity effects would dissipate within about a quarter mile in some scenarios.

County planning staff present offered possible next steps, including preparing a build‑out scenario that estimates how many residential units could be constructed within a quarter‑mile buffer under current density rules. Commissioners and staff also noted recent coordination with a solar developer in nearby Wilkin County and said flow easements and the diversion authority’s easement enforcement process had been used to coordinate acceptable siting and elevations of utility infrastructure.

Dodds said the PRAM version 6 consolidates prior versions, aligns mitigation with state and federal permits and with the diversion authority’s settlement agreements, and is being finalized for agency review.","Eric Dodds, a consultant with AE2S, updated Clay County planning officials on construction, land acquisition and mitigation for the Fargo‑Moorhead diversion and said the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has recommended local governments consider a quarter‑mile development buffer near the southern embankment.","actionData","errors"]

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Clay County planning commission opens public hearing on consolidated Land Development Ordinance; key proposals include shoreland/floodplain updates, accessory‑d

Diversion authority presents update; DNR recommends quarter‑mile buffer near southern embankment, authority and staff say easements largely restrict development