The Cook County Planning Commission voted unanimously Sept. 10 to recommend the Cook County Board of Commissioners approve a conditional use permit to allow a third dwelling at 6558 West Highway 61 in Tofte. The small unit would be a 240-square-foot, one-bedroom structure intended for use as a caretaker dwelling.

Staff said the proposal is being considered under section 10.03(d) of the Cook County zoning ordinance and within the North Shore Management Zone of Lake Superior. Planner Neva told the commission the parcel includes 1.1 deeded acres, about 202 feet of Lake Superior shoreline, and that a land-use permit issued Aug. 11 already authorizes two additional structures on the lot; the third structure has been built as a bunkhouse but would require the CUP to install pressurized plumbing and be used as a full dwelling.

Neva said the proposed third dwelling would be 240 square feet and 15 feet tall and that staff’s review found the size and location are consistent with the R-1 single-family residential zone and the county’s shoreland standards. The packet provided to commissioners described two larger cabins (cabin A: 18 by 31 feet, 34 feet high, with 162 square feet of decks; cabin B: 20 by 35 feet, 34 feet high, with 310 square feet of decks) and a third structure proposed to be 10 by 24 feet and 15 feet high.

Applicant Alex Shower, representing Superior Heights LLC, confirmed the project: “I’m building two vacation rentals,” Shower said, and added he wanted the third dwelling available “to use for a caretaker and also use for myself through the building process.”

Staff recommended conditions including compliance with all local, state and federal regulations; compliance with Minnesota Rules relating to sewage treatment (recorded in the packet as Minnesota Rules 70 80); adherence to the Cook County septic ordinance; a maximum impervious surface coverage of 30% unless a professional runoff plan is approved; and a limit on the third dwelling’s size to the land-use permit dimensions (not to exceed 250 square feet and 15 feet in height). Neva also corrected a clerical item in the draft findings, noting the CUP would run with the property rather than being time-limited to two years.

Commission discussion was brief. One commissioner said the modest size of the third structure made the application “non‑problematic,” and commissioners agreed the proposal fit the neighborhood pattern of single-family and resort residential uses. Commissioner (unnamed; speaker 5) moved to recommend approval with the staff-recommended conditions; the motion was seconded by Commissioner (unnamed; speaker 2). The chair called the vote and the motion passed unanimously; the commission will forward the recommendation to the Cook County Board of Commissioners for final action.

The application was legally noticed in the Cook County News-Herald on Aug. 29 and 16 notice letters were mailed to adjacent property owners, county departments, the North Shore Management Board and the DNR hydrologist; no written comments were received during the comment period, staff said. Planner Neva said a drilled well and septic system are proposed to support the development and that access to the cabins is proposed via a skywalk with parking near a shared driveway.

The commission’s action is a recommendation to the county board; no county-board decision was recorded at the meeting. The commission’s packet includes the zoning provisions for conditional uses in R-1 shoreland and the staff findings and recommended conditions that the planning commission approved.