Developer says County Road 4 access denial threatens industrial-commercial subdivision

A representative for BA Holdings told the Wabasha County Board of Commissioners the county engineer denied an access permit request for lands recently annexed into the city, and that the developer intends to appeal the county’s denial.

Brad Jack, representing Tony Montgomery Realty and Auction Company and BA Holdings, said the property—about 38 acres annexed into the city after a 2019 Plainview Township zoning change—was intended for an industrial-commercial subdivision. Jack said the developer met the county engineer onsite March 27 and was told access could be located at the south end of the property along County Road 4, but that waterway and culvert constraints made that option infeasible. He said an application to place access north of the culvert was denied and that the denial email did not cite a statute, but did copy the township despite the land’s annexation into the city. Jack called the decision “arbitrary and capricious” and said the owners will pursue all legal means to appeal.

Jack compared the decision to other county approvals, saying Ag Partners was granted access to County Road 25 at a driveway roughly 450 feet from a nearby intersection and that other nearby industrial users have closer county-road access. He said the subdivision will build 10-ton streets suitable for heavy trucks and that accessing the site from a 10-ton county road is fiscally prudent and appropriate for anticipated truck traffic.

No board decision was made; the applicant said they will pursue an appeal. The matter may appear again on a future agenda if the developer files a formal appeal or if the county engineer reconsiders the application.