Commission backs driveway across steep slopes with erosion controls; sends conditional-use recommendation to county board 6-1

The Winona County Planning Commission voted 6-1 to recommend approval of a conditional use permit for a land-disturbance activity to construct a driveway up a bluff in Homer Township that would access a proposed building site.

Staff presenter Leila described the proposal (docket PC O3-20-25-02) as a permanent driveway rising roughly 60 feet from Cedar Ridge Drive to an upland building site on a 136.4-acre parcel. The driveway design seeks a finished surface grade below the county’s 12% standard (staff said engineers expect about 11.9% finished grade). Estimated earthwork for the project was about 963 cubic yards. Leila said the parcel had been before the Board of Adjustment in 02/2023, which granted a variance for development on a bluff; the current request addresses the driveway-specific disturbance threshold that triggers a conditional permit.

Plans presented included culverts, silt fences, an erosion-control blanket on disturbed slopes, and a proposed vegetative cover; staff noted added culverts and geotextile fabric per soil-and-water recommendations included in the packet. Township representatives told the commission the township supports the petition. Leila said the applicant reviewed alternate access options (including an existing but not formally opened township road that would have brought traffic immediately adjacent to a neighbor’s house) but the parties did not reach an agreement and the alternate route was not feasible.

Petitioner Beth Turner described the added culverts and geotextile fabric and confirmed a plan to meet the ordinance’s driveway-width and turnaround requirements to facilitate emergency access. Commissioners asked about excavation thresholds (the 1,000-cubic-yard trigger), emergency-vehicle access, and whether the driveway width, grade and turnarounds would meet county standards. Staff and the petitioners confirmed required standards would be enforced at the development-certificate stage and noted Soil & Water Conservation had reviewed and provided comments to be incorporated.

After discussion commissioners moved to recommend the conditional use permit with staff findings and four conditions that include erosion-control requirements, culvert and drainage details, and driveway design standards. The motion passed 6-1; the dissenting commissioner did not identify additional conditions on the record. The planning commission forwarded the recommendation to the Winona County Board; staff said the county board will consider the matter at its April 8 meeting.

Key technical details from the record: the driveway would cross slopes with an estimated disturbance of 963 cubic yards and would achieve a finished grade of roughly 11.9% to conform to the county’s maximum 12% surface-grade standard; the parcel is about 136.4 acres with woodland on the slope and pasture on the upper portion where the building site is proposed.

Next steps: If the county board approves the conditional use permit, the petitioners must obtain an administratively issued development certificate, a separate septic permit and complete any necessary erosion-control implementation before construction.