Pine County adopts broad zoning, septic and shoreland ordinance changes

Pine County on the record adopted a package of ordinance changes Wednesday that revise the county zoning ordinance, the subsurface sewage treatment systems ordinance and the shoreland management ordinance.

The move approved Ordinance 2025-11 after a public hearing and discussion. Commissioner Ludwig moved adoption; Commissioner Holland seconded the motion, and the board approved the ordinance by voice vote.

County auditor/treasurer Kelly Frauder presented the package, which the county’s planning commission reviewed and recommended in January. Frauder told the board the three ordinances were intended to align language across county rules and with state requirements and to clarify how several common situations will be handled. Key revisions include standardizing the vocabulary and permitting process for short-term rentals so non-shoreland areas are treated the same as shoreland areas; changing the county’s density…