The Cook County Planning Commission voted to approve a four-year interim use permit on June 24, 2025, allowing two recreational vehicles to be used seasonally as residences at 18 Taylor Lane, a 20-acre parcel known as Wrecking Jays that is zoned Light Industrial.

Staff told the commission the after-the-fact application was considered under section 10.03(d) of the Cook County Zoning Ordinance and noted the parcel lies in the North Shore Management Zone of Lake Superior but has no public water frontage. Staff said the request would allow seasonal occupancy by the applicant and his brother while the owners pursue a permanent housing solution and that the IUP would expire on 06/24/2029.

The permit was presented to address land-use compliance issues raised earlier in 2024, including a previously noncompliant septic system that the owner worked with a licensed septic contractor to abandon. Staff reported that each RV user had signed a septic service agreement with the county septic maintainer (G and G Septic) and the county environmental health officer. The county wetland specialist reviewed the RV locations and determined there were no new wetland impacts from the requested residential use.

Neighbors submitted three written comments. Aiza Carruth expressed concerns about visibility of the junkyard next to the RV sites; Jean and Tim Cochran and Scylla Wofford supported the RV use so long as county RV regulations and landscaping and waste-disposal requirements were followed and evening generator noise was minimized. Staff emphasized that junkyard compliance is a separate enforcement matter and that conditions for the interim use must have a direct nexus to the RV occupancy.

Commission discussion centered on septic and noise. The applicant, identified in the record as Mr. Johnson, said, “2 of the campers are mine. 1 is my brother's,” and explained the other campers on the site are held for recycling as part of the wrecking business. Mr. Johnson told the commission he has two solar systems on site and said he plans to add more solar and eventually stop running the generator because “it just costs money.”

Because neighbors raised generator noise as the primary nuisance concern, the commission added a condition requiring generator use be minimized and for the owner to improve sound buffering around the generator. The commission also included standard conditions: the IUP would be valid for four years, would not transfer with the property, would prohibit parking of vehicles on Taylor Lane, require compliance with applicable state and county regulations (including Minnesota Rule 7080 and the Cook County Septic Ordinance), and require the RVs permitted for habitation to be sited separate from junkyard operations and visually separated where practicable.

The motion to adopt the noise-buffering/minimization condition passed unanimously. The commission's staff report and recommended findings remain part of the record and may be revised following final county review.