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Resident urges council not to grant special zoning for Cannon Valley Fair go‑kart track, alleges unlawful construction
Summary
At the May 6 Cannon Falls City Council meeting, resident Erin McMahon criticized a proposed zoning amendment linked to the Cannon Valley Fair Board and said the go‑kart track at the fairgrounds was built and operated without required permits, naming state agencies she said were concerned.
Erin McMahon, a Cannon Falls resident, told the City Council on May 6 that a zoning amendment the city is negotiating with the Cannon Valley Fair Board should not create a separate classification for the fairgrounds and that the go‑kart track there was built and operated without required approvals.
McMahon said the Cannon Valley Fair Association’s March 15 Facebook post included “numerous false statements,” and she quoted the post as saying, “the go kart track at the fairgrounds was introduced to provide an economic boost to the broader Cannon Falls community.” She said the post also claimed the association had worked “cooperatively with the city.”
The comment matters because the council is negotiating a zoning amendment related to the fairgrounds, and McMahon urged the council not to give the fair board a separate zoning classification. “Considering other counties do not have special zoning classifications for state sanctioned county fairs or special classifications for association fairs … there are 0 reasons they should be given a separate zoning classification in Cannon Falls,” she said.
McMahon told the council she believes the track “was constructed illegally without required input or permitting” and said the track “operated unlawfully according to our local ordinances,” adding that she contacted state agencies she said were relevant — the Pollution Control Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Environmental Quality Board and the Department of Labor and Industry — in researching the issue.
She also offered comparative context about how uncommon association fairs are in Minnesota: “There are 87 counties in the state of Minnesota. Each of the 87 counties has an Ag Society Fair, but only 4 of the 87 counties, including Goodhue, also have an association fair like ours,” she said, and said other counties do not have special zoning categories for those fairs.
Council members did not take action during public comment. City staff and council members later noted that planning and review for any zoning changes will go through the planning commission and subsequent public hearings, and that the public will have opportunities to comment during that process.
McMahon concluded her remarks by urging the council to weigh the fair board’s claims against what she described as “actual truths” about permitting and local impacts.
