Wabasha County commissioners delay Cornerstone Ridge plat after hours of public comment on runoff, bluff setbacks and roads

The Wabasha County Board of Commissioners on an indeterminate April meeting date heard more than an hour of public comment opposing the proposed Cornerstone Ridge preliminary plat and voted to table the matter for up to 60 days to allow the developer to supply roadway and stormwater mapping and other technical materials.

Neighbors and landowners told the board the 109-acre Cornerstone Ridge proposal, filed by Brent Beck of Cornerstone Real Estate LLC, would harm local wells, add stormwater runoff to existing ponds and the Zumbro River, encroach on bluff setback areas and reduce farmland. “We ask that you do not move forward with this development,” said Anna Grossback, who said she was speaking for family members who own land near the proposed site.

The board’s decision followed detailed public testimony about flooding and water-quality risks, questions about whether individual lots meet the county’s buildable-acre requirements, and requests that proposed roads and stormwater controls be shown on final mapping. Scott Nelson, who said he has lived across from the proposed development for 35 years, warned that hard surfaces and new road culverts would increase runoff into a neighborhood pond and could worsen past flood impacts.

Developer representatives and county staff answered questions from commissioners during the public forum. Kyle Skove, an engineer with WHKS working for the applicant, said the development would be consistent with A-3 zoning and that the preliminary submittal included required stormwater calculations and identified two stormwater outlots that would be owned by the homeowners association. “In total, for the site, the runoff will be less, not significantly, but we do not intend to adversely affect any of the adjoining property owners,” Skove said.

Skove and the developer said the project envisions 10 single-family homes across roughly 108 acres, with roughly 30 acres placed into deed-restricted outlots that would not be developed. They said lots would have individual septic systems and that two shared wells would serve groups of lots (one on the upper portion of the property and one on the lower). They also said roads were initially designed to meet township preferences but could be dedicated to the public and built to county standards if the county so requires.

Residents and speakers raised several technical concerns the board asked to see resolved before a final decision: the absence of a mapped roadway alignment and profiles on the preliminary plat, missing horizontal and vertical curve data for proposed roads, lack of a publicly available, county-reviewed stormwater plan showing culvert locations and outlets, and whether portions of proposed Road A intrude on bluff setback areas. John Erickson submitted a written letter that cited the county’s subdivision ordinance and the county engineer’s earlier review, raising similar drainage and bluff-setback points.

County staff and the applicant told the board the county engineer, Dietrich Flesch, had reviewed and approved the proposed accesses onto County Road 21; the developer said final roadway plans and stormwater reports would be reviewed by county staff and the county engineer before a final plat is approved. Commissioners requested that the roadway alignments and stormwater plans be submitted in writing and shown on maps for the board and that any extension of the decision be documented in writing.

After the technical exchange, a commissioner moved to table the preliminary plat for up to 60 days to allow the applicant to submit revised mapping and supporting materials; the motion was seconded and carried.

The board did not approve or deny the Cornerstone Ridge preliminary plat at the meeting. Instead, the county will expect supplemental roadway plans, stormwater calculations and mapping that show the intended road locations, grades and drainage infrastructure; those materials will be reviewed by county staff and the county engineer before the board acts on a final plat or removes the matter from the table.

The delay leaves open multiple points residents asked the board to address, including how runoff will be routed away from existing ponds and wells, whether any road work crosses bluff setback lines, and how lot sizes are calculated once rights-of-way and deed-restricted outlots are accounted for.