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Resident tells Wabasha County board a motorcycle clubhouse operates across from his home; county staff say permits comply
Summary
At a Wabasha County board meeting a resident complained that a structure permitted in an agricultural zone is being used as a motorcycle clubhouse and alleged repeated parties and drug use; county staff said complaints were reviewed and that the county ordinance allows the accessory structure permit.
At the Wabasha County Board meeting, resident Mister Grama Menard used the public forum to urge commissioners to take enforcement action against a structure he says has become a motorcycle clubhouse across the road from his house. He told the board he supplied videos showing "25 to 30 cars" regularly at the site and alleged drinking and drug use there.
Grama Menard read an AI-generated analysis of Wabasha County's A-2 agricultural zoning and argued the county's permitting practice was inconsistent with that analysis. He said the property received an initial permit to build a shed and subsequent permits for additions and a third structure, and he criticized the county for not imposing a deed restriction when the parcel was split.
County staff replied that submitted complaints had been reviewed by county attorneys, administration and zoning staff and that the county currently treats the structure as a legally permitted use under the county ordinance. A county zoning official said the local ordinance does not require a primary dwelling on the parcel for an accessory structure to be allowed, and that noncontiguous agricultural sheds have been permitted in similar circumstances.
The resident said he had sought recourse through the Office of Administrative Hearings and that a state senator's office had suggested that route; county staff told him that, in their view, the Office of Administrative Hearings may not be the correct venue and suggested pursuing court options if he continues to disagree with the county's administrative determination.
No enforcement action was recorded on the meeting record. The chair reminded the speaker the public forum is limited to three minutes and closed the comment period. The board took no formal action on the complaint during the meeting.
