Isanti City to consider resolution to allow limited shipping-container storage at Rodeo Grounds

The Isanti City Council discussed a request from the fire department to buy a 42-foot shipping container for storage at the Rodeo Grounds and agreed staff should draft a resolution to clarify whether limited outdoor storage is permitted there.

Unidentified Speaker 3 explained the fire departments interest in acquiring a shipping container from Auto City Classics and replacing older storage on the rodeo property. Unidentified Speaker 7 described current conditions: a pole shed, an old refrigeration trailer in disrepair, and two existing containers used for storage.

Unidentified Speaker 5, identified in this meeting as the zoning administrator, told the council the Rodeo Grounds are zoned parks and open space and that outdoor storage is not explicitly allowed in that district, though existing containers are likely grandfathered. As staff recommended, "the zoning administrator would be to update our parks and open space overlay district to finally allow for outdoor storage," but staff also warned that broad ordinance changes could invite unintended uses elsewhere.

To avoid a lengthy ordinance amendment process, staff and council members agreed a narrowly written resolution would be preferable. Unidentified Speaker 3 and Unidentified Speaker 5 discussed drafting a resolution that would deem a limited number of containers at the Rodeo Grounds an accessory use and include enforcement language if the allowance were abused. "We could always just have, yeah, a resolution that states it clearly," said Unidentified Speaker 5, and council members responded favorably to that approach.

What happens next: Staff will draft the proposed resolution clarifying accessory outdoor storage at the Rodeo Grounds and return it for formal consideration at a future council meeting. No ordinance amendment or final administrative action was completed during this session.