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Dunn County committee reviews Chapter 16 land-division amendments, schedules May public hearing
Summary
The committee reviewed proposed changes to Chapter 16 (land-division ordinance), kept committee jurisdiction when final plats are not filed within 36 months, added the department as able to reject final plats, moved a private-road note to a department-provided CSM note, and agreed to schedule a public hearing for the committee's first May meeting.
Tom Carlson, presenting the county’s revised land-division ordinance language, told the Planning, Resource and Development Committee on March 18 that staff had incorporated earlier edits and proposed a small set of clarifying changes aimed at aligning procedures with recent statutory adjustments and committee preferences.
Why it matters: the ordinance changes affect how and when final plats are approved or refused, clarify responsibility for private-road maintenance and emergency access language on certified survey maps, and set the public-notice and adoption schedule that will determine when the county board may act.
Carlson said the committee should retain jurisdiction where final plats have not been submitted within 36 months, and the draft keeps that language. "If the final plat isn't submitted within 36 months, the committee may refuse to approve the final plat," Carlson said, explaining that the committee had wrestled with different phrasings and chose to keep the committee reference for clarity.
Carlson also proposed adding the department as an entity that could reject a final plat in order to match revised verbiage; the committee accepted that addition. For private roads, staff recommended moving the explicit ordinance text into a department-provided note on certified survey maps (CSMs) so that the CSM face would carry required language addressing access for public-service and emergency vehicles and maintenance responsibilities. Carlson said that approach preserves the substantive requirement while reducing the risk of inconsistent wording if staff turnover occurs.
A member of the public or a town official (Mr. Kristofferson, Town of Elk Mound) had raised concerns about ensuring a consistent private-road note even with staff changes; Carlson said the department-provided note on CSMs would address that concern. Committee members expressed general support for the changes and for adding the department back into the 36-month provision.
Carlson said staff and County Manager Mr. Dunbar recommended delaying the public hearing until the new PR&D committee is constituted so the incoming committee could make a recommendation to the new county board. "Without objection, I will hold or schedule the public hearing for our first meeting in May," Carlson said. He outlined a prospective timeline: a May public hearing, first reading before the county board in May, second reading in June and final adoption in June–July, assuming no major changes at the hearing.
No ordinance number was assigned at the March 18 meeting; Carlson said the number would be added once the draft is finalized. The committee did not take final action on the ordinance at this meeting; staff will proceed with the scheduled public-hearing step in May.
