Sherburne County board approves variances for Long Lake property after impervious-surface reduction plan

The Sherburne County Board of Adjustment on April 9 approved three variances for property owners Paul and Leann Zastrow at 7041 41st Ave SE in Clear Lake, allowing a roof to be added over an existing deck and reducing required setbacks and impervious-surface limits.

The applicant requested relief from Shoreland Ordinance Section 14, Subdivision 8.42A’s 25% impervious-surface cap, a 39-foot variance from the ordinary high water level (OHWL) of Long Lake (required setback 100 feet) and a 30-foot variance from the 41st Ave SE right-of-way (required 67 feet). County Planner Kailee Vik and Planning & Zoning Administrator Marc Schneider presented staff materials including a Bogart Pederson survey and site photos.

Paul Zastrow told the board he and his spouse bought the house in November 2023 and replaced an unsafe, legally nonconforming deck in 2025. He said the survey later revealed plastic under landscaping rock installed by a previous owner, a condition that had been treated as pervious in prior calculations and which increased the property’s effective impervious area. The applicant described steps taken to reduce impervious cover — removing concrete sidewalks, parts of the deck and irrigation zones — but said physical constraints and retaining-wall stability limit reductions to about 26.5% rather than the ordinance 25% threshold.

Sherburne SWCD staff flagged Long Lake as a Protection Priority Lake and noted the survey’s existing impervious figure of 31.8%; staff cautioned that including areas with plastic beneath rock could raise that figure to about 38% and recommended stormwater mitigation such as rain gardens or shoreline buffers. The DNR provided no comment in the record. Clear Lake Township submitted written support for the variances, noting the proposed work would not move structures closer to the lake or roadway.

Board members acknowledged the applicant’s efforts to reduce impervious surface and expressed concern about disturbing terraces and retaining walls. The board approved the impervious-surface variance, the 39-foot OHWL variance and the 30-foot right-of-way variance with identical conditions: obtain required building and shoreland alteration permits and pay fees/escrow; remove and restore impervious surfaces per the Bogart Pederson survey dated 12/15/2025 (Board Packet Attachment B) with verification required before final inspection; and act within one year of approval. The impervious-surface approval explicitly conditions removal of plastic beneath landscaping rock to achieve the restored pervious surface.

Each variance carried on unanimous votes with Findings of Fact recorded by the board. The approvals included staff-recommended restoration and inspection steps and standard one-year validity for the variances.

The board recorded no public opposition and closed the public hearing before voting. The Zastrows and planning staff may next seek the required shoreland alteration and building permits and will need to provide inspection verification that the site has been restored to pervious conditions before final occupancy inspection.