Permit approved for riverside barn restoration after floodplain review

The board granted a shoreland and floodplain permit for restoration work on a riverside barn after staff said the new electrical service would be installed above the mapped flood elevation. Staff member Steve told the board that the mapped flood elevation in the area is 173.1 and that the barn's existing level is about 171.4, and that contractors stopped work when staff raised concerns so that elevations could be confirmed. "We are about 2 feet above or about a foot and a half above the flood plane," Steve said, describing the location of the panel.

Erin confirmed a limited residential shoreline zoning permit and a building permit were on her desk pending the final particulars. Board members questioned whether the work would trigger a requirement to meet current reconstruction standards; staff answered it would only do so if work reached a threshold (the 50 percent valuation test), and that the current project did not meet that valuation. After members asked final clarifying questions about basement walls and whether the barn was being converted to residential use, the chair asked for a motion to grant the permits. The board moved and seconded the motion and then approved it; the chair announced, "You have your permit."

The practical next steps staff described were finalizing and stamping the permit paperwork and confirming recorded elevations before issuing the building permit. The meeting record shows no amendments to the permit conditions and no tally in the transcript beyond the chair's call for the motion and the board's affirmative voice vote.