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Cottage Grove council delays decision on metal pole‑barn variance at East Point Douglas property
Summary
After a lengthy debate and an initial tie, the Cottage Grove City Council voted to continue a decision on a homeowner’s request to allow a metal pole‑barn at 10590 East Point Douglas Road South so council members can review additional materials and the item can be decided by a full council at a future meeting.
Mayor Pro Tem Justin Olsen said the council would consider a variance request after resident Colleen Millard described her property at 10590 East Point Douglas Road South as rural and largely screened from neighbors and asked to install a metal pole barn to store equipment for her husband.
"We are asking to put up this 30 by 40 steel pole barn," Millard told the council, and said the site has no city water or sewer and is bordered by agricultural uses. She said the planning commission denied the petition and that neighbors did not object.
Council member Claussen urged the council to reconsider the planning commission denial, saying the proposed pole barn would match existing on‑site buildings and would not change the area's rural character. City attorney and planning staff pushed back, saying the city rewrote the zoning code in 2023 to prohibit metal siding on accessory structures in R‑1 districts and that approving the variance could undermine that policy. The city attorney warned that a variance can set a precedent that encourages similar requests elsewhere.
Council members asked staff for more information, including renderings or additional photographs and clarity about the minimum changes needed to meet the ordinance standard. A motion to affirm staff’s recommendation to deny the variance was made and seconded but produced a standstill; the council then followed the attorney’s recommendation to continue the item to the next regular meeting so the full complement of council members can vote and staff can provide more documentation.
The council directed staff to provide a written response to Millard and to supply clearer visuals and a breakdown of what changes would be necessary for the building to conform to the current siding standards. The matter was continued to the August regular council meeting.
What happens next: the applicant will receive the promised written response and the council will revisit the variance in August after receiving additional materials and any supplemental staff analysis.
