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Commission recommends four low‑impact campsites near Mississippi Headwaters with conditions to preserve screening and limit infrastructure
Summary
A conditional use permit for four primitive domes (described in staff materials as 'yurts') on waterfront commercial parcels was recommended to the county board after staff and applicants said sites will be primitive (no pressurized water or septic), set back 150 feet from the high‑water mark, and satisfy Mississippi Headwaters Board guidance; neighbors raised noise and fire‑ring concerns.
The planning commission recommended approval of a conditional use permit allowing a resort of four primitive, permanent dome structures on two parcels along State Highway 6 in Crosby (Perry Lake Township). Staff told commissioners that MnDOT and the Mississippi Headwaters Board had no objections and that a certificate of survey shows all campsites are at least 150 feet from the ordinary high water mark. The sites will not include pressurized water or individual septic systems; a single existing structure will serve as a bathhouse with pressurized water and septic.
Applicants described the campsites as low‑impact domes intended for quiet, retreat‑style use rather than an active or noisy resort. On that point, an applicant said, "The intent here is is not to create a noisy resort." Neighbors who testified online said they were worried about noise, fire rings near the bluff and potential floodplain conflicts; the applicants responded that fire rings would be a single steel ring similar to Boundary Waters campsite rings and that campsites would be elevated out of the flood plain.
Commissioners debated language in the packet that identified the structures as 'yurts' and clarified the record to treat the sites as primitive permanent structures rather than a particular historical building type. The commission added a condition (condition 15) requiring maintenance of existing screening from Highway 6, the Mississippi River and adjacent properties. The motion to recommend approval included findings of fact and the amended conditions; commissioners voted to forward the recommendation to the county board.
