Joe Drennan
Staff Writer

Jim and Barb Preiner approached the Columbus Township town board wondering if the board would deny a subdivision if there is a non complying use on the property.

The Preiners would like to sell part if not all of their land just north of Coates RV Center so that Coates can use the land for storage and display. The Preiners do not want to give up their two billboards that generate income for them though and wondered if there is a way for them to have an easement of sorts to the billboard.

Town Attorney Bill Griffith looked into the inquiry and gave the board some information.

Griffith said that some of the billboards in Columbus have a conditional use permit and others have an interim use permit.

The billboards with CUPs were installed before the current billboard ordinance that was approved in 2000 and were in a way grandfathered in. There are only six billboards in Columbus with CUPs.

There are 19 billboards that were constructed after the 2000 ordinance and all those have IUPs. The IUP runs with the billboard itself, not the land, so it does not matter who owns the land. In these cases the advertising company who owns the sign also owns the easement to the sign. The current IUPs have a 20 year term on them.

ìThis kind of question only pertains to those six billboards with CUPs and we have no experience with such a request,î Griffith said. ìItís unlikely that a land owner would want to give that right to the billboard up.î

The same issue comes up on the north end of the Preiner property. There is a strip about 30 feet wide on the north end of the property that the township would need to construct a second well on their current triangular well site.

ìI donít see why we would discourage subdivisions in this district where we want them to happen,î Supervisor John Wallner said.

Chairman Mel Mettler had similar feelings saying if the township could only foster and encourage development if they let the Preiners and other CUP billboard property owners keep the billboards.

Supervisor Mark Walsh suggested the board take billboard issues on a case by case basis to make sure that each one works out.

The board made no official motion regarding the Preiner property and their billboard, but in an unofficial, informal poll done by Griffith it looked as though the township would work with the Preiners to help encourage development.

Easements

As the township moves forward with installing sewer pipe, they need to acquire two easements, one on the property just south of Gander Mountain and another further south on Freeway Drive on Columbus Business Park properties owned by Bruce Miller.

The first easement is a small triangular piece of land that is needed to connect the Gander Mountain sewer pipe to the future township pipe that is to be installed this summer. There would be a permanent easement of about 3,000 square feet and a temporary easement during the construction of the sewer pipe connection of about 4500 square feet.

Town Engineer Larry Bohrer used the formula used by Evergreen Land Services for other recent easements, suggesting $4.75 a square foot for the permanent easement and $3.50 a square foot for the temporary easement.

The cost of the permanent easement would be slightly over $7000 and the cost for the temporary easement would be around $500.

ìThis is a general procedure that is followed and we have a willing seller,î Bohrer said.

The easement on the Miller property would be for a future pump station in the area of 3100 square feet at $3.50 a foot. There would be a temporary easement of 8350 square feet.

The total cost for the permanent easement is close to $7500 and $500 for the temporary easement.

Supervisor Tom Hefty questioned the price of the easements saying he thought they may be a bit high for the use of the land.

ìThere are willing sellers in both easements so the township will save money in attorneys fees and appraisers fees,î Griffith said.

Code question

Ed and Linda Anderson approached the board during the public open forum asking for the boardís interpretation of an ordinance. The couple wants to build a pole shed on their five acre property. The code says an accessory building must be three feet above model soil, 100 year flood plain or ordinary high water mark.

The Andersons interpret that the building must be at least three feet above one, not all three of the levels. Mettler said that if they read through the entire code, he knows it says in there that the building has to be above whichever one is highest.

ìHow can you (the board) justify increasing the cost by 20 percent,î Linda Anderson said.

To meet the town code the Andersons would need to add two feet of fill for their proposed 35 foot by 48 foot shed.

ìThe rationale is to have people build a building that will not be flooded,î Mettler said. ìWeíve had meetings over the years with experts in the area and thatís where the code comes from.î

The board noted the Andersons can apply for a variance through the planning commission, a process that could delay the project at least six weeks or they could add the fill and the shed would comply with the code with no problems.

ìYouíre not the first people to come in and argue this,î Wallner told the Andersons. ìDifferent municipalities have different amounts but with the township as wet as it is this is a good rule.î

Other news

ï The freeway trunk sewer which begins at Gander Mountain, crosses the freeway to a pump station, then head north to the connection in Forest Lake is almost complete. The pipes are all installed, the only thing left is to finish electrical work and then testing. The sewer system could be operational July 1.

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Forest Lake Times
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880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
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