Star Tribune
Fairmont drops bid to allow shoreline patio after Minnesota regulators sue
There will be no new patio perched on the shore of Hall Lake in Fairmont, Minn.
The southern Minnesota city dropped its attempt to let a bar and restaurant build a lake-front patio and deck after state regulators took the rare step of suing the City Council for ignoring its own shoreline development rules.
Rather than fight the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in court, the city agreed to withdraw the variance that would have allowed trees to be cleared, earth to be moved and the patio to be built.
“The city responded to the DNR’s concerns and that’s been resolved,” said Jeff O’Neill, interim city administrator.
Both sides agreed to pay their own court costs.
The spat began in 2021, when the owner of Ambiance on Albion Taphouse and Grille asked for an exception to the city’s shoreline development rules. The restaurant sits across a two-lane road from the eastern edge of Hall Lake, the largest in a chain of lakes that the city of 10,000 was built around. A narrow and steep stretch of tree-lined land lies between the lake and the road. A flight of steps leads down a bluff to a small dock on the property.
The city’s shoreline rules ban the construction of any new structures within 50 feet of the lake’s high water line and 30 feet from the top of any bluff, with few exceptions. The proposed patio would have been built at the water line, hanging over the lake and well within 30 feet of the top of the bluff.
In December 2021, the zoning board unanimously rejected the restaurant’s request after city staff and the DNR objected to it, saying the project failed to meet any of the criteria needed for an exception to the rules. There were no special or unique differences between the restaurant’s shoreline and other property owners around the lake, the board found. Tree removal and the increased potential for erosion or failure of the bluff would impair the welfare of other residents, it ruled.
The restaurant appealed the decision to the City Council. In April 2022, the council voted 3-2 to grant the variance despite a DNR official warning council members at the time that the agency might sue if they went through with it.
The lawsuit was filed in the spring.
The Minnesota DNR is satisfied with the outcome, Erik Evans, an agency spokesman, said.
It means the public waters involved in this matter will continue to be protected by the city’s shoreline rules, he said.
Restaurant owner Troy Menke didn’t return phone calls seeking comment. Court records show he was notified about the city’s decision to settle the case.
About 50 Ukrainian refugees have signed up to donate blood on Saturday in Minneapolis as a way to give thanks to Americans for welcoming them to this country and for support in the face of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
The donated blood will then be given to the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota.
The Ukrainian American Community Center, located at 301 NE Main St. in Minneapolis, has organized the event. The blood drive will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, said Iryna Petrus, community outreach manager at the center.
“It’s a sign of gratitude to Americans for supporting Ukraine and saving children’s lives in Ukraine,” said Yosyf Sabir, speaking on behalf of the blood drive.
It’s also a way to say “thank you to the United States for welcoming us so warmly,” said Petrus. She said there will be a program at 10 a.m. Saturday when several leaders of the Ukrainian American Community Center will speak. She said the center is hopeful that Ukrainian groups in other parts of North America will do similar blood drives.
Those who are unable to give blood have been asked to donate cash, which will be used to purchase tourniquets that will sent to Ukraine to be used by persons who have been injured in the war. Every $50 raised will purchase one hemostatic tourniquet, the Ukrainian Center said in a news release.
If approved, that approach would drop the district’s fund balance to 6% of general fund expenditures. The current board policy is to maintain a fund balance of at least 10% of general fund expenditures.
Anoka-Hennepin’s current operating referendum brings in about $1,154 per student, but the state-allowed cap is about $2,200 per student. If increased to the cap amount, a referendum would bring in another $40 million, McIntyre said.
According to community feedback collected through surveys and community meetings over the last month, nearly 90% of respondents said they supported a referendum. Parents and families also expressed concern about growing class sizes as a result of cuts.
The two options have already been revised based on board members’ requests to reduce cuts that would mean fewer teachers at schools, McIntyre said.
At one point in the discussion, the district floated changes to middle and high school class schedules to save money, but that was removed after board member feedback. At the board’s meeting last month, several board members thanked district staff for transparency about potential cuts and responsiveness to board and community feedback.
“I would encourage people to keep asking questions,” Board Member Michelle Langenfeld said at the September board meeting, “because as we unfold more information, the opportunity becomes greater for us to make the most informed decision under these very, very difficult circumstances.”
On Monday morning, contract workers began snipping razor wire and removing it from fencing that was propped atop concrete barriers along the perimeter of the former Third Precinct police station, which was set ablaze during the uprising over George Floyd’s police killing.
Finally, the concrete barricades will come down, after 4.5 years. As private security guards looked on, contractors began removing the security measures put in place to secure the building at 3000 Minnehaha Av. after it became a focal point of protests.
For the past three years, Third Precinct police officers have been based out of a city building in downtown Minneapolis, with plans to eventually bring them back to a south Minneapolis Community Safety Center just down the street at 2633 Minnehaha Av.
What to do with the former police station – home to what has been called a “playground” for renegade cops – has been the subject of heated debate, with the Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Jacob Frey at odds.
While the city debated its future, some conservatives jumped at the chance to use the charred building as a backdrop to hold press conferences and news reports in which they blasted the city and its leaders. Most recently, vice presidential nominee JD Vance made a campaign stop in front of the building earlier this month to blast his opponent, Gov. Tim Walz, for his handling of the 2020 riots and portray Minneapolis as a city overrun with crime.
GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance speaks outside the former Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct building in Minneapolis on Oct. 14. (Leila Navidi)
After that, several council members expressed frustration at the city’s failure to clean up the site. Despite signs saying “cleanup efforts are underway,” concrete barriers, fencing and razor wire remained all summer.
Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said earlier this month that the blight makes people feel uncared for and gives opportunists a backdrop to manipulate the scene for political gain.
Council Member Linea Palmisano blamed some of her council colleagues for the delays, accusing some members of being “desperate for any objection” to Frey’s proposal. The council passed a resolution saying that the building should not be used for any law enforcement functions again. Palmisano called it disgraceful that the building remains, scarred and secured, over four years later.
