Spirit Lake Council Approves Re-Zoning For Housing Development; Plans For Concrete Plant Dealt Setback

(Spirit Lake)– The Spirit Lake City Council Tuesday evening voted 5-0 to re-zone some land just west of Indian Hills Golf Course and south of Highway 9. The 39 acres will change from its current R-2 classification to R-3 to allow for a housing development with a horizontal property regime. Plans call for residential development on the site with single family slab-on-grade and walk-out-basement homes. The project will be built in phases with the first consisting of 47 upper-end homes. An engineer representing the developer told the council Tuesday evening they plan to build a total of about 115 homes upon completion of all three phases. The council approved the re-zoning following a public hearing. Neighbors of the proposed development expressed concern over traffic volumes, safety, and potential water quality impacts on West Lake Okoboji. City officials say the concerns will be addressed through an agreement with the developer. The re-zoning request came to the council without a formal recommendation from the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission after a 2-2 tie vote at their meeting last week, with one member absent.


Plans to build a concrete plant in the East Lake Industrial Park on the east edge of Spirit Lake were dealt a setback at the same meeting. A motion to rezone a parcel of land to heavy industrial to accommodate the plant died for lack of a second. It followed a public hearing Tuesday evening with a couple living next to the site expressing concerns over the proximity of the proposed plant and potential impacts with noise and dust. A neighboring owner of some farmland said he was worried about drainage and potential impacts on tile systems. The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission last week voted 4-0 to recommend the council approve the re-zoning.