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Dickinson County Supervisors Hear Opposition To Re-Zoning Request

June 26, 2024 Steve Schwaller

(Arnolds Park)– A request to re-zone some land at a campground just east of Arnolds Park drew some opposition at Tuesday’s Dickinson County Board of Supervisors meeting. It would remove an environmentally sensitive classification from Oar’s Campground, instead giving it an A-1 Agricultural designation. A public hearing at Tuesday’s meeting drew concern from Steve Anderson, a former director of the Dickinson County Cleanwater Alliance…

“What we’re doing in this county with land use, we fill these wetlands in and then we complain about drainage, we complain about flooding, we complain about all these things. And nobody is taking any steps to protect these wetlands. We could write everything you want about it’s not going to impact this, it’s not going to impact that. Our planning today is what’s going to impact us down the road. So protecting those wetlands, protecting those hydric soils that are absorbing that water to protect those lakes that make our economy go are the most critical things we can have.”

Supervisor Steve Clark agreed with Anderson’s comments…

“The flooding has been bad. It’s been bad this year, it was bad in ’18, it was bad in ’93. Every time we allow another roof and another hard surface, any impervious surface, it just makes the flooding worse. At this point in time I wouldn’t be in favor of it.”

With four of seven members present, the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted recently to recommend the supervisors approve the re-zoning. However, following some further discussion Tuesday, the supervisors voted to send the measure back to the commission for action at a meeting when more members could be present.

The owner of the campground says he has no plans for the site, adding he’s just requesting the change in the zoning classification.

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