(Spirit Lake)– On a vote of three-to-one with one abstention, the Dickinson county board of supervisors Tuesday voted to send a letter to developers of the Bridges Bay project on the southeast side of East Lake Okoboji. It’s being sent at the request of environmentalists who want the developers to stick with a promise to use low impact development (lid) techniques in their project…something they promised to do in a written agreement with the county. The letter isn’t worded as strongly as environmentalists had wanted. The supervisors took no action on a similar request two weeks ago.
Supervisor Chair David Gottsche cast the no vote while supervisor Wayne Northey abstained, saying it isn’t fair to single out this one development. But Daryl Halling of the East Lake Okoboji Improvement Corporation says there are no other such agreements in writing with the other projects already underway, adding “you need to start somewhere”.
Supervisor Mardi Allen expressed concern over the county sending a letter right now, saying the county doesn’t have a definition on what low impact development really is. She suggested a meeting of the county’s and cities Planning and Zoning Commissions to try to come up with something that could be instituted county-wide.
In a letter to the supervisors, Wayne Petersen, an Urban Conservationist specializing in low impact development, says most LID components are included in landscaping, which doesn’t come until a project is in it’s final stages of development.
Earl Maahs, an attorney representing the developers, said his clients intend to live up to their promists to incorporate LID components. He says they have been talking with Petersen through their engineer. Maahs emphasized the county doesn’t have a clear definition on LID and says the supervisors have no proof his clients don’t actually intend to follow through with what they’ve promised.
Speaking on the other side of the issue, Supervisor Paul Johnson said it’s high time the county adopt some low impact development standards once-and-for-all and hold ALL developers accountable.
The letter doesn’t spell out a specific timeframe for Bridges Bay to submit a low impact development plan. It requests a meeting with developers in February for an update.
In a related development, Dickinson County Planning and Zoning Administrator David Kohlhaase tells KUOO news his office has issued a building permit for a hotel/condominium complex with an attached 15-thousand square foot indoor water park for Bridges Bay. Rumors had been circulating that that part of the project had been scrapped. Maahs says it’s further proof his clients intend to live up to their promises on the project.
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