Council votes in neighbors' favor on rezone

A small pocket of Cloquet homeowners and Diamond Willow Assisted Living residents can rest easier now, knowing the Cloquet City Council voted against rezoning nearby property from residential to highway/commercial.

Councilors voted 5-1 Tuesday to deny a request by local business owner Ken Maki to change the city’s comprehensive plan as well as rezone residential property in order to allow him to construct a large building — to hold two dump trucks and a shop for his business — on land next to his home.

Maki had been running his trucks from his house prior to the request, a violation of city code. He said the trucks leave in the morning and come back at night, but neighbors complained that the noise was disruptive, waking them early in the morning and shaking the walls of at least one home.

The property in question lies south of North Road and Sunnyside Lane. The land is surrounded by mixed properties, with some single-family homes nearby as well as Diamond Willow, which shares a road with Maki. There’s a four-unit townhouse to the north, and Gordy’s Hi-Hat and Warming House to the southeast. The Boulder Drive neighborhood sits about 300 yards south of the property.

The Cloquet Planning Commission recommended the council approve the changes last month, but several neighbors spoke out against the proposal at the Oct. 17 council meeting, and the Diamond Willow director of operations expressed “strong opposition” at the Nov. 7 meeting.

At that meeting, Ward 2 councilor Sheila Lamb motioned to table the request, to give Maki time to work with city staff to find an alternative site, one that wouldn’t disrupt the residential area.

Community development director Holly Hansen told the council Tuesday that she found potential rental sites and also offered Maki two possible sites for purchase at the Cloquet Business Park, both around 1.5 acres: one at $24,374, the other at $19,369. Both sites have utility and broadband, and are located on a public road.

“It’s a good place to build something and get good resale value,” Hansen said.

Maki hadn’t noticed the prices on the letter from the city, but didn’t argue the value. It wasn’t what he wanted, though.

“The lot I’m looking at is convenient,” he said. “I like the security where it’s at because it’s next to my home.”

Lamb wondered why Maki did not want to consider the city’s offer at the business park, only a couple miles up Highway 33 North from his home.

“The neighbors would be happy and you’d still be pretty close to your home,” Lamb said. “And when I look at operating a business from your home, that kind of goes against city statutes in town. I think the city’s been extremely lenient.”

Mayor Roger Maki pointed out that only three of the five planning commission members were present at the meeting when they voted unanimously to recommend approval of the changes, noting that Diamond Willow did not respond before that earlier meeting. He said he was very familiar with the area, since his mother-in-law had lived at Diamond Willow, and was initially surprised the facility did not weigh in on the matter.

Ward 4 councilor Kerry Kolodge made a motion to approve the two requests, which died for lack of a second. Lamb motioned to deny, seconded by at-large councilor Lara Wilkenson. Votes to deny passed 5-1, for both requests, with Kolodge the sole “nay” vote. Councilor Bun Carlson was absent.

Nearby Boulder Avenue resident Dana Sanders attended Tuesday’s meeting, the third time she came regarding the issue. Sanders was relieved by the result.

“I’m happy our residential neighborhood will be preserved, including its quality of life,” she said afterward. “I know those of us in opposition to this rezoning appreciate the council listening to our concerns.”

After the denial, Maki asked what came next.

“It’s been three years since I’ve been doing business there … Prior to you posting [the notice] in the Pine Knot, nobody said a word and I’ve not had one single complaint. So where do I stand?” he asked. “Is the city going to come in and shut me out, am I going to start getting warnings?”

He couldn’t move until at least May, Maki added.

“We will work with you as long as you’re working to locate someplace else,” said zoning administrator Al Cottingham. “But we want to see some active progress in the spring, whether it’s our business park or someplace else.”

Upper Lakes Food

vote unanimous

Cloquet City councilors voted 6-0 Tuesday in support of establishing a citywide development district plus a tax increment financing district (TIF) to assist Upper Lakes Food in building a new $2.7 million freezer expansion. The project will add 7,000 square feet of freezer space and create 11 jobs within the first three years at an average cash wage of $24.18 per hour. ULF currently employs 258 people in Cloquet.

Construction on the project is expected to begin in the spring, and must start by July, under the terms of the agreement. The tax increment for the project will be $24,358 annually for nine years. That’s money the company keeps instead of paying higher taxes on the developed property during the lifespan of the TIF district.

“Cash flow is really what tax increment financing is all about,” Hansen said. “It’s to help companies cash-flow over time for taking the risk upfront, putting money down and helping them through that period of time.”

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development also recently announced business expansion funding in the amount of $220,000 for the ULF project.

Upper Lakes CFO Jesse James spoke, thanking the council and especially Hansen for working with them on the TIF district and the DEED grant.

“It’s definitely, I think, a win-win for the city and Upper Lakes Foods,” he said.