Detroit Lakes City Council Rejects Plans for Eventide Senior Living Community on East Shore Drive

DETROIT LAKES (KDLM) – The Detroit Lakes City Council voted to deny a rezoning request and conditional use permit by Eventide Detroit Lakes for a proposed senior living community, Monday.

Eventide had wanted to build the 119-unit senior living community on East Shore Drive, but received push-back from residents at a Planning Commission meeting in October as well as at the Detroit Lakes City Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 7.

“I’ve lived on East Shore for close to 50 years,” said Mark Fritz, “I’m against the rezoning…really because it is zoned single family. I am pro DL, I’m pro investment and development, but I don’t believe this is the right location.”

Council Members Wendy Spry, Madalyn Sukke, Matt Boeke, Ron Zeman, Jamie Marks-Erickson and Natalie Bly all voted against the proposal, while Council Members Aaron Dallmann, Dan Josephson and Dan Wenner supported moving forward with the project.

Eventide, a faith-based, non-profit senior healthcare organization based in Moorhead serves over 1,200 residents at its locations in Moorhead, Fargo, West Fargo, Jamestown and Devils Lake.

Detroit Lakes is an ideal location for the organization to expand to with more than 700 additional Detroit Lakes area households expected to be aged 65 and older over the next five years, according to a community impact assessment conducted by the organization recently.