Becker County Board approves $100,000 for new comprehensive land-use plan

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – The Becker County Board approved up to $100,000 to create a new comprehensive land-use plan for the county that will also include suggestions for corresponding zoning and subdivision ordinance changes.

During an Aug. 1 county board meeting, commissioners met with members of Bolton and Menk, an engineering, planning and consulting firm based in Fargo, to discuss why a new comprehensive plan would help the county manage future growth.

Moria Hauenstein, a senior planner with Bolton and Menk, said the new plan would provide a long-term vision for the county and become a tool for developers as they plan out their next projects.

“We’re very excited, not just for us to be working with you, but for (Becker County) because we believe this is a very important step” said Hauenstein. “Doing the comprehensive land-use plan and the zoning together is really brilliant because you really take control over how the process and development occurs with a long-term vision.”

She also said she believed Bolton and Menk could have the new comprehensive plan completed within 14 months and they would also be able to help the county craft a new short-term rental policy.

“I spent two years drafting the short-term rental ordinance for Washoe County which is in northern Nevada and it’s become the model cod for Airbnb and a lot of the west coast jurisdictions,” she said. “And we can help you with housing availability, diversity and attainability and definitely balancing interests between the natural resources and growth.”

Becker County Board Chair Barry Nelson said the county currently has a comprehensive plan that is very rarely referenced, so he didn’t think it would be a good use of taxpayer dollars.

“If this was just a comprehensive plan, I wouldn’t support it,” said Nelson. “Because we’ve had a comprehensive plan on the shelf and I can probably tell you how many times we’ve referenced it during this board meeting and it’s not very often … it’s not a document that’s heavily used and to spend significant money on it is, in my opinion, not a good use of funds.”

Hauenstein said they would make the new plan much more user friendly and pairing plan with possible ordinance changes should be done at the same time because the plan and ordinance need to be in sync otherwise it would violate a state statute.

“Comprehensive land-use plans are needed to establish future growth,” said Hauenstein. “Where are you going and what’s your roadmap? And they sit on that dusty shelf and they are not used because they are not designed to be usable. We do it differently. We actually create a digital version of it that’s available, readable and present 24/7. We are text light and graphic heavy … and the zoning has to comply with the comprehensive plan. It is a requirement in statute.”

She also said the engineering firm would start their process by seeking comments from members of the community about how they would like to see land-uses and ordinances evolve in Becker County over the next 20 years.

Ultimately, commissioners unanimously approved the $100,000 in funds for the new comprehensive plan and ordinance suggestions from Bolton and Menk.

Richard Vareberg, commissioner for District 4, was absent from the meeting and did not cast a vote.