01-16-2018 Board of AppealsThe Board of Adjustments and Appeals met in the Board Room at the Scandia Community
Center on Tuesday, January 16 beginning at 6:00pm.
Present: Council members Bob Hegland, Steve Kronmiller, Chris Ness, Jim Schneider and Mayor
Christine Maefsky.
Staff Present: City Administrator Neil Soltis, City Planner Sherri Buss, City Engineer Ryan
Goodman, City Attorney Andy Pratt
Also Present: Joseph Reinhardt, Katherine Reinhardt, Paul Fahning, and Ben Meyer, Minnesota
Board of Water and Soil Resources
The Board of Adjustments and Appeals met to hear an appeal by Joseph and Katherine
Reinhardt of the Technical Evaluation Panel findings Report and Notice of Decision denying an
application for an after the fact wetland replacement plan on parcel# 31.032.2011.0039, Bliss
Plan 2nd Division, Block 3, Lot 19. This decision was affirmed by letter from the City
Administrator, as the Local Governmental Unit representative, dated November 20, 2017.
City Attorney Pratt provided a recap of the restoration order and TEP proceedings, the process
to be followed by the Board of Adjustments, and noted that any action by the Board to affirm
the TEP decision or overrule the decision will need to be done by resolution. Pratt reviewed the
time limits noting that action by the Board is needed by February 19, 2018 which is 60 days
after the appeal was filed.
Meyer reported on the standards that must be followed by the TEP and recapped the TEP
sequencing discussion to justify the fill, namely access to the Reinhardts' existing septic system,
access for storage, and rear property access
The Reinhardts provided information to support their position that the septic tanks were not
accessible to be repaired and block access to the rear of the property, that there is not
adequate room on the south side of the house to provide access to the rear of the property
with 2 trees in that location, and that the parcel consists of multiple lots that have separate tax
identification numbers and cannot be treated as a single parcel under the City's subdivision
ordinance and engineering standards.
Fahning, attorney for the Reinhardts, questioned the legal basis for requiring the lots to be
combined noting that this would constitute a taking. Fahning also noted that the alternative
access was not practical and the difficulties in using that access are not a result of actions taken
by the Reinhardts.
Pratt noted that the information on the availability of the alternate access was not definitive
and that the treatment of the tax parcels as a single lot is based on their being non -conforming
lots in a shoreland district as determined by Minnesota statutes.
Given the time constraints of the Regular City Council meeting, the Board will schedule a
continuation of the hearing and requested that Pratt prepare one or more resolutions setting
forth the Board's intent.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted, Neil Soltis, Administrator / Clerk