The Crookston Planning Commission met on Tuesday night to discuss a preliminary plat located behind the Barrette Street Estates. The plan calls for low-density housing on 12 large lots that would be rezoned for one and two-family housing.
Bob Herkenhoff, who currently owns the property, would transfer the development to the Northwest Minnesota Housing Co-Operative (NWHC) who would then sell the lots and approve structure plans. Jeff Hagerstrom, from the NWHC, said they want to see higher-end houses, but that doesn’t mean a prefabricated home or something similar wouldn’t be allowed as long as it meets the criteria for appearance they will establish at a later date.
Herkenhoff said he’s had a few requests for larger lots and that’s where the idea for low-density cul-de-sacs came from. As part of the transfer agreement, NWHC would build Herkenhoff a twin home on one of the lots.
There was a concern from several homeowners about drainage problems along the plat, but the design should ease the current drainage issues explained Matt Johnson, Building Official for the City of Crookston. “With the extension of the storm sewer from Barrette Street the plan is to stub out into the 50-foot lot that the City owns,” said Johnson. “The use of honeycombs [a type of drain system] would be used to collect the water that currently pools back there and take it into the storm sewer system along with the [water] collected in the cul-de-sacs.”
The plat will now go before the City Council on November 26 for approval.
Herkenhoff also spoke with the commission about his current work building a second pond on the adjacent natural area to the east and his desire that the area would one day become a 30-acre natural park area for the City of Crookston. We will have more on Herkenhoff’s effort to create a second pond and natural area tomorrow.
Part 2
If you’ve been driving along Fisher Avenue or one of the neighboring streets to the south this past week you’ve noticed bulldozers, backhoes and off-road vehicles working to move dirt. Bob Herkenhoff is building a second pond to the north of the one he created several years. The new pond will run 650 feet long (north to south), and 300 feet wide (east to west) totaling four and a half acres. At its deepest, the pond will be 10 feet deep and will feature two islands measuring roughly 50 by 60 feet each. Herkenhoff estimated the pond will hold about five million gallons of water. Herkenhoff hopes to have the pond finished next week. “Progress is going well, we’re aiming to be done before completion the Wednesday before Thanksgiving,” said Herkenhoff. “We’ll do some landscaping and replanting next spring.” Herkenhoff, the owner of the land and the man-made lake nearby, said he enjoys walking around ponds, so he decided to add another one. He’s also hoping we’ll get lots of snow, so the pond will fill up in the spring as a nice addition to the north side of town as it continues to develop.
The new pond will be close to the new development being proposed behind the houses on the north end of Barrette Street. On Tuesday, the Crookston Planning Commission looked at plan calls for the development of one or two-family residence on each lot. This is the first step in the development process, “The planning commission will make a recommendation to the council for their review,” explained Johnson. “After that there would be the development of a street plan, surveying I’m assuming over the winter and start of work in the spring.”
Herkenhoff said his desire that the area would one day become a 30-acre natural park area for the City of Crookston.
The southeast end of the pond is completed showing a 4 to 1 grade
For video of the work being done, click on the video above
