The Ranch Resort recently received a conditional use permit from the Polk County Commissioners to expand its campsites from nine to 49. The Ranch Resort, located on 80 acres a quarter mile north of Maple Lake, has been in operation since 2006 with a conditional use permit for nine campsites, each allowed one horse, and a horse boarding facility for 60 horses.
In addition to approving the expansion of campsites, Polk County Planning and Zoning Administrator Jake Snyder said that while the campground would only use about seven of the 80 available acres, the board rescinded the permit for horse boarding. “Prior uses of the site were the nine-unit campground operated since 2006,” said Snyder. “Also a conditional use permit for a horse boarding operation which was permitted at the same time in 2006. This action was taken at the same county board meeting to rescind that conditional use for the horse operations. What we issued in 2006 was the possibility of 69 horses on that site. A lot of public comments about that, they were uneasy about having so many mixed uses of the site – 49 campers, 69 horses – how that would affect even runoff to other properties. Where you have a horse, you have manure, and you have to get rid of that manure issue.”
The campsites will sit on approximately seven of the 80-acres owned by the Ranch Resort and will require a 50-foot vegetated buffer around the campground to trap some noise and provide aesthetics to neighboring properties. Additionally, the operation of hunting parties was prohibited. Snyder said another concern during the public hearing and comment time for the permit was whether the resort would be granted boat slips or other additional access to Maple Lake. “A big major concern from a lot of comments received was boat traffic on Maple Lake,” said Snyder. “Everyone knows if you have a place or go out to Maple Lake in the summer, it’s a busy lake. It’s the definition of a recreational development lake. East shore, there are people all over that can come and recreate on it. Neighbors’ concerns were that there would be boat slips on Maple Lake or some appropriation to the campground being that far off the lake because it’s over a quarter-mile from the lake, not connected to the water body in any manner. We addressed that conditionally that there would be no providing access points on Maple Lake for these campers. They will have to use the public access facilities just like you or me or people coming from Grand Forks that want day use on Maple Lake.”
Before the Ranch Resort’s expansion plans, Snyder said the only recent changes to camping around Maple Lake had been a seven-site expansion of Lakeview Resort and the loss of approximately 50 campsites in 2009 when Ulen’s Bay closed. “There has been a very minimal expansion of any campground on Maple Lake,” said Snyder. “There are several campgrounds currently out there, Lakeview, Oak Court Resort, which is more of a trailer park and not so many campers, Maple Lake Resort. In the past, there was Ulen’s Bay, which was a campground on the north side of Maple. Ulen Bay is a description of a wetland north of Maple Lake. That campground disbarred around 2009/2010, and people enjoyed that campground. It was brought up at the public hearing, looking at a whole what has changed in the last 20 years for camper spots. The only thing that has changed is Lakeview was appropriated seven spots in the 2011/2012 timeframe and Ulen’s Bay, which was a pretty large campground probably around the 49 to 50 camper range, that went away in 2009. The camping spots around the Mentor area have decreased as a total number.”
Last summer, Polk County Planning, and Zoning began doing a camper inventory at Maple Lake, which was considered during the permitting process, with the initial results of which show a desire and need for campsites, according to Snyder. “It does factor into that,” said Snyder. “What we find on there are locations, lots, backlots, operating mini campgrounds, which is against zoning ordinance rules. You need a conditional use permit to have a campground, and there are all kinds of rules that go along with it. Those weren’t meeting those rules; they’re not on the appropriate lot sizing. But you are correct. It does demonstrate that there is a desire for people to camp around Maple Lake. Some of these weren’t people saying they’re my daughter or my son’s camper. We know they were renting out a spot just like a campground would.”
The camper inventory came as a result of what Snyder called ‘some outcry’ from the Maple Lake Improvement District about campers around the lake, not meeting following the ordinances that are in place. “We did the camper inventory because we were getting some outcry from our Maple Lake Improvement District,” said Snyder. “They’re not just set up for weekend use. They are set up on blocks, hooked up to old septic systems, they are all over the place. With that tightening the reins on campers illegally parked all over out there, that’s not to say that a camper can’t be parked out there. The ordinance standard is you can have one additional camper spot, but it’s not to be used as a guest house, for routine occupancy every weekend, and needs to meet structural setbacks still.”
The camper inventory started with identifying lots with multiple campers on them explained Snyder. “Where we started with the inventory was to identify multiple campers on parcels where we knew it was a strict violation right off the top,” said Snyder. “Those landowners have been made aware that they had an issue they needed to get corrected. Most of those campers at this time of the year have moved off. A few are dragging their feet, saying, ‘we’ll see how far this goes.’ How far any zoning violation can go is to the County Attorney’s office. Any zoning violation is a misdemeanor. We don’t want to get to the point where we’re sending them lots of stuff, but if need be, that’s the way the ordinance is set up to handle violations.”
The initial inventory found about 20 lots with multiple campers and up to 50 campers in violation of the zoning ordinance. That number doesn’t include campers that are hooked up to old septic systems, which is another violation. The Polk County Zoning staff will be looking at those violations during the second phase of the inventory in 2020. “There is a desire to be there. A desire to use the lake and recreate. We know that because there is boat traffic that it’s a heavily used lake. East shore has a lot of use. They are revamping east shore that to make it more user-friendly, safer for everyone, and to have a little more space,” said Snyder. “But, yeah, it factored into the decision on this that we see a lot of campers on individual lake lots or backlots. We hope some of those will get the word there is an expansion going on around that area. And it does show there is a desire to camp around the Mentor area. Be it if it’s in the wood and not on the lake that demand is still there.”
Before the approval of the conditional use permit, a wetland delineation was completed that determined the campsites could be constructed while avoiding wetland areas. Additional permitting for the campground will still need to be obtained from the Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency before the campsites can be constructed.
