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Monday, October 14, 2024
HomeBusinessProposed City Code Amendment Draws Silver Bay Residents to Public Hearing

Proposed City Code Amendment Draws Silver Bay Residents to Public Hearing

Residents of Silver Bay came before the City Council at Re­union Hall on Mon­day evening over a Proposed City Code Amendment that has stirred some controver­sy among community members. Like most municipalities, Silver Bay has struggled with finding a balanced, equitable way to deal with the accumulation of stuff that some res­idents have on their property. The accumu­lation of unsheltered items can become a self perpetuating prob­lem because most folks who live in Silver Bay don’t have a two car garage or do not have the ability to put up a storage shed on their property to accommo­date things like snow­mobiles, boats, camp­ers, snow tires or other items that they need and use in their daily lives. Silver Bay was built back in the 1950s when snowmobiles were rare, boats were smaller and campers were called tents and could be folded up and placed on a shelf. “Un­sheltered items” can, however, be unsightly and in some cases, can be hazardous.

About 85 to 100 area residents gathered for the public hearing with questions, concerns and suggestions for Council members.

Steve Van House was the first resident to speak and as a mem­ber of the Planning and Zoning Commission, acknowledged the fact that city leaders have struggled with enforc­ing the ordinances that are on the books that would address the un­sheltered storage prob­lem. In a small town, wants to go to their neighbor and tell them that the car sit­ting in the side yard is in violation of a city ordinance and they have to move it or they will be issued a ticket?

Silver Bay resident addresses the City Council at Monday’s meeting. (Photo by Rick Evans)

28 other attendees got up to state their concerns. The majority of them expressed con­cern about the vague wording in parts of the document or terminol­ogy that needed clari­fication. Some of that wording caused alarm among some residents who felt that the docu­ment might pit neigh­bor against neighbor. Another area of con­cern was a section of the document that outlined enforcement procedures. A couple of people expressed the opinion that the possibility of a sub­stantial fine or possible jail time for non-com­pliant residents, was heavy handed. Many stated that they be­lieve that ordinances already on the books are sufficient, if those ordinances are simply enforced. A number of attendees expressed concern for older res­idents who may not be able to physically comply with issues like overgrown lawns or who may not be able to afford the mon­ey it would require to bring their property into compliance.

Clearly, every prop­erty owner has a re­sponsibility to their neighbors to maintain their property in such a way so that it doesn’t become an eyesore. The possibility of hav­ing an occasional city-wide cleanup day was proposed by a number of people at Monday night’s meeting. Resi­dents coming together to help keep the com­munity looking nice could be a step toward addressing the issue.

Council members assured the people at­tending the meeting that the Code Amend­ment document was only a draft proposal, a first run at address­ing the issue of clut­ter around the city. Council members are working through a significant number of antiquated zoning or­dinances in an effort to update regulations to better fit the current needs of the city and its residents. There is, of course, the unwel­come problem of nui­sance properties that are littered with items like old mattresses, couches, washing machines and other discarded appliances that the Council will need to deal with. Such blight attracts rats and racoons and poses a health risk to surrounding property owners.

Mayor Wade LeB­lank and other Council members expressed appreciation for the large number of resi­dents who turned out for the meeting. The Council will take all comments and opin­ions into account as they consider fair and reasonable ways to ad­dress the problem of unsheltered items. Be­fore any decisions are finalized, there will be another public meet­ing so that residents can learn about what the plan will be, mov­ing forward.

The next Silver Bay Council meeting will be held on August 19th at 7:00, at City Hall.

Rick Evans
Rick Evans
My wife, Marsha Kinzer (a proud DEHS Greyhound, class of ‘77) introduced me to the North Shore on vacation in 2012. It became our regular escape when the stress of our careers in education became overwhelming, and it didn’t take me long to fall in love with the breathtaking scenery, the nice people, and “salad” containing Jell-o and marshmallows. So you can either blame or thank my loving wife for my being here, because when we needed to choose a retirement hometown, Marsha advocated hard for her beloved Duluth, and here we are, six months later. Yes, this will be my first northern Minnesota winter. Yes, I welcome thoughts and prayers. Government, public policy, and social justice weighed heavily in the curriculums I taught at the high school level over a thirty-eight year career. In addition, we were a laboratory school focused on critical thinking in conjunction with technical and scientific writing. So when I found myself adrift on the great ocean of retirement and spied a raft, I jumped at the chance to take up what I’d left behind…minus the bad teachers’ lounge coffee. My position at the NSJ allows me to combine my passions for government and writing, and it’s helping me to feel less out of touch in new surroundings. When I’m not being “Cubby” (Marsha’s favorite new nickname for this green reporter) I enjoy pointing at eagles and saying, “Look, honey. There’s an eagle.” I’ve had an active side hustle as a professional musician for almost as many years as Charlie Parr. As a guitarist/singer/songwriter, I graced the stages of clubs and festivals around southern Wisconsin, including an appearance on A Prairie Home Companion. Should I even mention A Prairie Home Companion, or am I the only one here old enough to remember what that is? Look! An eagle!
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