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<br />1200 Warner Road <br />St. Paul, MN 55106 <br /> <br />April 17, 2025 <br /> <br />City of Orono <br />2750 Kelley Parkway <br />Orono, MN 55356 <br /> <br />Re: Edwins Shoreland Water Oriented Accessory Structure Variance – 1205 Tonkawa Road <br />Members of the Board of Adjustment, <br />Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this application requesting a variance to replace an <br />existing, nonconforming water-oriented accessory structure (WOAS) with a new one that is elevated to <br />meet floodplain standards and adds plumbing fixtures, including a bathroom and shower. My comments <br />and recommendation are based on an evaluation of the facts presented in the application received April <br />2, 2025 against the criteria in Minn. Statute §462.357. Based on this evaluation, the DNR recommends <br />denial of the variance. <br />Summary of variance request <br />The application requests (1) a variance to deviate from the 75-foot structure setback from the ordinary <br />high water level (OHWL) of the lake, a (2) a variance to deviate from the 15-foot bench of fill for <br />structures elevated in the floodplain, and (3) a variance to increase the time and intensity of human use <br />by adding water and sewer service to the structure. <br />DNR has significant concerns with the first and third variances. These requests presume the proposed <br />structure is a typical accessory structure and should be reviewed as such. A plain reading of the WOAS <br />definition and restrictions placed on such structures by the city’s code and the state shoreland rules <br />undermine this presumption. Since the existing structure is placed only 14 ft from the ordinary high <br />water level (OHWL) and less than the normal structure setback, it is by definition a WOAS and therefore <br />it must be evaluated as such and not as any other type of accessory structure. In fact, city code section <br />78-7 states that “the regulations which are more restrictive or which impose higher standards or <br />requirements shall prevail.” <br />Under the following city definition (consistent with state rules) for WOAS, small storage, utility and yard <br />structures close to the shoreline (not meeting the normal structure setback) are WOAS (Sec. 78-1211): <br />“Water-oriented accessory structure or facility means a small, aboveground building or other <br />improvement, except stairways, fences, docks and retaining walls, which, because of the <br />relationship of its use to a surface water feature, reasonably needs to be located closer to public <br />waters than the normal structure setback. Examples of such structures and facilities include <br />boathouses, gazebos, screen houses, fish houses, pump houses, lock boxes, and detached <br />decks.” <br />126