Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Land use meeting for Victor Township set



The Victor Township Board and Victor Township Land Use
Plan Committee will sponsor an informational meeting to review proposed
amendments to the Wright County Land Use Plan for Victor Township, Tuesday,
April 7, at 8 p.m. in the Victor Township Hall.

The public is invited to review the proposed changes and
discuss related issues with the committee and staff from the Wright County
Office of Planning and Zoning. No changes in the county zoning ordinance
are proposed, but a limited area of the Victor Township land use plan map
is proposed to be amended to allow for large lot development beyond agricultural
densities.

The Wright County Land Use Plan was adopted in 1988 to
serve as a guide for the growth and development of the unincorporated (township)
areas of Wright County. The plan contains varied background information
on the entire county, land use plan maps for each township, and a compilation
of county policies on agricultural preservation, development, environmental
protection and other related topics.

In very general terms, the land use plan expresses county
policy that most growth in the county should occur in and out from existing
cities, while the agricultural and rural areas maintain very low residential
densities. Particularly in an area of excellent soils and active farms such
as Victor, the prevention of conflicts between farming activities and residential
growth is an important goal of the plan.

Except for limited areas around Lakes Mary and Ann and
the city of Howard Lake, the current land use plan map for Victor Township
designates the entire township as an agricultural area. This does not mean
that the entire township is under plow, but rather that the nature of the
community is agricultural, and the services provided by township government
will be those appropriate to an agricultural community rather than a residential
one.

The Victor Township Board is still committed to agricultural
preservation, and maintaining the rural nature of Victor Township. However,
at the 1997 annual meeting, the township passed a motion to review the land
use plan, to see if there may be some areas of the township which are suited
to limited residential growth.

A public information meeting was held June 24, 1997 in
the Victor Town Hall to review the current land use plan, Wright County
policies and issues facing the township, and to determine if a committee
should be appointed to consider amending the plan.

Subsequent to that meeting, the town board appointed a
committee consisting of: Ozzie Arlien, Sean Groos, Tom Hammer, Randy Heuer,
Bob Schermann, Mike Thoennes, and Burton Horsch representing the town board.
The committee has met monthly since then to review county policy, discuss
agricultural and development issues facing the township, and to recommend
if any changes should be made to the county land use plan for Victor Township.
Representatives of both Howard Lake and Winsted also met with the committee
to review the future plans of the two cities.

The results of these studies and the proposed amendments
to the plan will be distributed and reviewed at the informational meeting
on April 7. All are welcome to attend. After this meeting, the committee
will finalize its recommendations to the town board.

The town board will then decide if they should accept the
recommendations and forward them to the county planning commission for a
public hearing. Ultimately, any changes to the land use plan must be approved
and formally adopted by the Wright County Board of Commissioners.

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