CORINNA TOWNSHIP NEWS

Annandale, Minnesota

320-274-5179

 

Corinna Township

County of wright

9214 Kilbury Ave NW

Annandale, MN 55302

 

Township Board: John Dearing, Chairman

Bill Lieb, Ken Jude Supervisors

Vi Novotne, Clerk/Treasurer

 

E-Mail: cortwp@lakedalelink.net

Website: http://www.corinnatownship.com

 

 

ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTION

 

All townships in Minnesota will hold their Annual Meeting on March 14.  Most townships hold their election on the same day.  Voting will take place at the Corinna Town Hall.  The polls will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.  Voting will take place in the old Town hall. 

John Dearing is the only candidate to file for the position of Supervisor.  John is the incumbent and has held the position for the past 12 years.  John is a lifelong resident of Corinna Township.

 

The annual meeting will be held after the polls close in the NEW TOWN HALL. (Don’t worry, it is the same site, just a different building).  You are invited to come early and inspect the new building before the annual meeting begins.

 

One of the unique features of Township government is the fact that the electors, attending the meeting, control the rate of Township taxes.  They have the final say on the proposed budget.  Other items will be reports from the Supervisors on past and future activity.

 

CORINNA TOWNSHIP LAND USE PLANNING

 

Currently, Wright Count7y handles our Land Use planning.  Corinna’s Land Use Plan was updated eight years ago.  Last summer Annandale redid their Land Use Plan.  In the revision, they added huge land areas of Corinna Township.  One of the options Corinna township has to deal with the Annandale plan is to do our own planning and zoning.

 

At the October 18, 2005 meeting, Charles Marohn from the Community Growth Institute made a presentation to the Town Board.  He gave a very factual presentation about Townships doing their own planning.  He outlined services that the Community Growth Institute could offer the Township. 

 

At the December 20, 2005 Town Board Meeting, a motion was passed to inform Wright County that Corinna Township was going to assume it’s own Planning and Zoning.  It was agreed to obtain costs from Community Growth Institute for their services and to further study steps to be taken by the Township.  On February 24, 2006, Township Attorney Tim Young and Charles Marohn met with Wright County Planning Administrator Tom Salkowski and Assistant County Attorney Tom Zins to determine the County staff’s position on Corinna doing their own Planning and Zoning.

 

At the February 21, 2006 Town Board Meeting, Young and Marohn gave a report on the meeting.  The Board passed a motion to have  Community Growth Institute begin preliminary planning and to make a presentation at the March 14, 2006 Annual Meeting. 

 

Come to the meeting, listen to the report, and ask questions.

 

For more information on Community Growth Institute, visit their website at www.communitygrowth.com .

 

LOCAL BOARD OF APPEAL AND EQUALIZATION

 

The local Board of Appeal and Equalization, formerly Board of Review, will be held April 12, 2006 at 3:00 p.m. in the Town Hall.  You will receive more information with your statement giving the estimated value of your property.  Directions on how to be placed on the agenda will be included.

 

FUTURE PLANNING – FUTURE ANNEXATION

Update of the City of Annandale’s Land Use Plan

 

The City of Annandale wisely decided to update their Land Use Plan.  They hired Northwest Associated Consultants, Inc., to facilitate the study of the existing plan and to make recommendations for changes.  Good planning will promote orderly growth.

 

The first public step in the process occurred July 21, 2005.  The workshop included representatives from Corinna Township, Southside Township, Annandale ISD 876, Annandale Development Corporation, Annandale P&Z Commission, and the Annandale City Council.  An agenda and a map of Annandale and the surrounding area were distributed to all participants.   The map included the city and a small amount of land south of the city that would be included in future planning.  Agenda Item III was, “What do we hope to accomplish?  The anticipated outcome will be a consensus as to a land use policy within the City.”  The discussion at the workshop was open and reasonable.

 

The second workshop was held on August 25, 2005.  A new map was included wioth the agenda, which included a little more land in the two Townships.  Some other changes were made in the use of the different areas.  Several items came up in the discussion which raised concerns on the part of Corinna Township.  Mr. Darrow from Northwest Associated Consultants implied that the areas in the Townships that are also in the City Plan would be controlled by the City Plan and not the existing Township Land Use Plan.  If you wished to build on your land in the Township, met all existing requirements, but your plans did not meet the City plan, you were limited.  Corinna Township does not accept this interpretation of the City’s planning rights.  

 

In early September all workshop participants received the third map.  This is the colored map printed in the newsletter.  What a shock! Nearly all the land from Lake John on the west to county Road 6 on the east and County Road 39 on the north to 60th St on the south is included in the City Plan. It was evident to the Town Board that we could not continue in the City Land Use Planning process.

 

Information in the Annadale Advocate announcing the Public Hearing on September 27th gave the impression that Corinna Township supported the results of the two workshops.  The Town Board sent a certified letter to Mark Casey, City Administrator, stating that we would not attend the hearing, that we did not support the plan, and that Corinna Township was willing to negotiate an orderly annexation agreement.  The letter was not presented at the hearing.

 

At the hearing it was stated that the County’s Land Use Plan was out of date, since it was adopted in the 1980’s.  Corinna Township updated our portion of the plan in 1998.  At that time the future growth area south of Annadale was greatly expanded.  (Corinna Township’s Land Use Plan can be viewed on our website: www.corinnatownship.com ).  We felt that with the development of South Brook, this was the logical direction of expansion for the city.  The 3 ½ sections added fit in with the development and are relatively free of large wetlands.

 

The Town Board was taken completely by surprise by the scope of the area the City of Annandale wanted to control.  When the Annandale/Maple Lake Sewage Treatment Plan was proposed, the two cities needed to project growth over a 20 year period.  The projections Annadale submitted stated that the City would grow by 30 housing units/year over the next 20 years.  The population was projected to go from 2,684 in 2002 to 4,304 in 2022.  That 20 year growth number hardly substantiates the huge area colored orange or yellow on the map.  Either Northwest Associated Consultants was not aware of the public testimony by the City at the Permit Hearings or they disagree with the facts presented.  Hopefully, the City will clarify the information.

 

The Town Board would like to thank all of the residents that attended the September 27th meeting.  Your support showed that we stand together and will not have a large portion of our Township taken over by the City just because their paid consultants say it is necessary.  We know growth is going to come, but let’s be reasonable.  The next time the Town Board meets with the City, minutes will be taken.  There will be a record of what is agreed to.  The Board is open to such a meeting.