Wadena County Commissioners: Rezoning, housing and budget challenges
by Trinity Gruenberg
The Wadena County Commissioners held their regular meeting on February 11.
Rezoning Transportation Routes
Deana Malone presented the Planning Commission with a proposed rezoning along certain transportation routes to allow commercial businesses to develop. The goal was to encourage economic development without sacrificing the county’s rural character, which residents value.
Creating a B1 district will provide development standards that will not impair the traffic hearing capabilities of abutting roads and highways. It also allows for commercial and retail businesses oriented towards serving highway travelers and traffic. The goal was to allow businesses where people could “drive into a business off the highway, do their business, and get right back on the highway.”
The B1 highway service business district would be along major transportation corridors like Highway 10 and 71, with a 660-foot buffer on both sides.
Given the existing businesses and traffic patterns, the Planning Commission felt the longer, more continuous zones along major corridors made more sense. There was discussion about not rezoning some areas, like the Leaf River bottom, as that land was seen as best suited for its current uses....
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