06-19-2014 Planning Commission Minutes

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All members voted"aye". Motion carried. Planning Commission Member Habein abstained. Vice-Chair Brown closed the public hearings. ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO AGENDA: None. OPEN FORUM: None. NEW BUSINESS: a. Timber Harvesting in Rural Residential Zone Mr. Burslie explained the Staff Report. If the property is zoned Forest Management,the owner can come in with a Forest Management Plan and Clear Cutting, as defined, is allowed with a Conditional Use Permit. Planning Commission Member Habein stated that it shouldn't matter whether you have 4o acres or 5 acres, whether Forest Management or Rural Residential. There are some types of trees that have to be removed every so many years in order to keep the woods `., healthy. Poplar is one of them. Intensive Vegetation Removal should be allowed in the Rural Residential zone if you want your woods to stay healthy. He stated he could have tabled his earlier hearing to Rezone to next month and clear cut his 26.5 acres and been perfectly legal. Mr. Burslie stated he would have had to receive a Conditional Use Permit and submitted a Forest Management Plan. Mr. Burslie stated he is not arguing how forestry is done; it is not allowed in the Rural Residential zone. Planning Commission Member Habein stated you can't preserve poplar,jack pine or oak. They need to be harvested to get regrowth. Planning Commission Member Habein further stated it is difficult to find someone to come in to harvest 10 to 20 acres. Kevin Brown, area forester, in attendance, is able to come into one area and start with one parcel, and then move on to other that are close enough to harvest their wood. Mr. Burslie stated that the definition of Intensive is not making a field. Kevin Brown stated most people do not want to cut the oak trees. There is a need in this area to harvest the smaller tracts. Minutes Pequot Lakes Planning Commission June 19, 2014 5