DULUTH – A northeast Minnesota town board is being accused of going “rogue” with its lakefront governance decisions in one of two lawsuits.
Eight property owners on lakes including Sturgeon and Sand in Pine County, about 50 miles southwest of Duluth, are suing Windemere Township and its board and planning commission. The board in March approved an increase to [shorefront subdivision lot sizes](https://www.startribune.com/lakefront-property-proposal-in-pine-county-roils-residents/601229337), a move made to protect lake water quality, its leaders said.
The changes have riled residents in this township of about 1,600 people, who worry about township overreach and lost property value and development opportunities. A lawsuit filed in federal court accuses the board of spot zoning, and says new rules were created “to stifle progress.”
What started as a “simple project” to meet minimum state requirements led to “a sharp detour off course, secretly and in the last minute using the pretext of ‘saving the lakes,’” the lawsuit says.
It accuses a “newly controlled” planning commission of a conspiracy to secretly target certain landowners, and of threatening those who complained during a public hearing with building permit revocations.
The township disagrees with claims made in both lawsuits, its attorney, Jason Kuboushek, said.
“The township believes that the evidence is going to show that they had a rational basis for making the zoning changes in its ordinance, and they believe those changes are for the better of the lakes and the environment,” he said.
Among the changes, new subdivision lots on lakefront property must be at least 5 acres for construction if the property has no public sewer connection, up from 2½ acres. And setbacks on recreational lakes increased by 50 feet to 150 feet. The board passed that and other controversial changes proposed by a planning commission last spring.