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Turning up the Heat on the Beacon Point Issue
You’ve seen the headlines about the Beacon Point Condos, near 21st Avenue East and the lakefront in Duluth. The Phase I condo structure rises far higher than citizens expected and is built so close to Lake Superior as to potentially threaten the lake waters and the planned extension of the Lakewalk. The excavation for the two buildings of Phase II now appears to be nearly complete.
As people across the area have been asking, “How did this happen?” Responsible Development in Duluth (RDD) has filed a formal appeal with the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Building Appeal Board, and the Duluth Planning Commission regarding Phase II. Progressive Action supports Responsible Development in Duluth in its work to help ensure fair development and across-the-board enforcement of the city’s building codes.
Below are the 25 building decisions Responsible Development in Duluth is appealing and the actions RDD is requesting.
ACTION: Send your comments on the city’s handling of the Beacon Point project by emailing Duluth's City Councilors. Their email addresses are: rreinert@ci.duluth.mn.us, rstewart@ci.duluth.mn.us, jstauber@ci.duluth.mn.us, dness@ci.duluth.mn.us, ljohnson@ci.duluth.mn.us, ggilbert@ci.duluth.mn.us, tlittle@ci.duluth.mn.us, gkrause@ci.duluth.mn.us, rstover@ci.duluth.mn.us
- The decision of the building inspector to allow extensive excavation and blasting of the bed rock without a permit on this site within the shoreland management zone of a lake on the Special Waters list of the MnPCA.
- The failure of the building inspector to enforce compliance with the standards of the Duluth City code 51.20 with regard to the care of the site during the excavation and blasting without a permit.
- The failure of the building inspector to enforce compliance with the requirements of the Variance and Special Use Permit approved by the Council on December 12, 2003.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue two permits, one for footings and foundation, (Permit #094464), and one for the aboveground structure.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a permit for four stories in violation of the Variance and Special Use Permit approved by the City Council on December 12, 2003.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a permit for a height of sixty feet in violation of the Variance and Special Use Permit approved by the City council on December 12, 2003.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a permit for a building height in excess of City Code.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a building permit for guest rooms without a special use permit approved by the City Council or other authorizing body.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a building permit for more residential units than shown in the plans attached to the Variance and Special Use Permit approved by the City Council on December 12, 2003.
- The decision of the building inspector to permit the footing construction and foundation for a building to proceed, which construction necessitated extensive excavation and blasting, without clear written record and/or flagging of the determination of the Ordinary High Water Mark by a qualified hydrologist of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, a qualified employee of the City, or other source independent of the developer and/or its agents. See April 21, 2005, memo between Jim Mohn and Heidi Johnson, in which Mr. Mohn recommends reliance not on the documents of the City’s staff, but on an unidentified site plan by the developer’s agent, bdp Architects, Attachment C to the Planning and Development Department and Planning Commission’s Report to the City Council, dated April 14, 2006.
- The decision of the inspector to issue a permit for a development with impervious surface in excess of the 62% approved by the City Council in the Variance and Special Use Permit dated December 12, 2003.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a permit for construction of a building that extends into the fifty foot set back.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a permit for construction of patios and walkways that invade the fifty-foot setback from the Ordinary High Water Mark.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a building permit based on a site plan that places the Lakewalk within the fifty foot set back and at some points beyond the water side of the ordinary high water mark at others.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a permit based on the stated intent of Jim Mohn, Cindy Hall, John Webb, and Wayne Dahlberg to locate the Lakewalk easement in violation of the City’s code Chapter 51. See June 9, 2003, memo of Wayne Dahlberg provided to the City Planning and Development Department and provided as Attachment A to the Planning and Development Department and Planning Commission’s Report to the City Council, dated April 14, 2006.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a permit in which the rain gardens are uphill from the building.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a permit without a clear plan for the restoration of vegetation in full compliance with City Code.
- The decision of the building inspector to proceed without an Environmental Assessment Worksheet.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a permit for a project that does [not] comply with the zoning and setback requirements or the requirements of the Variance and Special Use Permit passed by the City Council on December 12, 2003.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a permit for a structure on the same footprint of the non-conforming, pre-existing structure (metal building) and out of compliance with City Ordinances.
- The decision of the building inspector to accept a Variance and Special Use Permit for that combined exemptions for both increased grading, cut-and-fill and increased impervious surface.
- The decision of the building inspector to issue a permit prior to final approval of all development plans.
- The decision of the building inspector to deny timely public viewing of the completed development plans before the undertaking of excavation and blasting.
- The decision of the building inspector to permit construction based on a design that deviates from the one upon which the City Council granted a Variance and Special Use Permit on December 12, 2003.
- The decision of the building inspector to permit affecting scenic and aesthetic qualities and subject to Chapter 51, Section 51-1 of the City Code.
The undersigned further call the reader’s attention to the stay of all proceedings involved in appeal as noted in City Code 50-48(b), which means that all work on Beacon Point Phase II, must cease pending determination of this appeal.
The undersigned further request, in accordance with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, to view the following at a mutually convenient time within the next 15 business days.
- The recent building and site plans submitted with regard to the subject development;
- All permits issued to date by the City and/or any other governing authority with regard to the subject development; and
- All records of the City’s determination of the Ordinary High Water Mark, with regard to the subject development
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