In a series of case by case deliberations, the Baxter City Council passed Tuesday, July 21, two ordinance changes and struck down a third that would influence the appearance of many lawnfronts, or change the composition of industrial office districts.

In a split 3-2 vote, the council approved some measures that would permit an allowance for property owners who intend to fence in their front-yard vegetable gardens.

Currently, property owners are allowed to enclose the entirety of their lawns in 4 feet of fence, with provisions on the appearance and makeup of the fence. Tuesday, the council voted to approve the addition of a 5-foot fence, no more than 40 feet of length, which residents may install in their front yards to protect their vegetable gardens. Doty noted many of these standards would not apply to rear-yard gardens, where fences can be 6 feet in height, as well as excluded from the aesthetic design provisions.

The council appeared divided on the role the city should play with establishing measures that don’t affect the health, welfare or well-being of its residents, but pertain to aesthetically normative regulations for property owners to follow.

Council member Todd Holman — who was joined by Mayor Darrel Olson in voting against the ordinance — said he was reluctant to back any sweeping measures that may lead to a “menagerie” of different lawn fronts down these neighborhoods if it wasn't that vital of an issue of many property owners.

“Do we really want to staff up and have to enforce it?” Holman said. “Because if we pass an ordinance, that implies that we are expecting to enforce it, something of that scale and difficulty, when we don’t do it now.”

On the other hand, council member Zach Tabatt — who joined council members Connie Lyscio and Cross in favor of the ordinance — said he supported it on the exact same grounds, noting the city should give property owners more leeway so long as it's an issue that doesn't have a direct bearing on the well-being and security of Baxter residents.

“I'm one to lean a bit more towards letting people do a little bit more,” Tabatt said.

The new provisions for front-yard gardens would entail a 40-foot maximum length fence, up to 5 feet in height, with stipulations for the composition of the fence — typically, this would entail mesh netting, welded wire or other forms of non-opaque mesh fencing — as well as steel, wood or composite posts, in order to promote a subtle, or hidden aesthetic appearance that blends in with the natural environment.

Previously, the standard was a front-facing garden fence could not exceed 40 lineal feet and be 4 feet in height, contingent on a permit, with some statutes pertaining to the aesthetic appearance of the fence.

In another 3-2 split vote, the council struck down an ordinance that would designate a clearer, more articulated standard for how lawn accessory structures, typically garden sheds, should be constructed to fit aesthetically with the property.

Olson, Cross, and Holman voted against it, while Tabatt and Lyscio voted in favor.

Doty noted the provision was suggested by staffers who noted an uptick in prefabricated, woodgrain sided sheds. This complicated the “consistent” portion of previous ordinances that allowed staffers to have more discretion with what constitutes a shed that’s “consistent” with its color, construction or design, versus one that doesn’t fit well with its parent structure.

As it currently stands, any shed under 120 square feet needs to have an appearance consistent with the home — not identical, Doty noted, but consistent, in that it would be difficult for many property owners to build or purchase a shed matching the composition of their home, such as a stucco shed to match a stucco house. Any sheds larger than 120 square feet should feature an appearance, composition and design that is consistent with the property owner’s home, which means larger sheds are subject to stricter guidelines than smaller sheds.

During Tuesday’s virtual meeting, the council unanimously voted to approve an ordinance change that would delete a provision for industrial zones stipulating 50% of a lot must be occupied by buildings for it to qualify as an industrial zone district.

“Staff noticed this requirement in the code, and based on how industrial sites are developed in the city, there would just be a lot of nonconformities,” Community Development Director Josh Doty said. “I think what we would find, if we analyzed all the industrial buildings, is that most are under 50% now.”

Council member Mark Cross said it was likely a holdover from when the city was first developing its industrial park.

In other business, the council:

Approve the completion of a development agreement between the city and Bradford Northwoods Development. The development property includes Firehouse Subs and the Sleep Number store on Dellwood Drive.

Approved a final pay estimate to GM Contracting Inc. in the amount of $21,160.81 for the 2018 Lift Station No. 3 reroute improvements project.

Approved a change order and partial pay estimate with RL Larson Excavating in the amount of $36,293.10 and in the amount of $829,837 respectively, for the 2020 south sanitary sewer interceptor, north Forestview improvements and north Forestview stormwater outfall improvements project.

Approved a change order for the Knife River Corp.-North Central, amending the contract completion dates for the 2019 full depth reclamation improvements and 2019 Memorywood Drive improvements project. With this change order, substantial completion moved from June 12 to July 10. Final completion will be Friday, July 24. The city also approved a final pay estimate in the amount of $704,236.45.

Approved a pay estimate to J.R. Ferche Inc. in the amount of $66,789.70 for the 2019 Mapleton Road, Jasperwood Drive and Knollwood Drive area improvements project and the 2019 south sanitary sewer interceptor improvements project.

Adopted a resolution for no parking on Whispering Woods Lane. The resolution allows the enforcement of the no parking signs currently installed along Whispering Woods Lane.

Approved a resolution to delay response to the Crow Wing County Highway Department to allow a feasibility study for sanitary sewer and water for Woida Road from Inglewood Drive to Garrett Lane.

Authorized city staffers to request proposals for engineering services for the 2021 mill and overlay/full depth reclamation/reconstruction improvements project.

Adopted a resolution that approves a variance to allow a 65-foot setback to a paver patio fire pit for a Perch Lake property located on the 12000 block of Knollwood Drive.

Adopted a resolution approving a conditional use permit to allow accessory structure areas to deviate from the area requirements established in the city code for a property located on the 5700 block of Clearwater Road.

Approved a conditional use permit for grading and filling a shoreland overlay district to allow the installation of a rip rap erosion barrier on the 14000 block of Shoreview Drive.

Approved two mobile vending permits for Auntie M's Gluten Free Food Truck and Short But Sweet Refreshments, both located at 14114 Dellwood Drive.