Homeowners are trapped in middle of a permit fight

When Constance Bakken wanted to make some improvements to her lake cabin in Corinna Township, she got the necessary building permit from the township's planning officials in late August.

Early last month, she got a surprising letter from the Wright County Planning and Zoning Department telling her that her permit was no good because the township was issuing building permits illegally.

Corinna, which began issuing the permits in mid-August after almost a year of fighting with the county, countered by claiming that Wright County is the one committing illegal acts by issuing its own building permits for work in the township.

The confrontation, which centers on Corinna's desire for more local control over planning, now has boiled into court as the township sues Wright County over who has authority to make these decisions.

"One of us must be illegal," said Dick Naakt- geboren, a supervisor in Corinna Township. "The courts will have to figure out who it is."

Until then, dozens of property owners like Bakken who have taken out permits from either the county or the township are caught in the middle and might be holding illegal permits for their projects.

"It's unreal," said Tom Gullifer of Triangle Construction, the contractor hired to remodel Bakken's lakefront cabin. "We're stuck in the middle of two [agencies] fighting to see who's got the power."

The battle began late last year, when the township asked the county to allow it to make the planning and zoning decisions for its jurisdiction, which has dozens of lakes.

The county refused, but the township decided to proceed with issuing permits anyway, which led to some nasty mail and verbal exchanges between officials in both jurisdictions.

A compromise of sorts was reached this year, when the town and county decided to have the county do the zoning work and the township handle the building permits and inspection work.

Left unresolved was who would handle issues on the hundreds of miles of shoreland in Corinna Township.

Laws, regulations cited

"We will not recognize any permits issued by or for the township in shoreland management areas," Salkowski wrote in a letter to Bakken telling her she could not proceed with her $120,000 remodeling job. "We deeply regret any inconvenience that the duplicate process enacted by Corinna Township may cause you."

In the lawsuit, the township maintains that it has received confirmation from the DNR and the state Department of Labor and Industry saying that local jurisdictions such as Corinna do have the authority to issue building permits in shoreland management areas.

"That's their opinion," said Salkowski, who because of the lawsuit said he cannot comment further on the case.

The lawsuit's outcome could have broad repercussions, especially in Wright County, where several townships have been seeking to set up their own zoning and planning operations. Several other townships have been handling their own planning and zoning issues for years with little oversight from the county.

Salkowski sent a memo to all townships last year asking for documentation from any township wishing to enact its own planning and zoning.

"That's their opinion," said Naaktgeboren, the township supervisor. "We can and will be the sole building permit and inspections point for Corinna."

Ripple effects

County and township officials say they are aware that their dispute is having ripple effects on dozens of building projects and remodelings.

"That's my primary concern," Salkowski said. "I don't think that putting property owners in the middle of this is the best thing to do."

Naaktgeboren echoes those sentiments. But he said Corinna has no choice if it wants to establish local control over its planning and building procedures.