Lower Riverway

While tempting, don’t ask your neighbor if they think you’ll be able to make changes on your property. Every property is unique and each land-use decision is particular to that property. Ask your local zoning administrator about the restrictions specific to your land before investing in plans. This will save you time and money!

Beyond your local government, the Department of Natural Resources, the watershed district, the city engineer, and others may be active stakeholders, depending on the project. Communicate early and often with the stakeholders involved. Make sure to meet in person with everyone at a pre-application meeting (usually organized by the local zoning administrator). Again, do this before investing in plans.

Understand that the process of applying for a variance or conditional use permit is costly and lengthy. Manage your expectations to avoid unnecessary fees and frustrations. Familiarize yourself with the process to minimize complications and application revisions. Start with the pre-application meeting, which may include a site visit, to learn about the restrictions on your property. If a land-use application is required, invest in high-quality information. This helps deciding bodies make educated land-use decisions that follow the intent of the law and protect the Riverway for future generations. Incomplete applications will not be accepted, so spend the money to do it right the first time. Your project, once reviewed by the agencies involved, will be presented at a public hearing where anyone can comment. The local government will approve or deny the application. This process can take months and, in some situations, even years.

If you dream of a two-story bright red shed on your property, you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. Try not to fall in love with your initial vision because it may have to change–and that’s okay! You can still do creative, beautiful things with your home. At a pre-application meeting, each party will work with you to minimize the impact of your project (which sometimes means scaling back) and to express concerns about visibility or structure height. That original two-story bright red shed might end up being a one-story brown shed that still meets your needs. Be open to adjustments and expect the original idea to evolve.

While we all want to be good stewards of the land and water, we are not all trained in natural resource management. It can be difficult to know where to begin. When making changes to your property, simple actions can improve the land and water for you, your neighbors, and everyone downstream. Are there any old structures on your land? Removing these will decrease impervious surfaces and allow rain to soak into the ground before it runs to a nearby stream or river. Installing a rain garden will capture runoff, and native plantings will decrease erosion and clean the water before it meets the river.