Crow Wing County Revises Boardwalk Policy During Moratorium

A lengthy discussion took place at Tuesday’s Crow Wing County board meeting over proposed revisions to a policy on boardwalks going through sensitive wetlands and shorelines.

In early April, a controversial debate opened up within Crow Wing County about a select group of property owners who wanted to build boardwalks through wetlands that ran up against their property. Those projects were ultimately paused with a year-long moratorium due to the uncertainty of irreversible impacts the structures could have on the sensitive shorelines in three areas: as a navigational and safety hazard, as encroaching on neighboring properties, and on concerns about developmental pressures in certain sensitive areas.

Property owners looking to build boardwalks and docks believe that whether the area is sensitive or not, since it’s blocking them from accessing the lake, a boardwalk to cross these areas should be constructed.

At Tuesday’s county board meeting, a compromise to the policy was proposed to allow boardwalks to be placed with poles rather than permanent piles in order to minimize the impact on the environment.

A public hearing for the revisions has been set for July 26th.