BAXTER-The Baxter City Council shot down a request by Gander Outdoors (formerly Gander Mountain Inc.) to institute an ordinance change to allow a 100-foot American flag on the retailer's premises, currently under construction.
City ordinances allow flagpoles that are 50 feet high-with the notable exception of 70-foot flags at Dondelinger Chevrolet and Vikingland Harley-Davidson that predate the current ordinance and are, thus, grandfathered in. The tallest structure in Baxter is 54 feet high.
It would require a conditional use permit to allow a 100-foot flag pole on the southeast corner of the lot. Gander Outdoors originally petitioned for a 130-foot pole. While the planning and zoning commission recommended a 70-foot flagpole as a compromise, Gander Outdoor rejected this and sent a request for a 100-foot flagpole. The council had the option of overriding the commission's recommendation and going with the retailer's request, but opted to vote against it.
In addition, the council unanimously approved a new parking variance that would add 13 more stalls to Menards located on Dellwood Drive in north Baxter. The change to the conditional use permit was prompted, in part, by the addition of a mezzanine to the store, as well as parking arrangement changes at neighboring Applebee's to mitigate congestion.
Council members noted concerns that Menards representatives had not communicated with neighboring property owners or explored adjoining streets in terms of other possible parking arrangements for high traffic-influx periods. At the same time, while the retailer conducted a traffic study to determine lot usage, this study did not reflect the busiest, highest-capacity days of the year.
