MITCHELL — A new development near Lake Mitchell could break ground this fall if the Mitchell City Council gives the go-ahead at its next meeting.
But how much is too much to approve at one time?
The council will be reviewing a rezoning ordinance on its second reading for Justin Thiesse’s hopeful 25-acre lakeshore development project that includes a plethora of building options, including duplexes, single and multi-family dwellings, daycares, a senior living center, a coffee shop, a recreational indoor facility, and much more.
While the plan received some pushback on its first council reading, it has received support by the Mitchell Planning Commission and ultimately the Mitchell City Council thus far. The second reading will occur during the council’s regular meeting that begins at 6 p.m. Monday, July 7, at Mitchell City Hall.
Councilmen Jeff Smith and Marty Barington voted in favor of amending the ordinance to remove a car wash and a convenience store at the June 16 meeting, but failed to do so in a 6-2 vote.
The approved first reading is for a tract and two lots to be zoned from Urban Development District to Lakeshore Planned Unit Development District. The ordinance covers the JTZ Properties lakeshore development at North Ohlman Street and North Harmon Drive west of the National Guard Armory.
The council’s discussion boiled down to the difference between a single development by itself and the scope of approving a multi-site development.
The Mitchell Planning Commission recommended approval to the Mitchell City Council. However, some council members still sought to provide additional oversight even with the built-in municipal codes in play.
The development plan offered a wide variety of options that pre-approved the geographical location for a mix of conditional use and permitted use purposes.
City Planner Mark Jenniges told the council that mixed use is trending in zoning for cities because it reduces travel and is more convenient.
Jenniges used the examples of Paul Groeneweg’s Woods Apartments, a proposed 70-unit complex, with plans for a coffeeshop on the bottom floor.
“That’s what the people around that area that are living there will want to have,” Jenniges said.
Council member Jeff Smith, who is the council liaison to the Mitchell Area Development Corporation (MADC) board, initially opposed a gas station option, but ultimately admitted he was in favor of a gas station, under certain conditions.
“I’ve been to very few gas stations that don’t have convenience products for sale,” council member John Doescher said to Smith, “so to say that you don’t want a convenience store but a gas station’s OK doesn’t make sense to me.”
Council member Mike Bathke told the council that people will not want to come to the Mitchell community because of the council restricting people in this way.
The council’s conversation, which touched on candy bars and gas dispensers, was in contrast to the conflict of a contentious discussion at the June 9 Planning Commission meeting.
Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson, at the June 9 Planning Commission, called out the MADC for not showing public or substantial support for Thiesse’s lakeshore development. Hanson criticized the MADC for receiving city-funded subsidies but not supporting local developers while the city has budgeted $25 million to dredge Lake Mitchell to bring more people to town.
“The fact that the development corporation isn’t here standing up for him, but they are for the prison, is nuts,” Hanson said.
The lakeshore development hopes to provide jobs for nurses in Mitchell, including graduating students from Dakota Wesleyan University and Mitchell Technical College, with additional plans for builds that will increase property tax revenue.
Furthermore, 17 letters of support are on the city’s website showing support for the development while three letters stating opposition came from the proposed development’s neighbors.
Previously, Thiesse requested MADC to provide financial assistance with sewer infrastructure, but was denied.
Lauritsen did not specifically mention Thiesse or JTZ Properties at the June 16 meeting while he urged the council to support HME, which would develop the senior living center. Lauritsen said HME is a company he tried to recruit while working for Chamberlain.
Local business owner Brian Klock, who sits on the MADC board,
was not present at the June council meeting and a letter to the council in his place stated complaints about each of Thiesse’s proposed builds. In addition, a letter from Klock’s lawyer expressed concern about timelines and transparency, stating that the Klocks received notice on June 5 for a June 9 hearing and acknowledged that the city’s notice of hearing was dated on May 28.
Klock told the Planning Commission on June 9 that he had no plans to develop his property, which he purchased for his family’s private use, even though he put $1 million of improvements into it.
“We are for the senior living center, the jobs and most importantly the opportunities it provides for memory care, and assisted living in our community,” Klock wrote in an email to city officials. The email is included in Monday’s agenda packet attachment files reviewing the rezoning ordinance.
A proposed plan for the lakeshore developement by Justin Thiesse at Lake Mitchell, as presented to the Mitchell Planing Commission on Monday, June 9 in Mitchell.
Courtesy of Justin Thiesse
An aerial overview of the JTZ properties at North Harmon Drive and North Ohlman Street in Mitchell.
Courtesy of the city of Mitchell
Doescher, who also sits on the Mitchell Planning Commission, told the Mitchell Republic that it is rare for the council to not follow the recommendation of the commission, and that Thiesse will still have to get a building permit.
“I’ll vote for it,” Doescher said.
Council member Susan Tjarks summarized the conversation.
“I think that Jeff (Smith) and Marty (Barington) and I all agree that if it were to come to a vote that we would vote in favor of a convenience store out there because we can see the validity of that,” Tjarks said.
Jenniges reminded the council that this was a rezoning hearing.
The council voted 6-2 in favor of not amending the ordinance, with Smith and Barington voting in favor of amending. After this, the council motioned and voted to approve the first reading of the ordinance as is, and Barington was the sole council member to vote against it.
Pending council approval, Thiesse plans to break ground on the senior living center in the fall on lot 2, followed by an event venue on lot 3, place a gas station on lot 1 and build apartments on lot 4.
A full recording of the Mitchell City Council’s June 16 meeting can be viewed on
If the council votes down the ordinance on a second reading, Thiesse believes it will affect this development, and also Mitchell’s growth.
“That means Mitchell is not open for business,” Thiesse told the Mitchell Republic.