Policy

DUST CONTROL POLICY
   Resident must contact in writing Road Supervisor Jim Lee or Contractor Steve Hass prior to application.  Stanchfield Township will continue to do regular maintenance on the roads. 

SNOW PLOW POLICY:
The Town Board will follow the Snow Plow policy as defined under this current town policy on snow plowing of roads and by resolution.
The township will usually not dispatch the snowplow until after a snowfall has stopped and snow accumulation of three inches or more or icy conditions exist which seriously affect travel.  During extended periods of snowfall, exceptions may be made.  If snowfall stops during regular working hours, the plows may be dispatched at that time.  Weekend plowing will be handled the same way.
Generally, the clearing of the roads will consist of these phases: Make the road passable, clean one lane in each direction and widen the lanes to the edge of the shoulders.  Sanding is done at problem areas.
It is unlawful to plow snow from driveways onto or across public roads.  Piles of snow left on or near the road can freeze into a solid mass creating a hazardous situation for vehicles and snowplows and increase the chance of drifting snow onto the roadway.  Accidents and damages caused by snow piles placed in roadways may result in liability to the property owner.
Parked vehicles must be removed from township roads to assist in snow removal.  The plows will not attempt to remove stuck vehicles from ditches, snow banks, or any other impediment.
When directed by the supervisor in charge of roads, the township will make an emergency plowing effort through private property.  No other plowing or private property will be allowed.     The township is not responsible for driveway plugged by the plow in the normal course of clearing the township roads.  

160.2715 RIGHT-OF-WAY USE; MISDEMEANORS.

(a) Except for the actions of the road authorities, their agents, employees, contractors, and utilities in carrying out their duties imposed by law or contract, and except as herein provided, it shall be unlawful to:
(1) obstruct any highway or deposit snow or ice thereon;
(2) plow or perform any other detrimental operation within the road right-of-way except in the preparation of the land for planting permanent vegetative cover or as authorized under section 160.232;
(3) erect a fence on the right-of-way of a trunk highway, county state-aid highway, county highway, or town road, except to erect a lane fence to the ends of a livestock pass;
(4) erect or reconstruct driveway headwalls in or on the right-of-way of a highway or road, except as may be allowed by permit from the road authority imposing reasonable regulations as are necessary to prevent interference with the construction, maintenance, and safe use of the highway or road and its appurtenances;
(5) dig any holes in any highway, except to locate markers placed to identify sectional corner positions and private boundary corners;
(6) remove any earth, gravel, or rock from any highway;
(7) obstruct any ditch draining any highway or drain any noisome materials into any ditch;
(8) place or maintain any building or structure within the limits of any highway;
(9) place or maintain any advertisement within the limits of any highway, except as provided in section 160.27, subdivision 7;
(10) paint, print, place, or affix any advertisement or any object within the limits of any highway, except as provided in section 160.27, subdivision 7;
(11) deface, mar, damage, or tamper with any structure, work, material, equipment, tools, signs, markers, signals, paving, guardrails, drains, or any other highway appurtenance on or along any highway;
(12) remove, injure, displace, or destroy right-of-way markers, or reference or witness monuments, or markers placed to preserve section or quarter-section corners;
(13) improperly place or fail to place warning signs and detour signs as provided by law;
(14) drive over, through, or around any barricade, fence, or obstruction erected for the purpose of preventing traffic from passing over a portion of a highway closed to public travel or to remove, deface, or damage any such barricade, fence, or obstruction.
(b) Any violation of this section is a misdemeanor.

PARKING POLICY:
The Town Board prohibits parking on all town roads and easements with no signs needed. Vehicles left on Stanchfield Township roads are subject to towing.  Vehicle towing and storage fees and costs will be at the owners’ expense.  Personal property stored on a township road right-of-way will be removed and destroyed at the owner’s expense.

USES OF RIGHT-OF-WAY BY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE UTILITIES:
   Any public or private utility intending to make use of any town road right-of-way shall first submit a drawing, to scale, showing each road to be utilized, showing the nature, design and the location, within the right-of-way, of the proposed installation with permit application and fee (if required) to the Town Clerk for a special use permit to utilize said road.

PRIVATE USES OF TOWN ROAD RIGHTS-OF WAY:
No person shall make, cause or permit any private use of a town road right-of-way without first applying for and obtaining a permit from the Board.  The application shall be to scale, identify the road to be used, and describe and show in detail the use to be made, including the size and location of any structures or man-made objects used in conjunction therewith.  In the event the proposed use increases or adversely impacts the liability of the Town, the permit may be denied.  The cost of a permit shall be stated in the current Existing Roads Policy which shall accompany application

NEW PLAT REQUIREMENTS: Updated 10/6/2022 in italics
Plats without new roads:
     All Preliminary Plats within our township regardless if they have a new township road or not must be presented to our township board.  We will communicate to the Isanti County Zoning office our recommendations regarding the Preliminary Plat.
    Regarding plats without new or changed Township Roads, unless there is a different recommendation from us at the Preliminary Plat stage, we require the acceptance of the plat at township board meeting and then one supervisor to sign the final plat. All plats on County or State roads require a payment of $50 per lot for the purchase of the emergency 911 sign. This payment must be made prior to signing off on the plat.
  
Plats with new roads:
     If there is a new or a change in a Township Road on the Preliminary Plat, we will ask to have a signature on the Final Plat and the authority to approve the new/changed Township Road before signing.  Our planning commission will review the plat, and we will work with the developer/land owner on the engineering of this new road.   All road work must be complete and approved before we will sign off on the Final Plat. 
You must first contact the Clerk to be put on the next regular township board agenda. If the planning commission (PC) is needed, the PC fee must be paid at that regular township meeting before scheduling a date for the PC hearing.
     The expenses regarding the fees of the planning commission, engineering and building of the road and additional costs incurred by Stanchfield Township are the responsibility of the developer/landowner.  These expenses must be paid or in other arranged payment before Stanchfield Township can sign off on the Final Plat. After the plan has been approved, we require the acceptance of the plat at township board meeting and then one supervisor to sign the final plat. All plats on County or State roads require a payment of $50 per lot for the purchase of the emergency 911 sign. This payment must be made prior to signing off on the plat.