The fall election season is right around the corner, and based on the complaints received in years past about where candidate and voting signs were placed, city officials recommended it was time the existing ordinance addressing that issue was changed.
Casey McCabe, Prior Lake’s Community Development Director, prepared a memo that was presented to council members on March 10. The document stated that numerous complaints were received during the 2025 election period that involved election signs and where they were placed.
The city’s ordinance required all signs to be placed on private property, but prohibited placement within five feet of private property lines. The existing setback requirement resulted in complaints from residents who did not feel the setback requirement was being followed. When staff members were sent to investigate the complaints, specific property lines were at times difficult to verify. The memo suggested it was an inappropriate use of staff time and resources to determine a sign should be moved a few feet to meet ordinance requirements.
The recommendation made in the memo was to remove the five-foot setback condition entirely, but signs would still be required to be placed on private property. The issue was passed as part of the consent agenda.
The city also received a request from a firm located in the business park district to allow a portable toilet to be placed on their property that could be used as a secondary bathroom for truck and delivery drivers.
Prior Lake’s city code currently allows portable toilets to be available on a temporary basis for special events, seasonal bathroom facilities in public or private spaces or for use at construction sites. In the past, the city has prohibited portable toilets to be located and used as a secondary facility on developed lots. Some businesses, however, do not allow truck drivers or delivery personnel to use their indoor facilities, according to staff members, while others may prepare products for shipment and receive deliveries after normal business hours when indoor bathroom facilities are not available.
Council members approved amending the city’s current ordinance to allow businesses in the C-3 business park and industrial districts that regularly ship or receive deliveries outside of normal operating hours to provide secondary bathroom facilities on existing developed lots. The portable bathrooms must meet the required setbacks for the zoning district, be fully screened so they cannot be viewed by an adjacent property, and constructed with a solid wall made from the same primary materials used on the principal building.
The ordinance amendment related to portable toilets was also passed as part of the consent agenda considered on March 10.
