Land services staff briefed the Crow Wing County Board on Nov. 18 about how the department processes complaints and pursues compliance on land‑use, solid‑waste, short‑term rental and wetland conservation issues.

“We're really looking for voluntary compliance,” a land services presenter said, explaining staff try to work directly with property owners to resolve violations before pursuing mandatory action. The presenter described the intake process — staff need the complainant’s name, phone number and an exact location — and noted response priorities: septic systems that are surfacing receive immediate attention, while other issues are triaged for on‑site inspection within five business days where policy permits.

Staff described policy timelines: property owners generally have a 30‑day window to remove unauthorized wetland fill, 10 months to upgrade a failing septic identified during compliance inspection, and 24 hours to address a septic system that is surfacing. The department said it handled 227 documented complaints in 2025 and resolved 176, a 77% closure rate compared with a departmental goal of 75%.

Examples shown to commissioners included voluntary wetland restorations (removing pallets, asphalt shingles and fill), shoreland cleanups and junk‑vehicle remediation where owners licensed or removed vehicles to comply. Staff emphasized that voluntary cleanup avoids county contractor cost assessments but that the county can and does assess cleanup costs back to property tax rolls if staff must arrange mandatory removal, and that the county attorney’s office has assisted in resolving cases (the county attorney helped resolve 39 cases in 2024 and 35 so far in 2025).

Commissioners asked how staff coordinate with local law enforcement when safety concerns arise; staff described a practice of calling dispatch on the day of a visit and arranging deputy escorts when appropriate. No formal enforcement actions requiring board vote were reported at the meeting; the session provided an operational update and district examples.