Luverne’s Board of Appeals and Adjustments approved the variance request for a 73-foot-tall nutcracker on South Highway 75 at Monday night’s meeting.
The measure passed unanimously, but not after significant board discussion.
For example, some questioned whether the statue should be as high as 73 feet, or perhaps 60 feet, which is the height of the original Mobil sign that was on the existing 40-foot steel post years ago.
At the end of the hour-long meeting, city leaders ultimately agreed to grant the variance as requested.
Structurally, the 65-foot-tall nutcracker will stand on an 8-foot-tall pedestal and will be supported by an existing 40-foot-tall solid steel post that once carried a “Mobil” sign for a service station.
The property is home to Those Blasted Things, opened more than 20 years ago by Vance and Becky Walgrave, who granted an easement to the nonprofit in order to build the giant nutcracker.
They said the “World’s Largest Nutcracker” will complement the “World’s Third-Largest Nutcracker Collection” at the History Center, where thousands of tourists have already stopped to visit.
They and their daughter, Katie, are on the Just For Nuts board, a Luverne private nonprofit that has drawn more than $200,000 in local donations and $50,000 from the Blandin Foundation.
The nonprofit Just for Nuts will continue raising money and will support other future ventures in the community.
At the March 20 variance hearing, Katie Walgrave quoted from the Blandin website.
“Vibrant communities don’t arrive by accident, and they’re not going to last long in isolation,” she read.
“Resilient communities make their own future, both by taking responsibility for it and by building powerful networks of sustaining relationships. These actions catalyze a community’s ability to expand opportunities for all its residents.”
She said that’s why Blandin gave them the grant.
“They saw what we’re doing and saw it as a good idea to help the community,” she said.
“Getting people to come off the interstate is the biggest hurdle. This nutcracker will accomplish that.”
The city’s ordinance allows for signs up to 96 square feet. The proposed sign is roughly 600 square feet, so the Walgraves applied for a variance in order to request an exception to the rule.
After considering all the information and input from the community, the city’s Board of Appeals and Adjustments approved the request.
“We’re grateful for all the support, and we’re happy to be moving forward,” Becky Walgrave said. “We can’t wait to see the results. We’re looking forward to achieving our goals.”
She communicated those goals at the public hearing.
“We’re doing this because we’re proud of Luverne and we want to make it go,” she said.
“We’re hoping that people will also go downtown. That’s our goal. That’s why we started this.”
The Walgraves are working on next steps with engineers and will announce a construction timeline soon.