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Harris issues another building moratoriumBy Danielle Strenke Developers are flocking to the relatively untouched expanse of land that encompasses the city of Harris. The problemñthe city has no zoning ordinance. Pressure to allow all of these developments spurred the Harris City Council to do two things-hire a new, larger engineering firm, and issue a moratorium on any new building or development. At its meeting Monday, the council discussed the recommendation from the planning commission to issue the moratorium, with concerns that the cityís new zoning ordinance has yet to be completed. The process to complete a new ordinance has been a long and arduous one. Timetables show the city has been in various stages of developing the ordinance for three years or more. A previous moratorium put the halt on development for 18 months, but it has not been in effect for about a year, Mayor Richard Hanson said. The council was fearful that another moratorium would do little to get the zoning ordinance completed. ìIf we do this, how soon can the planning commission get its act together and get this done,î council member Dan Walton said. ìBecause I tell you right now, weíre going to get heat for this.î Council member Wayne Buisman, who also sits on the planning commission, said the ordinance was close to completion already, but felt it should be a joint effort between the two groups to get it done. ìThatís everybody, the commission, the council, we all work on it,î he said. Council member Lyle Holmstrom was against imposing another moratorium. ìThe last time a moratorium was in effect, it wouldnít even allow for a one-time lot split,î he said. ìWhat keeps coming back to me is its been two years or more already and it still isnít done.î Mayor Hanson said the city has allowed several developments in the last year when the moratorium was not in effect. After discussion, the council voted 4-1 to impose the moratorium for a period of six months. Holmstrom cast the only no vote. The council agreed that six months was more than enough time to complete the zoning ordinance. ìLetís set all the excuses aside and just do it now,î Dave Christianson said. To further assess the cityís needs in relation to future development, the council interviewed two potential engineering firms at the meeting. Representatives from Bonestroo Rosene Anderlik & Associates, and LHB Engineers & Architects discussed some of the services and skills each firm could bring as the cityís engineering firm. Mayor Hanson said the decision to hire a new engineering firm was necessary. Previously, Thatcher Engineering had worked as the cityís engineering firm. ìWe needed to find a firm thatís a little bigger, more diverse,î he said. ìThey just didnít come up with the things that we wanted. To treat the citizens fairly, we need someone who can provide the answers.î He said the engineering firm would be looked to as a resource for many potential projects in the city, such as improving infrastructure, reviewing the status of the water and sewer systems, and monitoring development across the city. The city has also hired a new attorney, Kevin Shoeberg of Woodbury, after the council was disappointed with the slow response time of the former city attorney Barry Blomquist. ©ECM Post Review |