Northfield Councilors Address Land Development Code

The two-year effort to update Northfield's land development code passed one of its final hurdles Tuesday night as city councilors gave direction to its planning commission to address concerns from the town's two colleges.

Carleton and St. Olaf colleges, said commission chair Tracy Davis, oppose language in the draft that would require a conditional use permit for all development within a 200-foot buffer zone between the colleges and their surrounding neighborhoods.

Councilors split on the issue, with Kris Vohs, Rhonda Pownell and Mayor Mary Rossing favoring laxer standards for the institutions to develop without interference. Rossing said the decision to live near a college is a lifestyle, and that living with the way the college develops is part of the choice a resident makes when moving.

Councilor Betsey Buckheit had a different view.

"Allowing Carleton to continue to add [into] the neighborhood does not serve the city's interests," she said, adding that it takes homes off the property tax rolls and compromises the character of the neighborhood.

Community Development Manager Brian O'Connell said he sensed more agreement from members on allowing colleges the freedom to use properties in non-residential zones for varied uses.

O'Connell said a final public hearing on the proposed code—the current code passed in 1983—should take place this summer. After public comment, councilors will vote on whether to adopt the proposal, which has been developed as a derivative of the city's Comprehensive Plan.

In other news

• Councilors discussed the rubric for grading potential Safety Center sites by two committees chartered by the council last month. Categories include the topography of the site, its centrality in the community and access to emergency routes, its cost and its sustainability.

• City Administrator Tim Madigan updated councilors on reorganization of city departments finished last fall. Projects include long-term planning for the city's fire department, switching the city's operating software over the summer, concluding the process for the Land Development Code and preparing for O'Connell's retirement in July.

• Councilors expressed support for Bridgewater Township's application for grants totaling $2 million to clean up the Hoover Dump site three miles south of town, but told township supervisor Glen Castore to investigate how much liability and staff time Northfield would be responsible for if it were to take up management of funds under the terms of the grant.