By Sara Strong
The Luverne Planning Commission discussed the possibility of changing North Highway 75 from a residential to commercial district.
There wasn’t a specific request before the Commission, but Luverne Building Inspector and Zoning Administrator Dan Delgehausen brought it to the table for consideration.
Delgehausen estimated that less than 50 percent of the area on Highway 75 from Lincoln Street north to the edge of town is strictly residential use, considering vacant land, churches and businesses. He said he’s trying to watch for city trends that should be accurately reflected in the zoning books.
Delgehausen said some homes are at their life expectancy, and city growth doesn’t appear to be focusing on the main highway through Luverne, so they may not be maintained much longer.
He said it might be in the city’s interest to encourage new, small office spaces to be built along the highway rather than saving the zone for strictly residential use.
Planning Commission Chairman Jim Kirchhofer said the city Comprehensive Plan, which was put together with much community input in 1993-94, says that it’s a priority to protect residential neighborhoods.
Commission member Mike Reker said, "We’ve got a business district from the river to the airport that we can’t seem to fill, and I wonder if we should start heading off into the other direction."
Alex Frick, a resident of the neighborhood in question, said that many visitors comment on the charm of Highway 75 (Kniss Avenue) and its beautifully-maintained homes.
Frick, a former city council member, said, "The concept of the business district was to be Main Street and South 75."
Another audience member, Greg Burger, said, "I’m kind of amazed that this topic would come up again."
Burger was referring to the issue of rezoning Fledgling Field or granting a conditional use permit for a funeral home, which has been before the Planning Commission off and on for almost three years.
Burger said he’s active in economic development in the community and can’t visualize Highway 75 drawing attractive, small service or retail businesses — partly because of traffic flow issues and partly because existing vacancies in Luverne aren’t being filled.
He also said that comparing Luverne’s Highway 75 to other towns along the roadway is inaccurate in most cases, because Kniss Avenue is "through the heart of the community."
Commission member Bill Ketterling said it may help the board to review the Comprehensive Plan, which is the guide for zoning ordinances.
The Commission will review it and discuss possible changes that should be made since the Comprehensive Plan was last written.
Parking/junk vehicles
The Planning Commission resumed an ongoing discussion on parking and junk vehicle codes, but took no action.
The city has vague codes on where and how many vehicles a residential property can have parked on it. Delgehausen has a difficult task of keeping properties up to code when the codes are so vague.
For example, if a residential lot has a yard full of junk cars, he writes a letter telling the owner that the cars have to be licensed to be parked in the open. The vehicle owners might cover the junk cars with tarp or simply update the tags to make them legal. But the problem with unhappy neighbors still exists.
The code is under the nuisance section because batteries, sharp metal and glass can be hazardous when left in the open in neighborhoods.
The Commission said it will continue discussion on parking and vehicle codes at another meeting.
Kirchhofer’s last
The Tuesday meeting was Jim Kirchofer’s last as outgoing city council representative.
He said, "It’s been an honor and a privilege to work on this very important committee. The discussions are good, and I hope you continue to see all angles on the issues."
Kirchhofer encouraged the board to try to help people who have requests before them, but not to forget that they are serving the entire community.