By Sara StrongThe Luverne City Council will soon decide if $50,000 is too much to spend for a total revamp of city plans. The 10-year-old Comprehensive Plan has been the subject of debate for a few months. Should the city rewrite it? Should outside professionals rewrite it? Should it simply be allowed to collect dust in file drawers?After reviewing a proposal from the Minneapolis-based Hoisington Koegler Group, the Luverne Planning Commission unanimously voted to update and rewrite the plan.Their action serves as a recommendation to the City Council to contract with the Minneapolis group. Consultant Rusty Fifield will work with the city on the Plan.Before the vote, Planning Commission member Mike Reker said he was uncomfortable spending that kind of money if it wasn’t for the right reasons.He said, "I think I was on this board for a year before I even knew we had a Comprehensive Plan."Other Commission members said they didn’t refer to it as a guide, either.Apparently, no one in the city has. Parts of western Luverne were designated for business growth in the last Comprehensive Plan, but are now housing and apartment developments. Various other parts of the city also have permits, variances and zones that don’t follow the plan.Cities with good planning generally have consistent appearances, with a natural flow among business, industrial and residential areas.Reker reminded the Commission that most Comprehensive Plan meetings have turned into debates about the future zoning of Fledgling Field.Reker said, "Is the entire Comprehensive Plan an issue, or is this just a way to disguise the zoning of Fledgling Field?"Reker said he hoped the city wasn’t considering paying a consultant $50,000 to make a decision on Fledgling Field to take the pressure off public boards.In the end, the Planning Commission decided that the new plan would be worth the cost, provided it, and the rest of the city followed the new Comprehensive Plan.City Councilman David Hauge said, "If we spend the money, let’s do it right, stick to it, and us it — like it’s the Bible, it’s the law."City Zoning Administrator Dan Delgehausen said it will take a strong Council and Planning Commission to stick to the new Comprehensive Plan and not bend to pressure from individual property owners. Otherwise, all the planning will be in vain.Commission member Dan Serie said he looked forward to public involvement where people could feel a sincere sense of ownership in the plan.Besides city leaders and elected people, the consultant recommended inviting skeptics and young people to be a part of the planning process to get the widest variety of insight.The hospital factorA lack of new commercial zones, neighborhood preservation, downtown vitality and possible development opportunities near a new airport are issues the Comprehensive Plan will address. Luverne is also counting on Sioux Falls’ continued growth to spread east, and impact the city.But above all those factors, the new hospital and clinic pose city planning possibilities. Residential and commercial growth could both follow the Sioux Valley health care campus.The former hospital and clinic will also be issues for the city that will also come into play.Delgehausen said, "The hospital is going to be the biggest undertaking for the city with a new Planning Commission, City Council and city zoning administrator. We could cause a big mess if we don’t do it right."The proposalsFifield, the Hoisington Koegler consultant, has 20 years of experience in community development and finance consulting experience. He is also a former city manager. The Southwest Regional Development Commission also gave the city of Luverne a proposal for a revamping of the Comprehensive Plan.That cost estimate came at a range of $7,560 to $12,530, including being present at public meetings and designing new maps for the city.The Planning Commission said the SRDC didn’t match the expertise of Hoisington Koegler.
