Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/07/1999

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Minnesota Voids Amortization A pivotal court case and heavy lobbying by affected industries this spring prompted the Minnesota legislature to restrict governments' amortization of nonconforming uses. Local governments have used amortization as a planning tool to phase out nonconforming land uses over some reasonable period of time, allowing owners to recoup their investments. But Senate File 854 (House File 896) strips that tool from local governments, except in cases that deal with adult entertainment uses. The law was backed by a broad coalition of groups led by the billboard industry, and including a range of other interests from gasoline stations and asphalt plants to local restaurants and even a day care center. State Rep. Peg Larsen, the bill's co-author, says amortization is an "inappropriate and dangerous power for local government units." Opponents claim, however, that the legislature has gone too far~ The League of Minnesota Cities and similar groups contend that critics of amortization led a campaign of "scare tactics," convincing homeowners that cities would use the regulatory tool to drive people out of their homes. The league countered such claims by offering an amendment that would have banned amortization of residential uses, but supporters of the nco law rejected the offer. The movement to ban amortization was sparked by a decision of the Minnesota State Court of Appeals, which upheld the right of St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis, ro amortize the Apple Valley Redi-Mix (AVR) concrete plant. AVR challenged the city's right to amortize, arguing that the plant was producing more than $1 million worth of concrete yearly and thus had remaining vaJue that the city would be taking. AV~ also balked over the two-year period the city had provided for amortizing the plant. Nonetheless, the court sided with the ciD,, holding'that: the city used a combination of recoupmcnt of investment' and tax depreciation status as factors in determining the useful life for AVR's plant. The record shows that over the past 23 )'ears the plant provided AVR a return of approximately 560 percent on its investment and that the plant has been fully depreciated for income tax purposes. These two factors provided the city with a reasonable basis to determine the plant's useful life for the purpose of establishing an amortization period. Z~ning IVews is a monthly newsletter published by the American Plan~fing A~soclation. Subscriptions arc a~'ail~blc for 555 (U.S.) and 575 (foreign). Frank 5. So, Executive Director; ~illiam ~ ~ein, Director of Rcteaech. ~nlnX News 15 produced ag APA. Jim Schwab and Mike Da+'Jd~o~, Edi*ors; Shannon Armstrong, Baro- B=in, Joseph Bornstcln, Jerome Cleland, Fay Doinick. 5a~j=y Jeer, ~'is. MaO, a Morris, Reporters; Cynthia Che~ki, ~i~tant Editor; l.lsa Barmon, Design and Production. Copyright 01999 byAmcri~n PJanning~sociatlon, 122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1600, Chimgo, IL 60603. The ~cri~n Planning Associ~lion also h0s ofBces ~ i 776 Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036. ~l rights rescued. No part or,his publication may he rcprod,ccd ut utilized in any Form or by any means, eleceeonlc or mechaniC, including photocopying, recording, or by any informalion s~oragc and rctri~'fl system, wld~ouc permission in writing from thc Ameri~n Flannlng ~ociation. Ptin~cd on rc~dcd paper, including 50.70% rc~dcd fiber and I0% ~s~consumet w~te.~ Clay Helmet, a spokesperson from Larsen's office, says the issue "came back to greater freedom for property rights." Larsen's legislative web site says the impacts on planning will be minimal because planners still maintain the powers of eminent domain and outright purchase at regular market value. But many municipal officials and others disagree, claiming the new law deprives them of a powerful planning tool and may begin a trend of opposition to land-use con trois. Jerome Cia/and Preservation through and Ordinances: Tools c~.d Techniques for Preservatio. Used by Communities in HSczssczchusetts Commission, 220 Morrissey Blwf., Boston, MA 02125. ?e~ruary 22, 1999. I2~{ p?. Free. Rarely has there been such a thorough review of local land-use techniques and tools used within a particular state for historic preservation purposes as appears in this report. With each section covering a different approach, such as open space zoning or village center zoning, the text describes the use of the tool, highlights communities that have used it successfully (with occasional photographs), and provides a boxed list of communities with that zoning or other regulatory provision in their local development codes. Three appendices provide summary versions of the same information plus specific new preservation initiatives in a matrix format. When City and Country Collide: IV~anaglng Growth in the ~etropolltan Frlng~ Tom Danieh. lshtnd Press, 1718 Connectlct~t Ava., N. W., St~ite . 300, Washington, DC20009. 199~. 3 7( pp. $32. 50 A~ailable in t/)e fa// j~om ~/anners Book Service. Tom Daniels, the author of several books on farmland preservation and small town planning, is by now a veteran observer of the rural development scene. In this new book, he tackles the problems of the urban fringe where most development is happening in increasingly land-consumptive fashion. He reviews the now familiar development history of U.S. suburbs in this century and the issues that have resulted, but the real value of his analysis lies in his thorough grasp of the nuts-and-bolts planning and zoning questions that must be addressed in order to preserve quality of life and the environment while managing this growth. Daniels provides working planners with solid information on the use of such tools as exclusive farm use zones, timber conservation zones, and clustered development.