WILLMAR -- The Willmar Planning Commission completed the first step Wednesday night in a process that could avoid a lawsuit against the city by the developer of a controversial workforce housing project in southwest Willmar.
The commission approved the revised final plat of Westwind Estates Third Addition. The revised plat will allow the developer, Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership of Slayton, to construct rental twin homes, and single-family homes for sale. The land where the development is proposed is zoned R-2, which allows rental twin homes.
The commission previously approved a similar plat for lease-to-own twin homes and approved a conditional use permit for the plat. The permit allowed the twin homes to be sold.
But the Board of Zoning Appeals threw out the permit, ruling that the ability to sell the twin homes would impair the value of neighboring single-family properties.
An attorney for Southwest Minnesota told the city, however, that the developer believed the denial of the permit was unlawful and threatened a lawsuit.
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In a settlement proposed to the City Council last week, Southwest will remove the possible lawsuit if the Planning Commission and the council approve the revised final plat and if the council approves street and infrastructure improvements.
The 20-lot plat will be considered by the council Monday night.
The Planning Commission moved the meeting from the smaller, upstairs city hall conference room to the larger meeting room at the Fire Station to accommodate the 30 people in attendance.
However, the commission took no comments from the audience because consideration of a final plat does not require a public hearing, explained Andrew Bjur, commission chairman. He said the commission was only reviewing the location of streets and property lines.
A public hearing is required for a conditional use permit, however, because the permit involves the use of the property.
"When you have a conditional use, those are public hearings and at that time you discuss how the owner is going to develop the property,'' he explained.
Bjur did allow comments from landowner Don Williamson. Williamson presented a petition bearing signatures of 242 people living in the Westwind vicinity who want the commission to rezone the Westwind land from R-2, which allows twin homes, to R-1, which allows single-family homes.
Williamson said neighboring development around Westwind has been single-family homes, even though the neighborhoods are zoned R-2.
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"To allow Westwind to be zoned as R-2 will in effect create an island,'' said Williamson. "It will affect the market values of existing properties.''
The commission received the comments and petition as information. The commission thanked Williamson for his comments. But Bjur said the timing of the rezoning request is not appropriate because there is already a development being proposed on the property.
