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<br />City Council Regular Meeting - 01/08/07 <br />Minutes - Page 19 <br /> <br />shorter deadline if the Council majority chose to enact such an <br />ordinance. <br /> <br />Councilmember Ihlan spoke in support of the motion, opining that <br />the scope of the study had previously been identified in Council <br />discussions; and a review of City ordinances, some in place since <br />the 1950's, was in order. Councilmember Ihlan noted the scope <br />of the study included policy issues related to minimum lot <br />dimensions, odd lot sizes and configurations, neighborhood <br />characteristics, impacts to adjoining properties, and environmental <br />impacts. Councilmember opined that she was supportive of the <br />City Council, with the assistance of staff and the Planning <br />Commission, drive the ordinance review, using sample ordinances <br />from the Cities of Edina and Bloomington as previously <br />discussed; and was willing to reduce the proposed time of the <br />moratorium to six months rather than one year. <br /> <br />Mayor Klausing concurred with the concerns expressed by <br />Councilmember Roe regarding the open-endedness of the <br />proposed ordinance language; and opined that this was a very <br />severe and dramatic action for the City Council to take, and his <br />lack of support for the proposed duration of the ordinance. Mayor <br />Klausing offered support for reviewing other options available, <br />including looking at gaps in the City's current zoning system to <br />avoid situations for undesirable land uses; but questioned the need <br />for a moratorium, noting the few applications received seeking <br />exemption, rather than the many anticipated after the last Council <br />discussion. Mayor Klausing concurred that a more specific <br />definition of the Council's scope of study was needed; and asked <br />if the makers of the motion would consider a duration of less than <br />one year for the proposed moratorium. <br /> <br />Councilmember Kough reiterated his support of the moratorium; <br />opining that he could support a six month time frame. <br /> <br />Councilmember Ihlan expressed her willingness to discuss <br />shortening the duration, as long as a moratorium were in place to <br />consider policy implications for subdivisions without the pressure <br />of pending land use applications; and encouraged the City Council <br />to be proactive on this issue. <br />