Since the legislative session began Land Stewardship Project has been fighting a corporate backed effort to weaken the local control our Minnesota communities need to be strong. The bill will be on the House Floor at the State Capitol on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. and we need you to take action now.
House File 330 and Senate File 201 as introduced weaken the interim ordinance powers of townships and cities. Interim ordinances allow cities and townships to quickly put a temporary moratorium on major development. This emergency power is essential when a community is caught off-guard by unanticipated and potentially harmful proposals, especially those from outside corporate interests. The interim ordinance freezes the status quo and gives the community time to review or create the appropriate zoning ordinances.
We have flooded legislators with calls and emails and they are feeling the heat. The bills have been paired back and no longer apply to townships. They only apply to cities but they still require a 2/3 super majority to pass an interim ordinance in some situations. Currently, an interim ordinance can always be enacted by a simple majority — that’s how democratic rights should work. There are over 850 cities in Minnesota. Most of them small and rural. This bill applies to them all and weakens their ability to protect the community and puts the rights of corporate developers before those of the community.