Amended housing moratorium restrictions get House OK, go to governor

Proposed restrictions on cities seeking to put residential development projects under an interim ordinance, also known as a moratorium, are headed to the governor’s desk.

The House repassed HF330 for the second time Wednesday on a 90-41 vote.

On March 2, the House passed the bill 87-44, but the Senate added an amendment before passing the bill 38-29 Monday.

Rep. Jim Nash

Rep. Jim Nash (R-Waconia), the House sponsor, said he was at first disinclined to accept a change to the bill made in the Senate, where Sen. Dan Hall (R-Burnsville) is the sponsor.

But Nash said the Senate amendment was “deemed innocuous” by the League of Minnesota Cities, which remains neutral in its stance on the bill.

Under the plan, cities would have to hold a public hearing and give 10 days’ notice when considering a moratorium on housing development. Enacting a moratorium would require a two-thirds majority vote of council members.

The Senate added a requirement whereby the two-thirds would be computed from the number of council members present “and voting on the interim ordinance.”

Last year the House passed a similar Nash-sponsored bill but the Senate, then controlled by the DFL, did not give it a hearing.