§ 3. Planning Study: Moratorium.

3.01.

A study is authorized to be conducted by City staff, to be followed by consideration of potential changes to the city's official land use controls by the City Council and such other commissions of the City as required by law or as directed by the City Council.

3.02.

Pending completion of the study and adoption of any amendments to the City's official controls, a moratorium is established on the issuance of City approvals for the properties in the Moratorium Area, as provided in this section:

a.

Except as provided at paragraph c of this Section 3.02, no building permit may be issued (I) for the expansion of any existing use in the Moratorium Area, where the expansion is greater than 500 square feet, or (ii) for the establishment of a new use; or (iii) for exterior remodeling or façade improvements; or (iv) for the construction of a new building.

b.

Except as provided at paragraph c of this Section 3.02, no applications for any of the following approvals may be granted or processed during the period of the moratorium: rezoning, comprehensive land use plan amendment, subdivision or consolidation approval, variances, conditional use permits, site plan approval, free-standing or monument signs, or changes in curb cut location.

c.

The Moratorium will not apply to building permits issued for routine maintenance or routine repairs of an existing use that do not constitute an expansion or a change in use. The Moratorium will not apply to interior remodeling or improvements. The Moratorium will not apply to wall signs related to change in tenancy or to the surface (readable) area of sign so long as the sign structure is not enlarged nor electrical components added.

3.03

During the period of the Moratorium, applications for any such approvals related to property in the Moratorium Area shall not be accepted by the City nor shall the Planning Commission or City Council consider or grant approval of any such application, except after approval of the City Council as provided in Section 3.05 of this Ordinance.

3.04

The Moratorium established by this Ordinance shall apply to any application pending as of the date of this Ordinance, but it shall not apply to a subdivision or consolidation that has received preliminary plat approval prior to the adoption of Resolution No. 10136, nor shall the Moratorium extend the timeline for acting upon an application as provided in Minnesota Statutes, Section 15.99. Any application submitted to which the Moratorium applies shall be denied unless the application includes a specific request that it be excepted from the Moratorium, in which case the City staff shall submit the application to the City Council for consideration of granting an exception.

3.05

The City Council may approve exceptions to this Moratorium for an application if the City Council, in its sole discretion, determines that the approval being sought will not interfere with the purposes for which this moratorium was adopted.