The owner of Newman Signs on Wednesday postponed his request to rezone a quarter-section of land along Interstate 29 south of Fargo for commercial development.
The Fargo Planning Commission granted a 90-day continuance to Harold Newman, owner of the Jamestown, N.D., billboard manufacturer.
By the time his request comes back in October, city planners should have a solid draft of its long-range growth plan being updated for properties south of 52nd Avenue South, Senior Planner Jim Hinderaker said.
Planners had recommended the commission deny Newman's request to rezone roughly 130 acres of land in the southeast quadrant ofI-29 and 76th Avenue South from agricultural to commercial because the growth plan didn't support the change, Hinderaker said.
"We're working on the draft plan, and every indication is that it probably would support the change if it continues in the direction that it's going," he said.
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Newman said he'd like the property rezoned as soon as possible so he can start marketing the land. Asked what types of businesses may locate there, he said, "I think that vision will be dictated by demand."
It also may depend on what goes in at 52nd Avenue South and I-29, he said.
Menards has expressed interest in building a store in the northwest corner of the interchange. In the southwest corner, landowner Larry Scheffler said there could be as many as three big-box retailers in his proposed "The District at the Lakes" development.
By getting his property zoned early, Newman said he hopes to avoid protests like those faced by Fred and Earlyne Hector when neighbors opposed a proposed Wal-Mart store on their land in the northeast corner of I-29 and 52nd Avenue. That proposal, which required a growth plan amendment to expand the commercial area, was withdrawn last month after Wal-Mart terminated its purchase agreement with the Hectors.
Newman's land sits in Fargo's 4-mile extraterritorial area, over which the city has zoning jurisdiction. Fargo's growth to the west is largely blocked by West Fargo and Horace, N.D., so the most intense growth is expected to the north and south.
Newman said he expects his property to fill in quickly once a proposed interchange is built at I-29 and 76th Avenue South. Fargo City Engineer Mark Bittner said the interchange is anticipated, but there's no timeline for it.
The Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments will study whether an interchange is needed at 64th Avenue South, as well, Bittner said.
Fargo and Clay County officials also are at a standstill over whether to build a Red River bridge at 76th Avenue South, which is the county's preferred option, or at 70th Avenue South as Fargo wants.
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Readers can reach Forum reporter Mike Nowatzki at (701) 241-5528
