DILWORTH — A proposed downtown Dilworth rezoning plan will have more influence on future development in the city than current property owners, a Dilworth city official says.
On Monday, March 11, the Dilworth City Council will vote on an ordinance to rezone downtown Dilworth. The zoning ordinance calls for rezoning downtown Dilworth from a mixture of commercial and residential to traditional mixed-use zoning.
The area covered by the ordinance extends from Fifth Street northwest to Fourth Street east within the North and South Block of Interstate 10.
The rezoning will leave open possibilities for future land use and economic development in the downtown Dilworth area, said Don Lorsong, Dilworth's community development director.
“We're just trying to set the stage for what the future holds for that area,” Lorsong said.
With residential uses and non-residential uses allowed in the mixed-use district, the majority of the land in downtown Dilworth will be used in permitted ways if the City Council approves the ordinance Monday, Lorsong said.
“If they are a currently permitted use, it will also be a currently permitted use in a mixed-use district,” he said.
Discussions about rezoning the downtown area are underway as the Minnesota Department of Transportation plans the future of Interstate 10. MnDOT plans to rebuild Interstate 10 in Dilworth from 34th Street — where Dilworth meets Moorhead — to Southeast Seventh Street in 2029, but timing is subject to for change, according to the MnDOT website.
In anticipation of rebuilding the freeway, the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments, MnDOT and the City of Dilworth have completed a Corridor Study to assess needs along the Interstate 10 corridor in 2023. The City of Dilworth has also completed a Downtown Reinvestment Study in 2023.
The downtown reinvestment study, conducted by consulting firm HKGi, recommended updating the city's land use controls and identified the most pressing needs in the downtown area. Lorsong said the recommendation to rezone the area into a mixed-use district includes the current land use in the area while allowing for ease of development in the future.
“None of us know exactly what's going to happen in terms of redevelopment in that area, whether it's for those businesses in the area, or even some of the residential areas nearby,” Lorsong said. “We don't know what the evolution will be, but let it happen and let the economists do their work.”
On February 28, the Dilworth Planning Commission held a public hearing for residents to share their thoughts on the proposed rezoning. Lorsong said some common questions came up during the hearing, including how property owners would be affected if the ordinance is approved.
Another common concern was property valuation. Lorsong said the assessment is based on the use of the land, not its zoning, so the rezoning will not affect the property valuation.
Along with the zoning ordinance, the Dilworth City Council will vote on a resolution to amend the city's comprehensive plan to update the plan's future land use map, City Manager Peyton Mastra said.
The Dilworth City Council meets at 6pm on Monday, March 11th. City Council meetings are held in the City Council Chambers.
