By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
In May, the Northfield City Council adopted the Strategic Plan for the city, it’s a three-year plan that lays out the main priorities and focus areas for the council and city staff to work on in the coming years. At the end of October, the Council heard the first annual update on the plan and on the projects already underway.
One of the main areas of the plan has been increasing housing supply in Northfield, including a goal of 50 additional single-family homes and 50 multi-family homes per year for the next three years. So far, there has been minimal housing construction in Northfield this year; however, City Administrator Ben Martig stated that they are working through several initiatives to help developers build in Northfield:
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“We’re also going through a whole new zoning code update that’s really important, related to the rules and regulations around development. And so the Planning Commission is excited to be working on that to come back to the council in the new year, which might allow greater flexibility.” – Ben Martig, Northfield City Administrator on KYMN In the Morning
Martig stated that the new zoning code would allow for greater density in parts of Northfield, focusing on infill options.
Another initiative by the City Council is to take over the Housing and Redevelopment Authority’s responsibilities, which begins in 2026. Mayor Erica Zweifel stated that the move would help allow the council to focus on the issue for the next few years:
“So by coupling the city council as the HRA, I’m hopeful that can also help us spark some more conversations and interest when you bring together the zoning code and the city council that has this additional knowledge about land use and city planning to that conversation.” – Erica Zweifel, Northfield Mayor on KYMN In the Morning
With housing being a main focus of the City Council, we are working here in the KYMN Newsroom to set up interviews and conversations in the next several months to help explain this complicated issue.
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