Leo Luskey's weekday commute from Ham Lake to Blaine isn't long by most standards.

But Luskey is the owner of a freight brokerage company. When it comes to where he works, the man has options.

Unfortunately, Ham Lake isn't one of them because there isn't enough office space, he said. "A lot of [potential developers and investors] are holding back simply because there really is no water and sewer infrastructure here," he said.

A member of Ham Lake's Chamber of Commerce, Luskey is a booster for a proposal to rezone a portion of Ham Lake, around Hwy. 65 and Crosstown Boulevard, as a sewer district.

Whether to add sewer service in or around the Hwy. 65 corridor is a controversial subject -- one that will be discussed at a town hall meeting Tuesday -- because it cuts to the heart of the city's rural identity.

Proponents of sewer service say Ham Lake will miss out on economic development if the rezoning doesn't go through. Opponents fear the loss of Ham Lake's rural character, with roomy lot sizes beginning at 1 acre and septic systems.

City Council Member Jolynn Erikson, who also is president of the chamber, said the issue of development was the talk of the Republican caucus Tuesday.

"There is a need for some type of solution for commercial development on [Hwy.] 65," she said, but "I'm worried about us losing our rural character." She said she's hearing from residents with similar concerns.

Visions for growth -- or not

The growth scenarios that the city will discuss at a series of open houses range widely, including an option that would essentially change nothing.

The most extensive proposal envisions a 115-acre mixed-use business "village center" designed to be pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented. Surrounding it would be 1,700 acres of medium-density housing, with up to three units per acre. That plan is favored by a task force that was formed to study different scenarios.

Count former mayor and current City Council Member Gary Kirkeide is against it. He said it looks a lot like Ramsey's stalled Town Center project. The market isn't supporting development there, he said.

Kirkeide is concerned about the potential cost of a village center project, which he said could top out at $75 million.

"I don't think the residents are going to want to pay for a bond like that," he said. "I read the headlines today and I see Macy's is pulling out of town, we're heading into a recession and that's a huge investment."

Mayor Paul Meunier, who campaigned against Kirkeide in 2006 in part on the need for managed growth, said doing nothing would be a mistake -- especially now that its neighbor to the north, East Bethel, has reached an agreement with the Metropolitan Council for a wastewater treatment facility there.

The cost of any potential sewer project in Ham Lake would be paid for with user fees by people living and working in the sewer district, not as a burden on all city taxpayers, he said. And any potential developments would be driven by private investors -- some of whom already have expressed interest, he said.

"This is long-term planning. We're talking about just creating an option for this kind of [downtown center] to evolve," he said. "As cities grow, as the region grows, the demand for services goes higher. If we don't have a way, a tax base, to fund that, eventually it's going to come out of residential property taxes. And it would be nice to keep our property taxes low."

Growth and competition

The city is now preparing a resident survey on this issue and others as part of a comprehensive plan update due to the Metropolitan Council in June.

Meunier said his biggest fear is that Ham Lake gets "leap-frogged" as East Bethel grows and misses out on an opportunity to lure business and diversify its housing stock.

Currently, Ham Lake's population is around 15,000 and East Bethel's a little more than 13,000. But East Bethel is expected to grow to 23,500 by 2030, according to a projection by the Metropolitan Council. The same projection puts Ham Lake at 15,200 by 2030.

"We have to decide as a community: Do we want to take advantage of some of the opportunities that growth brings us?" Meunier said. "... My biggest fear is that everybody in our city is going to drive to another city to get the services that they want."

But Erikson said he is hearing from people who moved away from Blaine and other more-developed suburbs because they don't mind being a little more away from it all.

"I love what Blaine did. They're growing and they did a good job," she said. "But that's not my vision for Ham Lake. ... Maybe we can have a good mix."

Until then, Leo Luskey will continue driving to Blaine every morning.

"I want Ham Lake to be a place people drive to, not a place they drive through," he said.

Eric M. Hanson • 612-673-7517