Twin Cities homebuilders and cities square off at the Capitol

Twin Cities homebuilders want to make it harder for cities to abruptly halt development through building moratoriums like those imposed in Minneapolis and Lake Elmo in recent years.

A proposal winding through the Legislature would require cities to give 10 days' notice and hold a public hearing before imposing a moratorium on housing. A supermajority vote of the City Council also would be required.

The Builders Association of the Twin Cities, one of the groups pushing for the change, said existing laws allow the process to move too quickly — disrupting complex, long-term development plans. David Siegel, the group's executive director, said they are not trying to take away cities' rights to issue moratoriums, but ensure due process and proper notification.

"There's no notice. There's no consideration. There's no discussion. Vote taken, majority rules," Siegel said.

Groups representing cities are pushing back on the idea, noting that it's sometimes necessary to pause and study an issue. Irene Kao with the League of Minnesota Cities said cities rarely pursue moratoriums, reserving them for urgent situations.

"So in situations where they need to act, they do tend to need to act quickly," Kao said.

This is the second time the Builders Association has tried to address the issue at the Legislature. The measure passed through the House last year, but died in a Senate committee. This year, its Senate author, Sen. Dan Hall, R-Burnsville, chairs the Local Government committee. The bill will get its first hearing Tuesday.

It jolted the architects, builders and others working on projects in that corner of the city.

"It was very sudden," said Katie Elfstrom, press secretary for the Builders Association. "And so it kind of left people that were in the middle of work — it had a big impact on them."

But Palmisano said it was urgent.

"In this urban environment, people were five feet away from these huge holes in the ground," she said. "And gas lines were shifting, they were being evacuated out of their homes with ... ladder trucks in the middle of the night."

State law allows cities to impose a moratorium to protect the planning process or the health and safety of its citizens. The ordinance can "regulate, restrict, or prohibit any use, development or subdivision" for up to a year.

In 2012, Minneapolis halted large-scale development in parts of the Linden Hills neighborhood. In Lake Elmo, where growth and development have been controversial, the City Council voted 3-2 to temporarily put the brakes on new housing in 2015.

Siegel said builders will be very attentive if cities ask them to reform their construction practices in advance of a potential moratorium.

"The threat of being able to do a moratorium, frankly, is as powerful as the moratorium itself," Siegel said.

Eric Roper • 612-673-1732 Twitter: @StribRoper