By Sara StrongThere’s a possible new development in the works for home construction east of the city of Luverne. Ed Elbers, through All States Realty, applied for the rezoning of agricultural land to residential.The County Board of Commissioners Tuesday approved the rezoning after a recommendation from the County Planning and Zoning Board, which hosted a public hearing.Commissioner Richard Bakken cast the only vote against the rezoning.The city of Luverne still has to approve it, because of the development’s proximity to town.The preliminary plat shows the lots available would be along the east side of County Road 9 (landfill road), north of County Road 4 (Main Street). The homes would be north of the few homes that are currently in that area.Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Board Paul Doherty said he isn’t in favor of the rezoning.He objected in a number of ways. Doherty said the impact of all the septic systems should be closely examined. He also said that people who want open spaces and an acreage to live on have many opportunities in the county without taking away current ag land."Agriculture is too big of an industry for the county to restrict it in this way," Doherty said.Although the county may be able to do without the lost farm land, Doherty said the overall impact is still felt. For instance, Doherty fears that the "neighborhood" will get lots of political power. He said farmers or livestock producers may want to locate nearby or change their operations in the future, and homeowners could band together and halt the permitting process, as happened with a gravel pit in the recent past.The development will be called Valley View because of its picturesque setting overlooking the Rock River valley. The plat has 15 sites suitable for construction in size of .65 acres to 1.97 acres.The subdivision sites will have individual septic treatment systems and rural water connections.Most recently, the land had been used for alfalfa, but had also grown soybeans and corn.There are no prices set for the lots yet, and if the zoning goes through, the next step is getting roads inside the area for home access.
