Hermantown council orders AUR for 403-acre industrial project, approves third‑party reviewer

Hermantown City Council voted to accept a large specific project scoping document and authorize preparation of an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUR) for a proposed light-industrial development in Section 31.

Eric Johnson, community development director, told the council the scoping document prepared by Kimley Horn initially examined about 395 acres and up to 1.8 million square feet of light industrial buildings; the AUR will expand the review area to about 403 acres and delve into environmental issues identified in the scoping stage. Johnson said the AUR is expected to take about two to three months, will be published to the Environmental Quality Board for public comment and could return to council for review in September 2025.

The council also approved Resolution 2025-99 to retain Brun Intertech Corporation for third-party technical review and public comment compilation during the AUR process at a not-to-exceed amount of $20,000. Councilors asked whether the reviewer would be held accountable if it missed issues; staff explained Brun’s errors-and-omissions insurance and said city staff would also oversee Brun’s review. “Both Eric and Chad will watch that process as well,” staff said.

Separately, council approved a related reimbursement agreement amendment with Mortonson Development (Resolution 2025-100) that clarifies invoicing and removes an identified party from the agreement; staff said an earlier one-sided reimbursement agreement for $225,000 was executed in January to cover due diligence for the proposed light industrial facility.

Next steps: staff will order the AUR, Brun Intertech will perform technical review work and the AUR will be published for public comment. The council asked staff to ensure sufficient oversight of external reviewers and to monitor costs and timelines as the AUR proceeds.