Duluth council removes prohibitive language from River Green character area to give staff more flexibility

The Duluth Mayor and Council on April 10 approved resolution R2023-07 to amend the River Green Employment Character Area language in the 2040 FORWARD Duluth Comprehensive Plan. Planning Director Forrest Huffman said staff proposed removing the sentence "These uses are not compatible with the character of this district and should be prohibited" so staff can better guide redevelopment and apply conditions when special uses are proposed.

Huffman told the council River Green is the city s major employment district and is essentially built out; future redevelopment is constrained by environmental regulations, and combining parcels for single users could be beneficial. He said removing the absolute prohibition would not change the underlying zoning but would give staff discretion to permit office and light-industrial uses while evaluating special uses.

A nearby business owner, Christian Olteanu, urged postponement, arguing a minor textual change could have large implications and asked for further review and possibly a traffic study. Councilmembers asked staff to confirm that the character area would still favor light industrial and office uses; Huffman reiterated the Comprehensive Plan is a guidance document and the Unified Development Code and special-use permitting determine specific allowable uses and conditions.

Councilmember Graeder said the change makes sense to allow case-by-case discretion; Councilmember Whitlock moved and Councilmember Graeder seconded the resolution, and the motion carried with all members voting for the amendment.

Next steps: the text amendment will be incorporated into local planning guidance and considered in the major Comprehensive Plan update scheduled for February 2024, which staff said will further evaluate needs and opportunities for River Green.