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15 adoption or amendment of official controls and/or comprehensive plans. Minn. Stat. § 462.355. 1. The word “interim” is defined as a temporary or provisional arrangement; stopgap; makeshift. More specifically, in this statutory context, interim means to come or occur between two times or two events. An interim ordinance is something that comes between the beginning of some type of planning process and the end of that process, resulting in some decision regarding the adoption or amendment of an official control or a comprehensive plan. 2. An interim zoning ordinance typically involves a full or partial development freeze on some types of development or uses within a municipality for a period of time while the municipality considers the adoption or amendment of official controls and/or comprehensive plans. It could involve a total freeze on all development. Stated a little more broadly, an interim ordinance may regulate, restrict or prohibit any use, development or subdivision (that has not already received preliminary plat approval) within all or a portion of the municipality for a limited period of time. See Minn. Stat. § 462.355, subd. 4. See also Semler Construction Inc. v. City of Hanover, 667 N.W. 2d 457 (Minn. App. 2003). 3. The purpose of an interim ordinance is to protect the planning process, and thus through that the health, safety and welfare of the public. It prevents disruption of the ultimate goal of the examination of the official controls and/or the comprehensive plan. Courts have said that interim zoning ordinances deter last minute efforts to race through the gamut of permitting procedures and discourage exploitation of the delays inherent in the municipal planning process. See Almquist v. Town of Marshan, 245 N.W. 2d 819 (Minn. 1976). In short, what an interim zoning ordinance does is preserve the status quo while a county is engaged in the planning process. 4. The development freeze, or limitation on development, is commonly referred to as a moratorium. The means of putting the moratorium in place is the interim zoning ordinance. 5. To adopt a moratorium a municipality must find that one of four conditions exist: a. The “municipality is conducting studies” to consider the adoption or amendment of a comprehensive plan or a zoning ordinance; b. The “municipality has authorized a study to be conducted” regarding the adoption or amendment of a comprehensive plan or zoning control ordinance;