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16 <br />c. The “municipality has scheduled a hearing” for the purpose of adopting or <br />amending a comprehensive guide plan or zoning ordinance; and/or <br /> <br />d. The municipality has “annexed new territory” for which there are no existing <br />plans or controls. For a County, this could be a planned annexation. <br /> <br />6. In a case decided a number of years ago, the court held that in a city, no special <br />public notice is required for the consideration and/or adoption of an interim <br />ordinance, as the court held that an interim ordinance is not an official control. See <br />Duncanson v. Danville Township, 551 N.W.2d 248 (Minn. App. 1996). <br /> <br />7. For an in-depth discussion of the law relating to moratoria, see Pawn America v. <br />City of St. Louis Park, 787 N.W.2d 565 (Minn. 2010). <br /> <br />8. The initial moratorium ordinance is effective for a period up to one year in both <br />counties and cities. A county can extend the moratorium ordinance up to one <br />additional year. Under limited circumstances, a city can extend the moratorium <br />ordinance an additional 18 months. <br /> <br />9. The law, as construed by the courts, allows a County to decide whether a <br />moratorium applies to pending applications or not. For cities and towns, an <br />amendment to the Statute states that no interim ordinance may halt a subdivision that <br />has already received preliminary approval. It also now says that the interim <br />ordinance does not extend the time deadline set forth Minn. Stat. § 15.99 with <br />respect to any application filed before the effective date of the interim ordinance. <br /> <br />10. The most significant early case on interim ordinances and moratoria arose in a <br />dispute involving a Township before the Municipal Planning Act had a provision on <br />interim ordinances (before Minn. Stat. § 462.355, subd. 4 was added). The court <br />held that under general principles conferring on municipalities broad police powers, <br />they had the authority to adopt moratorium ordinances of limited duration provided <br />they are enacted “in good faith and without discrimination.” See Almquist, supra. <br />In Wedemeyer v. City of Minneapolis, 540 N.W. 2d 539 (Minn. App. 1995) the <br />court held that the passage of the interim ordinance provision in the Municipal <br />Planning Act did not supersede or do away with the ability of a municipality to enact <br />a moratorium under the general police power referred to in Almquist. <br /> <br />11. The requirement that the municipality act in good faith and without discrimination <br />articulated in Almquist has survived. The Pawn America court indicated that the <br />statutory language that states that such an ordinance is to be passed for purposes of <br />protecting the planning process and the health, safety and welfare of the community <br />is a good faith requirement. <br />