(FARGO, ND) – The Fargo City Commission upheld the ruling of the city’s Planning Commission regarding a conditional use permit.
The Commission voted 4-1.
The permit, which would have allowed five unrelated individuals to live in the same home, was appealed to the commission regarding a home in the 200 block of Forest Avenue North. Planning Director Donald Kress told the Fargo City Commission that the zoning ordinance in play for the home limits the number of residents living in the home to three.
Drew Hushka, attorney for the homeowner, reminded the commission of the student housing issues currently at North Dakota State University.
“There’s ongoing student housing issues,” he said. “And this conditional use permit, while it’s not going to solve it in and of itself, will help add to student housing, at least on a case-by-case basis.”
The five men are football players at North Dakota State University (NDSU).
While the ordinance in its current form was set in 1999, the idea of no more than three people in a home dates back to the 1950s, according to Kress.
Commissioner Michelle Turnberg says the fact that the father of one of the renters owns the home would give her ‘enough assurances to neighbors that this is probably an investment piece, and they probably want to keep the value.’
“I support you guys,” she told the residents. “I know it goes against what the Planning Commission is proposing, but I understand the problem and, I think, as long as you prove yourself to be genuine gentlemen, that it sounds like you have been, that it wouldn ‘t be a problem.”
Commissioner Dave Piepkorn says he was in the same position when he attended NDSU.
“I feel bad because I am you,” he said. “But the rules are the rules.”
Commissioner Denise Kolpack says the precedent overruling the Planning Commission’s decision would set was concerning.
