Staff photo by Clay Schuldt The New Ulm City Council approved a request to rezone property at 2010 S. Broadway as a service business district.

NEW ULM — The New Ulm City Council approved a request to rezone property at 2010 S. Broadway as a service business district.

The planning commission previously recommended approving the request from Christopher and Laura Williams to change the zoning from the limited business district to the service business district (B-2).

By reclassifying the property, a plumbing business could operate from the location. Williams has been operating a plumbing business from a residential home under a home operation permit.

The city classifies the home on this property as a legal non-conforming use property. Community Development Director David Schnobrich said the house was built in 1957, over a decade before the city’s zoning code was established.

The property was originally zoned a service business district (B-2) but was changed to a limited business district (B-1) in 2012. By approving this change, the council has returned the property to its original zoning classification.

The council unanimously approved the motion to rezone and instruct the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance for this purpose.

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A resolution was approved by the council for an MN/DOT aeronautics grant. The grant would be used for hangar area pavement reconstruction at the New Ulm Municipal Airport. The council previously approved the project. The federal grant of $297,847 was already approved. The MN/DOT grant is the state companion to the federal grant and is $49,767.04. The city is responsible for $21,328.73 of the cost.

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The council entered a closed session to discuss negotiation strategy with local union groups AFSCME #1204 and LELS #150 and discuss a compensation and classification study.