The Blaine City Council rejected a proposed Pulte Homes development near the Lakes neighborhood April 6, with a majority of members saying the project did not fit the city’s long-term vision for the area even as two council members argued that vision no longer matches market realities.
The comprehensive plan amendment failed on a 5-2 vote. Council Members Chris Ford and Tom Newland voted in favor.
Community Development Director Sheila Sellman said the developer sought to rezone property at 3700 and 3900 125th Avenue NE from farm residential to development flex. The amendment would have changed the site’s guided land use from planned industrial/commercial and low-density residential to low- to medium-density residential.
The preliminary plat called for an 83-acre development with 79 single-family lots, 56 twin homes, one common lot and 11 outlots. Sellman said the proposal also would have required a conditional use permit for the single-family homes and twin homes under development flex zoning.
The proposal first came before the council in May 2025, when a concept included 83 single-family lots with 65-foot widths and 91 townhomes. At that time, the council did not support a land-use change to allow townhomes — instead favoring larger, more distinctive homes. A revised concept presented in October 2025 included 70-foot lots with twin homes, and the council was receptive to those changes.
The requested amendment would have allowed housing at 2.5 to 12 units per acre, including single-family homes, triplexes, quads and townhomes. Sellman said the proposed density was 3.1 units per acre.
Council Member Chris Massoglia said he opposed the amendment because he wants Blaine to stick with lower-density housing in areas already guided that way in the comprehensive plan.
“I don’t really think Blaine needs to change our vision for density in areas that we already have planned and visioned out for our comprehensive plan,” Massoglia said. “We’ve talked a lot about expanding the Lakes and blending into some larger, more unique homes as you move north past 125th.”
He said development flex zoning may offer flexibility, but in practice often creates a “patchwork” of lot sizes and housing types rather than the larger lots he wants to see in that area.
Council Member Terra Fleming said she liked the proposal, but did not believe it matched the city’s vision for the area.
“This is asking for a comp plan amendment and rezoning,” Fleming said. “And I’m just not comfortable doing all of that.”
She said Blaine does not always have the ability to stop certain housing types from being built, but in this case the city had a choice and she preferred to stick with the original vision.
Council Member Leslie Larson said the council had spent significant time in workshop discussing the area, in part because two large parcels were available side by side at the same time.
“I think this is the largest parcel, when you put the two together, that we will ever have in the city,” Larson said.
Larson said much of the patchwork development elsewhere in Blaine came from smaller farmsteads being sold separately. Here, she said, the city had a rare chance to pursue something more unified and distinctive.
“When is there ever 136 acres for sale between two properties at one time?” Larson said. “What we would love to see is something unique. Something unique like the Lakes that is really well thought out.”
She also said she has heard resident concerns about growth, including the loss of trees, wildlife and open space.
Ford and Newland argued the city was holding out for a kind of development that may no longer be realistic.
Newland said the revised plan reflected feedback the council had already given Pulte.
“The interest in trying to mirror what was done on the Lakes 20 years ago isn’t reality anymore,” Newland said. “The cost of prepping the land, the cost of doing infrastructure, has probably doubled in that time.”
He said land preparation and infrastructure costs make projects like the Lakes harder to replicate, and said homes such as twin homes are increasingly in demand. He also said he does not believe another Lakes-style development is likely.
Ford understood the council’s desire for larger homes in the area, but questioned if it was realistic. He said buyers seeking larger homes often want bigger lots and rural settings.
“Most people that want larger homes, they get larger lots, they move out into the country so they can custom-build their home,” Ford said.
Ford said Blaine also needs the tax base that denser housing provides. He argued a developer is unlikely to recreate something like the Lakes given the amount of grading and excavation that would require, and said the city should take advantage of a proposal that is ready now.
Sellman said the site is bordered by vacant land, single-family homes and wetlands to the north, south and west, with farm residential zoning on those sides. Land to the east is zoned town commercial and is vacant. She also said a neighborhood meeting drew five attendees, with questions focused on site access, future construction of Lakes Parkway and public parks in the Lakes development.
Dina McKinley, an area resident and one of the sellers, said she and her sisters were partnering with Pulte to develop land their family had farmed for decades. She said the area has changed dramatically over that time and that the family now sees the proposal as an opportunity as nearby commercial property develops.
“There was a picture of a boat with a fishing rod that said, Welcome to the Lakes,” McKinley said. “And I thought that was really interesting as a person looking out into the sod fields.”