Legalectric

Rice Co. Rd. 46, at Albers Park

What are we preserving? What are we giving up? What are we giving away?

There’s a Supreme Court case that just came down that looks at the meaning and impact of orderly development. After Friday’s RCLUA v. Rice County hearing, I spent a lot of time thinking about the wide scope of “protectable resource” provided by the Minnesota Rules, and more broadly, where we’re headed as a culture, and if anyone is thinking long term. Changes in land use are irreversible. What is important?

Read this case! It’s Mendota Golf, LLP v. City of Mendota Heights and in short, open space and the City’s demonstrated desire to preserve it won the day!

Here’s the STrib article: Land use ruling may have wider affect across metro

Doug Jones, in his editorial yesterday in the Northfield News, says I ought to participate! What a novel concept! If only he’d participate, he’d know that I am… sigh… there he goes again, shooting himself in the foot because he can’t be bothered with obvious facts.

Who is this guy and what’s his interest? Doug Jones came here from somewhere else, bought a chunk of Wheeling Township, built a house that has people gawking, was instrumental in the Valley Grove Church restoration, but isn’t overt or visible in his political activity. I can’t tell if he’s a “legend in his own mind” or a close personal friend of Karl Rove’s who is pulling strings and getting folks to toe the party line. He’s got money, no doubt about it, and I’ve heard rumors of a connection to Enron — maybe… he knows a few things about transmission regulation and understands the importance of state, not FERC, control — he looks and carries himself like an absent-minded professor or electrical engineer — so maybe he’s from the electric industry. Jones contributes to many political candidates (do a search), hosts political fundraising and civic shindigs, and when Rep. Ray Cox performs he quietly watches from the sidelines. Now and then comes out with truly bizarre ideas that make it seem he doesn’t care about his credibility — I guess I won’t complain! Anyway, here’s his latest:

Don’t sue; do participate

To the editor:

Rice County needs a director of planning and zoning with the depth of experience and professionalism of Arlyn Grussing.

Unfortunately, the woman who is again suing Rice County because she thinks the Rice County Board of Planning and Zoning staff should be sentenced to “remedial training â?¦ regarding environmental review,” (Northfield News Nov. 19) is at it again!

Something called Rice County Land Use Accountability Inc. has already cost Rice County taxpayers over $10,000 to defend against her suit, which was dismissed by District Judge Bernard Borene. Perhaps her on-going lawsuits contributed to Rice County losing its highly experienced chief civil servant for planning and zoning.

In her insinuation that Rice County should appoint someone acceptable to her personal environmental philosophy, she leaps over to a Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) criticism of the Interstate 35 “rezoning scheme” because the infrastructure is not already planned or implemented. Question: Shouldn’t zoning planning come before infrastructure?

Why doesn’t Carol Overland help by participating on one of the county’s land use committees? Instead, we have continuing lawsuits by Carol Overland’s Rice County Land Use Accountability Inc., which does not have one single known Rice County land owner on its board of directors or among its officers, including Carol Overland, a resident of Goodhue County.

Doug Jones
Nerstrand

Here’s the DOT comment on the AUAR. Download file What do you think???

Here’s the membership of Committee 1

I’ll upload my comments after the paper publishes it. Stay tuned…

Tails from the Fourth Estate — odd this is happening during a Northfield Issues list about editorial changes in the Northfield News, good bye Guest Columns, hello ????

One thing I think we have gained with the new Editor/Publisher is a “been there, done that” common sense that comes with a lot of years at the helm.

Northfield News is issuing a correction to its false and boneheaded sub-headline from last Saturday - they’ve read the judge’s order, Louie Seesz, Editor/Publisher and Mark Anfinson, Esq. are in utter and obvious agreement that the paper’s sub-headline isn’t true, and they’ll issue a correction. It’s a start. What’s a false claim like that worth?

Methinks compensatory damages ought to include a monthly Guest Column! Sound equitable?

Now, will any of the Rice County defendants read the Correction? Or their attorney?

(if you’re feeling the urge to buy a gross of these, here’s the link, and only $2.50 apiece!)

The new editor/publisher, Louie Seesz, is off to an inauspicious start. First the Guest Column change. Now this… The article printed in the November 19, 2005, Northfield News had a PATENTLY FALSE STATEMENT, as well as some incorrect quotes and conflations. The biggest problem is in the secondary headline, where the News FALSELY stated:

Judge deems suit against county as “frivolous.”

Here’s a link to the article. Nope, can’t link to it because it’s not all there in the online version.

Here’s a link to the Order: Download file

It’s clear — this Order is dismissing the suit on “jurisdictional” issues, it was not dismissed as frivolous, and it was not dismissed with prejudice. This case has not been decided on the merits.

The reporter I spoke with said he had the Order — if so, what yahoo wrote this headline?

And for the record, I did not say that it was dismissed because a reply was not filed! I said that the judge had stated in the Order that the Reply had not been filed until the morning of the hearing, that the statement in the Order was not true, and I have the fax receipt and a cancelled check to prove it!

I don’t understand why Reuvers would be saying on Tuesday that RCLUA “planned” to refile when it very clearly had been served, filed, served on the AG’s Office, MPCA and published in the paper the week prior. He got a copy of the Summons and Complaint, and I sent him an affidavit of Service on the AG’s office and MPCA (Affidavit from Faribault Daily News hasn’t been received yet). It’s old news, nothing “planned” about it, it’s real. But he can say whatever he wants. The article states “He says it is a little tiring to have to deal with the same issue twice.” This hasn’t been addressed on the merits once, so we have yet to see how they deal with it on the merits!

Here’s what Reuver’s has sent — Download file

My legal opinion? Here’s my response: Download file

That’s legalese for “WHAT A LOAD!”

And then, back to the article, there’s Gordon Kelly, the guy who loves to slam members of the public for participating in public hearings and asking questions, who joins in the after hearing Planning Commission discussion in favor of calling the sheriff on me for passing out blank forms for public comment on the AUAR, it’s just to funny to hear him talk of this suit damaging the county’s reputation! Damaging the county’s reputation? After the actions of the Planning Commission and County Board, how could the county’s reputation on these issues get any worse — but what else can they say when confronted with the truth of their multiple violations of environmental rules? Violation of environmental rules is not an isolated thing, but a pattern of behavior, and one that must be corrected. How to correct it? How to hold them accountable? Seems to me the best way is to require they get environmental training so they can’t claim not to know the state’s Rules — and that’s what we’re asking for in this suit. Gordon Kelly states that “It was pointed out to us that Rice County is following the environmental rules.” Earth to Mars, reread that Order, the part quoted in the paragraph below your statement in the Northfield News article, which says:

Although this lawsuit is dismissed, the Court notes that the lawsuit does provide Rice County with an opportunity to fully review whether its environmental review practices are fully in compliance with environmental rules and regulations.

We’re asking for education and training regarding environmental review and rules. Will somebody please explain why the County finds the education and training regarding environmental review and rules so onerous?

This case has not been addressed on its merits, and it will be. It’s been refiled, the “jurisdictional” issues are remedied, and we’re going forward.

Hopefully the Northfield News will have a greater understanding and command of the English langage and will exercise their word processor and printing press with more accuracy.

The editorial page in today’s Northfield News says it all:

Good ideas and consequences

To the editor:

Here are some good ideas:

* Rice County commissioners rezoned 1,180 acres of prime farmland and wetlands along Interstate 35 to a highway commercial zoning designation. This can bring more money to the county.

* Farmers wanting to quit farming on the land can make a lot of money, to which they are entitled.

* Developers and businesses who want to take over the land can make a lot of money.

* New businesses can bring new jobs to the county.

* The county has a plan for responsible development.

* Input from the residents of the county is invited on the development plan.

Here are the problems:

* The Rice County commissioners have said development will bring in money for the county, but they have never said how to pay for it. Estimates to get started range from $20 million to $40 million.

* Over 50 percent of the soil in the development area will not handle development and must be replaced.

* No plan has been presented to cover the cost of necessary infrastructure.

* Farmers who want to continue to farm this land and homeowners who want to stay will be forced off their land by development pressures and unwelcome commercial neighbors. Many will lose a lot of money if the county says their pieces of the land will not be used for development, only related infrastructure, etc.

* Developers and businesses will ask for tax breaks.

* The cheapest development involves truck transfer facilities and large storage or display areas. Some of these will employ less than a dozen local people. The number of jobs per acre for these businesses will be small.

* The commissioners’ highway commercial zoning designation was not based on the county’s long-term development plan. When they realized what they had done, they quietly rewrote the plan. This is one of several instances where they violated their own laws. However, to date they have never held themselves accountable.

* City mayors and township board members, representing the majority of the citizens of the county, have objected to the many negative consequences of this plan. To date hundreds of questions and problems have been raised. Almost none have been answered, and few improvements have been made to the highway commercial plan. Local governments and citizens are being ignored.

* Numerous additional technical and legal problems with the highway commercial plan are now being raised, in writing, by concerned citizens committed to responsible and accountable government. More comments are encouraged, and must be submitted by Oct. 26 to the director of planning and zoning.

* More such development plans, that ignore the consequences to the citizens of the county, are starting to emerge. Whether residents of the county live near or distant from these development, in one way or another, all will pay for the benefit of a few.

Charles Skinner
Northfield

A rezoning nightmare

To the editor:
As most people know, Rice County Commissioner Jim Brown made his move last November to rezone 1,100 acres of ag land along a three-mile strip of Interstate 35 — Minnesota Highway 19 on the north to Rice County Road 1 on the south — to highway commercial. Faribault, Dundas and Northfield, Bridgewater and Forest townships along with farmers and rural residents strongly objected. At one of the hearings, former Faribault City Councilor Fran Minnick called on the board to open up a smaller area to start out. Sounded like common sense to me.

The new county board approved a committee chaired by Gordon Kelley, under the guidance of RLK Kuusisto Consulting, to come up with a master plan by Dec. 31, when developers will begin rushing in. Plans now include shopping centers along with business and industrial parks and warehouses — a true hodge-podge.

RLK put together an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR), available for public comment through Oct. 26. It is a set of 31 questions, designed to give information about the project that may have the potential for “significant environmental effects.” The document is available at Faribault, Northfield and Rochester public libraries, Rice County Zoning Office or the county Web site. Anyone who finds answers to the questions to be incorrect or incomplete should put it in writing to Rice County Director of Planning and Zoning Arlyn Grussing.

Questions will be answered and, one assumes, adjustments made or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) ordered if citizens call for it.

It is a daunting task for an ordinary person to review a document of 54 pages plus maps and exhibits. I suggest each person look at the table of contents and find one or two questions to look at. For me, it is No. 18: Wastewaters. A continuous discharge wastewater treatment plant on Heath Creek (or Wolf Creek as an alternative) is a very offensive idea. Fortunately, discharging to already impaired waters (in this case Lake Byllesby) is not allowed, so other alternatives were listed. It looks like warehouses and other businesses will go in on their own septics to start out. That doesn’t sound great, either.

I am just starting on the traffic section. Planned level of service (LOS) at several intersections are rated very low. At full buildout, 103,325 traffic trips per day are projected for the area. The intersection of Highway 19 and Rice County Road 46 is rated “D.” On a scale of A to F for failing, that is not good. And, as one of a dozen residents who spoke at the planning commission public hearing regarding the AUAR said last Thursday night, what about air emissions?

I empathize more with farmers and residents who will be negatively impacted by this massive development and less with those few who are standing in line to sell for big money. I guess we know which group Commissioner Brown is listening to.

Stephanie Henriksen
Dundas

Concerning French Lake

To the editor:
It appears another taxpayer fiasco is on the drawing board for Rice County, as if the ill-conceived hyper-squalor producing Interstate 35/Minnesota Highway 19 corridor isn’t enough to impair more surface waters, disfigure more landscape and threaten to raise county taxes to the realm of the metro area. Now comes the bold new plan for a 350-unit “Gated Community” on French Lake that will disrupt and destroy the very countryside that it uses to sell these McMansions in the first place!

What will the outcome of adding 300-plus houses be to a rural place where they don’t belong? How about for starters at least 700 more cars on rural roads and tens of thousands of more car trips per year adding congestion and deteriorating roadways even faster. Water quality will suffer for all because of the excavations as well as the usual years of massive noise that is never even considered by these metro speculators.

And all for what? So a developer can make a huge profit at the expense of taxpayers and Rice County’s quality of life. If these projects are allowed, Rice County will know that their planning and zoning department and elected officials are corrupt to the core and that it is only a charade to give the appearance of democracy.

Besides setting an apocalyptic precedent for years to come, this is urban sprawl at its worst, with no accounting of true costs.

Lawrence Morgan
Montgomery

Wouldn’t ya think that this District has learned something about massive boondoggle development, corporations at the public trough, and taxpayer and public coffers sucked dry?

As my EXhusband would say, “Goes to show you don’t think!”