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LAW OFFICES OF <br /> Burke and }Hawkins <br /> SUITE 101 <br /> 299 COON RAPIDS BOULEVARD <br /> JOHN M. BURKE COON RAPIDS, MINNESOTA 55433 <br /> WILLIAM G. HAWKINS PHONE 16121 784 -2999 <br /> THOMAS M. FITZPATRICK <br /> May 22, 1985 <br /> Centerville City Council <br /> 1694 Sorel Street <br /> Centerville, MN 55038 <br /> Re: Rezoning of 6805 20th Avenue South from Commercial to <br /> Industrial <br /> Gentlemen: <br /> The following letter is written in response to your request for <br /> my written opinion concerning the rezoning of the above <br /> referenced property in November of 1980. Apparently several <br /> questions have been raised concerning the propriety of this <br /> action on the part of the City Council. <br /> Procedurally under the Zoning Ordinance for the City a petition <br /> to initiate rezoning may be commenced by the City Council, or <br /> the Planning Commission, or 50 per cent of the affected land- <br /> owners and 50 per cent of the persons within 350 feet. The <br /> information provided to me indicates that the only party who <br /> initiated the rezoning was the property owner. Under Minnesota <br /> Statute 462.357 the enabling legislation dealing with amendments <br /> to zoning ordinances for cities indicates that a city may in its <br /> zoning ordinance establish the number of affected persons needed <br /> to initiate a zoning change. While most communities merely <br /> allow the owner of the property who requests the zoning to <br /> petition, the Centerville City Ordinance is much more strict <br /> than that. Since the zoning application was not initiated by <br /> the requisite number of persons under our ordinance it would <br /> certainly appear to be subject to challenge by the affected and <br /> adjacent property owners. While it may be argued that the City <br /> Council in acting upon the application in effect initiated the <br /> application this argument is certainly not as strong as if the <br /> rezoning was actually initiated by a separate council resolu- <br /> tion. <br /> There has been some discussion regarding the possible inconsist <br /> ency of the rezoning to the Centerville Comprehensive Plan. <br /> Minnesota courts have held that all inconsistencies between <br /> zoning and a comprehensive plan do not necessarily invalidate <br />