Laserfiche WebLink
<br />MASLON <br />EDELMA"'I <br />BORMAN <br />& BRAND <br /> <br />a Profasional Limitod <br />Liability Partrur.hip <br /> <br />October 27, 1995 <br />Page 3 <br /> <br />Township of Grow, 296 Minn. 1,206 N.W.2d 19 (1973). If there was no rational <br />basis for the decision, the decision is arbitrary, and will be reversed by the courts. To <br />determine whether a decision is arbitrary, courts look at the City's standards for the <br />issuance of the Permit. If the standards are specific and the applicant has fulfilled all of <br />the standards, a denial of the Permit will be arbitrary as a matter oflaw. When the <br />standards are more general, courts look at the compatibility of the proposed <br />development to the particular zone and whether the development will endanger the <br />public health, s.afety and general welfare of the surrounding community. The absence <br />of specific standards makes the denial of a Permit more vulnerable to a finding of <br />arbitrariness. <br /> <br />RoseviUe's standards for the issuance of a Permit are general in nature. They <br />include: <br /> <br />1. Impact on traffic; <br />2. Impact on parks, streets, and other public utilities; <br />3. Compatibility with the site plan, internal traffic circulation, landscaping, <br />and structures with contiguous properties; <br />4. Impact of the use on the market value of contiguous properties; <br />5. Impact on the general public health, safety and welfare; and <br />6. Compatibility with the City's Comprehensive Plan. <br /> <br />Because the City's standards are general, the focus of the City's determination <br />to issue a permit must be based upon the proposed development's compatibility with <br />the B-3 zone and the affect on the surrounding area. General objections by the City <br />will not suffice; the City must present specific evidence to show incompatibility or an <br />adverse affect to the surrounding community. MinnetonkaCongregation of Jehovah's <br />Witnesses v. Svee, 303 Minn. 79,226 N.W.2d 306 (1975). Moreover, neither <br />opposition by neighbors nor traffic concerns are an adequate basis for denial when the <br />City has little evidence to support an adverse affect on the community or surrounding <br />businesses. See Northpointe Plaza v. City of Rochester, 457 N.W.2d 398 (Minn. App. <br />1990), afPd. 465 N.W.2d 686 (Minn. 1991); see also Metro 500 v. City of Brooklyn <br />Park, 297 Minn. 294, 211 N.W.2d 358 (1973) (denial of a Permit to a service station <br />could not be justified on the grounds that station endangered public welfare when <br />there was no specific evidence presented to show station would create hazards, light, <br />fire or health problems). <br /> <br />The City has no specific evidence to show Car-X's incompatibility with the B-3 <br />zone or that it will have an adverse affect on the surrounding community. To the <br />contrary, the specific evidence before the City Council indicates that Car-X is <br />