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This said, however, I in no way wish to distance myself from the Appeal or the <br />contents of the Appeal letter. I fully support every word that is written in it. In fact, I <br />contributed greatly to the drafting of it. I only wish to point out and stress that by identifying <br />me as the party primarily responsible for the appeal greatly diminishes the input, <br />contribution, and the overall voice of the sixty-three (63) other affected neighbors that have <br />participated as the Appellants in the appeal. Their participation should not be discounted by <br />the misguided attempt to place the spotlight on me as the proverbial ring leader. The <br />Appellants are good, sincere, and knowledgeable people. Their voices are equal to mine and <br />they should be treated that way. <br />(2) THE CITY ATTORNEY IS MISTAKEN. <br />I believe that the City Attorney has mischaracterized the Appellants' use of statutory <br />authority. (RCA Attachment B, p. l -2; PDF, p.36-7). Indeed, Mr. Gaughan mistakes <br />Appellants' citation to Minn. Stat. § 273.13, subd. 23(f),(g) (2008)2 as having been cited for <br />the proposition that it was binding authority in municipality land use determinations. (Id. at <br />1.) The Appeal letter was absolutely clear that its use was for "illustrative" or "illuminating" <br />purposes. (Appeal Letter, p.2 n.4; p. 3.). Indeed, in referring to Minn. Stat. § 273.13, the <br />Appeal letter clearly stated that the section was a property tax provision: "the property tax <br />classification provisions of the Minnesota statutes are quite illustrative and are often used for <br />defining agricultural products and land use. See e.g., City of Plymouth Zoning Ord. § <br />21005.02." (Appeal Letter, p.2 n.4.)(emphasis added). <br />I also believe Mr. Gaughan inaccurately rejects Minn. Stat. § 315.47 (2008) as <br />"pertain[ing] solely to property owned by YMCAs and YWCAs." (RCA Attachment B, p. 2; <br />PDF, p. 37). I fail to see any language in section 315.47 specifically narrowing the <br />applicability of that particular provision to only corporations known as a Young Men's <br />Christian Association or a Young Women's Christian Association. Chapter 315 of the <br />Minnesota Statutes pertains to all "religious associations" and just because Minn. Stat. § <br />315.44 specifically addresses the formation of YMCAs and YWCAs does not mean that all <br />subsequent statutory provisions in the chapter relate to that same topic. Section 315.47 has <br />as its unique label "property rights" and states in pertinent part: "[p]roperty and its income <br />under the control of the board must be devoted only to the purposes of the association." <br />Minn. Stat. § 315.47 (2008). Chapter 315 pertains broadly to "religious associations" and <br />section 315.47 does not specifically restrict the general use of the term "association" to <br />Young Men's or Women's Christian Associations. I think that Mr. Gaughan has tried to read <br />language into section 315.47 that is just not there. See Lindberg v. Health Partners, Inc., 599 <br />N. W.2d 572, 578 (Minn. 1999)(stating that "it is not for the courts to read into a clear <br />statutory scheme something that plainly is not there."). What's more, the Appeal letter also <br />noted that NCPC's governing documents were specifically enacted pursuant to the provisions <br />of Chapter 315. (Appeal Letter, p. 5)(citing NCPC Bylaws art. I, § l .); see Diedrick v. Helm, <br />z "Real estate of less than ten acres, which is exclusively or intensively used for raising or cultivating <br />agricultural products, shall be considered as agricultural land." Minn. Stat. § 273.13, subd. 23(f) (2008). <br />"Land shall be classified as agricultural even if all or a portion of the agricultural use of that property is <br />the leasing to, or use by another person for agricultural purposes."Id., subd. 23(g). <br />2 <br />