Mendota Golf v. City of Mendota Hgts, No. A04-206.
| Decision Date | 10 January 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. A04-206. |
| Citation | 708 N.W.2d 162 |
| Parties | MENDOTA GOLF, LLP, Respondent, v. CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
ANDERSON, PAUL H., Justice.
Appellant City of Mendota Heights appeals from a Minnesota Court of Appeals decision affirming a Dakota County District Court writ of mandamus, which compels the city to amend its comprehensive plan to allow respondent Mendota Golf, LLP, to turn its golf course property into a residential development. We reverse, concluding that the city did not have a clear duty to amend its comprehensive plan and the city had a rational basis to deny Mendota Golf's proposed amendment to the comprehensive plan. However, because we conclude that there is a conflict between the city's comprehensive plan and the city's zoning ordinance that has not been reconciled as required by Minn.Stat. § 473.858, subd. 1 (2004), we remand to the district court to issue an order directing the city to reconcile the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance provisions.
Mendota Golf, LLP, owns a 17.5-acre tract of real property located at the intersection of Dodd Road and Bachelor Avenue in the City of Mendota Heights. Since the early 1960s, the property has been used and operated as a nine-hole par 3 golf course. At present, the character of the neighborhood surrounding the property is residential.
When Mendota Golf acquired the property in January 1995, the city's zoning ordinance designated the property as Residential (R-1 One-Family Residential), while the city's comprehensive plan designated the property as "Golf Course" (GC). At that time, the Metropolitan Land Planning Act (MLPA) provided that a city's zoning designations took priority over conflicting comprehensive plan designations. Minn.Stat. § 473.858, subd. 1 (1994). In R-1 one-family residential districts, "[o]ne-family detached dwellings" are a permitted use and golf courses are a conditional use. The comprehensive plan and zoning designations for the property have not changed since 1995. Mendota Golf asserts that it purchased the property with the understanding that if the golf course proved unprofitable, it had the "safety net of developing the Land Parcel at some later point in time."
During the 1995 legislative session, the legislature amended the MLPA by adding a provision directing local government units to reconcile conflicts between comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances. Act of May 17, 1995, ch. 176, § 5, 1995 Minn. Laws 593, 594-95. The amended statute, which became effective on August 1, 1995, provides in relevant part:
If the comprehensive municipal plan is in conflict with the zoning ordinance, the zoning ordinance shall be brought into conformance with the plan by local government units in conjunction with the review, and, if necessary, amendment of its comprehensive plan required under section 473.864, subdivision 2.1 After August 1, 1995, a local government unit shall not adopt any fiscal device or official control which is in conflict with its comprehensive plan, including any amendment to the plan, or which permits activity in conflict with metropolitan system plans * * *.
Minn.Stat. § 473.858, subd. 1 (2004) (footnotes added). The amended statute also provides that an official control "shall not be considered to be in conflict with a local government unit's comprehensive plan" if the official control "is adopted to ensure the planned, orderly, and staged development of urbanization or redevelopment areas designated in the comprehensive plan." Id.2
Mendota Heights asserts that it "has a long history and commitment to planning which has resulted in unique residential living environments and business centers." The city adopted its first land use plan in 1960, even before the MLPA went into effect and required communities to do such planning. The 1960 plan focused on "high quality residential neighborhoods, open space and parks and well-planned commercial and industrial areas."
In 1979, the city adopted a comprehensive plan that incorporated regional policies and guidelines under the MLPA. The 1979 comprehensive plan placed the subject property in the land use category "(GC) Golf Course" and "guided" the land on all sides of the property as Low-Density Residential. At the time, single-family residential development surrounded the property to the north, south, and west, but the land across Dodd Road to the east was undeveloped.
The city's 1979 comprehensive plan also set forth certain planning goals, which were reaffirmed in 2002. The goals from the 1979 plan that are most relevant to this case are: (1) maintaining the community character and identity; (2) resisting the deterioration of the environment; (3) maintaining the existing residential areas; (4) providing the optimum amount of active and passive open space for the enjoyment of all of the city's residents; (5) encouraging the preservation of open space in the community by private property owners in a manner consistent with the comprehensive plan; (6) encouraging planned usage of existing private recreational facilities in order to avoid duplication and promote maximum enjoyment of all citizens in the city; (7) providing each neighborhood in the city with open space; and (8) preserving and enhancing the natural beauty, uniqueness, and attractive appearance of the community.
The city adopted the 2002 comprehensive plan after engaging in a three-year review process during which several public hearings were held. When the city adopted the 2002 comprehensive plan, it reaffirmed that its goals and policies remain consistent with its original vision for development. Included among the 2002 goals and policies is the preservation of green spaces, open spaces, and recreational facilities.
Low-Density Residential (LR) is the most prevalent land use category in the 2002 comprehensive plan. Land designated as LR may be developed with single-family residences at a density of not more than 2.9 units per acre. The corresponding zoning classifications for LR are all One-Family Residential: R-1, R-1B, and R-1C. Other land use categories in the comprehensive plan include Commercial (LB and B), Industrial (I), Mixed Use — Planned Unit Development (MU — PUD), Public (PUB), Open Space (OS), Institutional (INS), and Golf Course (GC).
As part of its process of updating the comprehensive plan, the city "reviewed a number of parcels within the community for consistency between the Zoning Map and Comprehensive Land Use Plan." The city apparently was anticipating the possibility that the character of some of these parcels would change. These parcels were designated as "Infill Sites" in the city's Technical Plan. Mendota Golf's property is one of the parcels designated as an infill site. The Technical Plan indicates that the zoning designation for the property is R-1 and states:
This site is currently a par-3 golf course and is guided as GC. This designation is proposed to remain. In the event that future redevelopment of this site is contemplated, careful consideration would need to be given to develop the site in a manner consistent with and sensitive to the existing low-density residential neighborhood.
Despite published notice of the city's plans to revise its comprehensive plan, Mendota Golf did not appear before the city to request alternate "guiding" of the property.
Under the 2002 comprehensive plan, all three golf courses in the city, including Mendota Golf's property, are designated as "Golf Course." According to the comprehensive plan:
The Golf Course land use designation is intended to distinguish the commercial/recreation/open space characteristics associated with golf courses. The corresponding zoning district classifications are R-1, R-1A (One Family Residential) and R-2 (Medium Density Residential District).3
Under the city's zoning ordinance, golf courses are a conditional use within these residential districts. The city apparently has not taken any steps to create a special zoning district classification for golf courses that corresponds to the Golf Course land use designation in the comprehensive plan.4
In 2003, Mendota Golf decided to sell its property to a developer that planned to dismantle the golf course and build single-family homes. Mendota Golf entered into a purchase agreement with the developer that conditioned the sale of the property on "the buyer's obtaining necessary governmental approvals for proposed residential development." The developer's proposed residential development would eliminate the open space and recreational uses that the property presently provides to the city.
After entering into the purchase agreement, the developer submitted to the city a concept plan for a residential subdivision on the property. According to the minutes of the city council meeting at which the concept plan was considered, the mayor and several council members indicated that they would not support a change in the city's comprehensive plan to allow residential development of the property. The city did not take any formal action on the concept plan.
Mendota Golf subsequently submitted an application to the city requesting that the city amend the comprehensive plan to change the designation of the property from "Golf Course" to "Low Density Residential." In a letter attached to the application, Alan Spaulding, one of Mendota Golf's partners, indicated that Mendota Golf had failed to make the golf course "a profitable venture" and needed to "pursue alternative uses." Spaulding stated that when Mendota Golf...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Wensmann Realty, Inc. v. City of Eagan, A05-1074.
...to the city's land use decision, and we review such decisions under a rational basis standard of review. Mendota Golf, LLP v. City of Mendota Heights, 708 N.W.2d 162, 179 (Minn. 2006). A decision regarding a proposed amendment to a city's comprehensive plan is legislative in nature, see id.......
-
Zweber v. Credit River Twp.
...appeals.” Interstate Power Co. v. Nobles Cty. Bd. of Comm'rs, 617 N.W.2d 566, 574 n. 5 (Minn.2000) ; see Mendota Golf, LLP v. City of Mendota Heights, 708 N.W.2d 162, 178 (Minn.2006) (stating that “the proper procedure for reviewing a city's decision in a zoning matter generally will be a d......
-
RDNT, LLC v. City of Bloomington
...issue because the property owner conceded that “comprehensive plans are intended to ‘trump’ inconsistent local ordinances.” 708 N.W.2d 162, 173 n. 6 (Minn.2006) (internal quotation marks omitted). We remanded the case to the city to address the inconsistency between the comprehensive plan a......
-
Three Putt, LLC v. City of Minnetonka, No. A08-1436 (Minn. App. 6/2/2009)
...authority's exercise of its discretion to determine whether there was a rational basis for the decision. Mendota Golf, LLP v. City of Mendota Heights, 708 N.W.2d 162, 178 (Minn. 2006). The fact that this court may have arrived at a different conclusion does not invalidate the judgment of a ......
-
Accommodating Change: Departures From (and Within) the Zoning Ordinance
...members who voted in favor of the amendment were agents for the same real estate company. MENDOTA GOLF, LLP v. CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS 708 N.W.2d 162 (Minn. 2006) ANDERSON, Paul H., Justice. . . . Mendota Golf, LLP, owns a 17.5-acre tract of real property located at the intersection of Dodd......