Agenda - Council - 04/08/2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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'the clerk of any town or incorporated village' shall, on petition of ten legal voters, give notice that the question of licensing the sale of intoxicating liquors will be submitted to the voters at the 'annual town meeting or annual charter election' next to be held after the petition is filed. !d. at252, 123 N.W. at 665. After considering the plain language of the statute, previous statutes on the subject, and the legislative intent in the statute's enactment, the court explained: "Section 1528 is by its language expressly limited to towns and villages, and does not apply to cities." Id. at 254, 123 N.W. at 666 (Minn. 190~)? A similar conclusion is compelled here. The statutory preference for residents expressly applies to towns with charter schools, not cities. Minn. Stat. g124D.1O, subd. 9 (2006). Moreover, the intent of the preference that is advanced by Look is to provide students with educational opportunities in the vicinity of their residence, something that is uniquely important to rural residents, rather than individuals living in urban areas. There is no need for such a 2 See also Odegaard v. City of Albert Lea, 33 Minn. 351, 353, 23 N.W. 526, 526;.27 (Minn. 1885)("We have in this state the three classes of primary political divisions-towns,. cities, and incorporated villages; and that the first only of these is meant by the word 'town' may, in a given case, be apparent from the purpose of the statute."). While Odegaard ultimately concluded that '~own" as used in the particular statute at issue should be read to apply to cities, the decision was dependent on a generally applicable statute regarding statutory construction that required the term "town" to be read to include cities unless such a construction would be repugnant to the statute's intent. Id. at 353, 23 N.W. at 526-27 (citing the subsequently repealed Minn. Gen. St. 1878, ch. 4, gl). The language relied upon was repealed in 1942 and the principle abandoned. Compare Gen. Minn. Stat. 1878, Ch. 4, gland 1942 Minn. Laws, 492-H.F. No. 1088 (repealing 1927 Mason's Minn. Stat. 10933) to the current general statute regarding statutory construction of the term "town", Minn. Stat. g 645.44, subd. 1,subd. 3 (2006) ("the following words, terms, and phrases used in Minnesota Statutes or any legislative act shall have the meanings given them in this section, unless another intention clearly appears. . . . When a county, town or city is mentioned, without any particular description, it imports the particular county, town or city appropriate to the matter."). -140- 13