Agenda - Charter Commission - 08/11/1997 - Special Meeting

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MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: RE: DATE: Ramsey Charter Commission William K. Goodrich, city Attorney June 24, 1997 Proposed Charter Amendment August 6, 1997 The following is background and my legal comments regarding the pending Charter Amendment. This same information is being presented to the City Council at its August 12, 1997 meeting. On June 24, 1997 the Council was presented with a petition from approximately 370 residents petitioning for an Amendment to the City Charter. Enclosed is a copy of one sheet of the petition. The procedure for Charter Amendments is governed by State Statute MS §410.12. The city Administrator has determined, as required by state law, that all sheets of the petition were properly attested and that the petition was signed by a sufficient number of voters (five percent of the votes cast at the last general election). The next requirement is for the City Council to schedule an election for the citizens to vote on whether or not to adopt the proposed amendment. This election must be scheduled within 90 days of the date the Petition was presented to the governing body (the City Council). This would then require an election date on or before September 22, 1997o Staff recommends an election date of Tuesday, September 22, 1997. The obligation to schedule the election is a mandatory duty of the City Council, the only exception being if the Council finds that the proposed Charter Amendment is manifestly unconstitutional. Manifestly is defined as obvious to the understanding, evident to the mind, not obscure or hidden, unmistakable. As you know, I, in conjunction with the law firm of Kennedy and Graven have reviewed the proposed Charter Amendment (the "Amendment") to determine if it is manifestly unconsti- tutional. Our conclusion is that while the Amendment may very well be illegal in its application, it is not manifestly unconstitutional and therefore it must, under State law be presented to the electorate. The follo%;ing are my fiqdings with regard to the Amendment text: The Amendment is intended to control residential development density within the MUSA area and as such is a zoning amendment. The Metropolitan Land Use Planning Act prohibits a municipality from enacting any official controls (Zoning Amendments) which conflict with the municipality's comprehensive plan (MS §473.858) and therefore any such conflict renders the ordinance