Agenda - Planning Commission - 04/20/2015 - Joint with EPB

Home

RELEVANT LINKS: Dobbins v. City of Los Angeles, 195 U.S. 223, 25 S. Ct. 18, 49 L. Ed. 169 (1904). Pacific Palisades Assn. v. City of Huntington Beach, 196 Cal. 211, 237 P. 538. Charnofree Corp. v. City of Miami Beach (Fla.), 76 So.2d 665 (Fla. 1954). State ex rel. Killeen Realty Co. v. City of East Cleveland, 108 Ohio App. 99, 153.E.2d 177 (Ohio 1959). Linden Methodist Episcopal Church v. City of Linden, 113 N.J.L. 188, 173 A. 593 (N.J. 1934). A.G. Op. 59-A-32 (Jan. 25, 2002). Pilgrim v. City of Winona, 256 N.W.2d 266 (Minn. 1977). The joint planning board exercises planning and land use control authority in the unincorporated area within two miles of the corporate limits of a city. Members of the board are appointed by each of the participating governmental units to equally represent the governmental units that comprise the board. J. Zoning ordinances that limit competition or protect local business from being displaced by new business A city's zoning authority is based upon its police power to protect the public's health, safety and welfare. Zoning to protect private economic interests is problematic, because it is not generally perceived to be related to the public's health and welfare. In general, the federal courts have ruled that cities should not adopt zoning regulations with the sole intent to protect enterprises from competition in a particular district or to create monopolies or to make certain areas subservient to others. Cities may encounter this issue in the zoning drafting process, when specifying permitted and conditional uses for a district. More commonly, the issue will arise in the context of reviewing a particular zoning application. For example, a city may wish to not grant a CUP for a new bank in the city, because officials perceive that there are too many banks in an area or that the a new bank may put long-established businesses out of business. This type of economic favoritism is not permitted in zoning ordinance drafting or application. IV. Zoning ordinance adoption and/or amendment The Municipal Planning Act mandates a procedure for the adoption or amendment of zoning ordinances for both statutory and charter cities. An amendment to a zoning ordinance may be initiated by the city council, the planning commission, or by petition of affected property owners. An amendment that is not initiated by the planning commission must be referred to it, if there is one, for study and report. The city council may not act on such an amendment until it has received the recommendation of the planning commission or until 60 days have passed from the date the amendment was referred to the planning commission without a report. League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 1/20/2015 Zoning Guide for Cities Page 19