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Country Joe, Inc., et al., Respondents, vs. City of Eagan, petitioner, Appellant. C8-95-228... Page 1' of 7 <br /> <br />STATE OF MINNESOTA <br />IN SUPREME COURT <br />C8-95-2289 <br /> <br />Court of Appeals <br /> <br />Keith, C.J. <br /> <br />Country Joe, Inc., et al., <br /> <br />Respondents, <br /> <br />VS. <br /> <br />City of Eagan, petitioner, <br /> <br /> Appellant. <br /> <br /> Filed: March 6, 1997 <br />Office of Appellate Courts <br /> <br />SYLLABUS <br /> <br />A statutory city, lacks express or implied authority, to impose a road unit connection charge as a <br />condition to issuance of building permits within its borders. <br /> <br />Affirmed. <br /> <br />Heard, considered and decided by the court en banc. <br /> <br />OPINION <br /> <br />KEITH, Chief Justice. <br /> <br />This case requires us to decide whether the City of Eagan may lawfully impose a road unit connection <br />charge as a condition of issuance of all building permits within its borders. The city adopted such a <br />charge in 1978 for the purpose of funding rnaj or street improvements. The respondents, home building <br />contractors, challenged the city's authority to impose such a charge and sought a refund of all charges <br />collected within the six-year statute of limitations. They also sought class certification on behalf of <br />themselves and all others.subjected to the charge. On cross-motions for summary judgment~ the parties <br />entered into a stipulation calling for the district court to initially consider only the question of the city's <br />authority to impose the charge. After a hearing, the district court concluded that the city had the <br />authority under its police powers to impose a road unit connection charge. The court of appeals reversed, <br />concluding that the charge was unauthorizedeither by statute or case law. Country doe, Inc. v. City of <br />Eagan, 548 N.W.2d 281,284 (Minn. App. 1996). We affirm. <br /> <br />On February, t 4, 1978, the Eagan city council adopted a resolution imposing a road unit connection <br />charge payable as a condition to issuance of all building permits within the city. [1] The resolution <br />stated that its purpose was to provide "an equitable source of funding for major county and city street <br />construction * * * in order to accommodate new development and traffic generated fi'om future <br />anticipated residential, commercial and industrial construction * * *" <br /> <br />f~e.//C:\D~umen~s%2~and%2~Se~tin~s\aaeis~er.RAMSEY\L~ca~%2~Settin~s\Temr~rarv... 6/25/2004 <br /> <br /> <br />