04-21-92 CCM - Laserfiche WebLink

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LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MEETING STONEGATE FINAL PLAT: APRIL 21, 1992 (APPENDIX A) Councilman Mottaz gave the following reasons for voting against the Final Plat for Stonegate: I will vote against this resolution for two reasons. The first being the rezoning of the property for the Stonegate development was not in compliance with the Lake Elmo Comp Plan in effect at that time. The second reason I feel that the rezoning of the Stonegate property did not meet the requirement of the Minnesota State Statute calling for a super majority to rezone. Two of the five votes cast for the rezoning resolution were cast under duress or were rendered following the use of "force or threats". Leading these threats was a statement from Judge Quinn that failure to vote a certain way could result in imprisonment or a fine. The vote that I cast was done so to keep me out of jail or to avoid a heavy fine. It was not made because I favored that position. This then, I believe, became not my vote but Judge Quinn's vote. I believe that Judge Quinn exceeded his powers by directing elected officials as to how they must vote on a given issue. By doing this he assumed powers of, not only the judicial, but the legislative branch of government. With two votes cast under duress this gave a total of only three Council votes, and I believe two were Judge Quinn's votes falling short of the 4/5ths required by State Law. The authority of any judge to direct an elected official to vote a certain way has not been ruled on by the high court. The City of Yonkers, New York presented the question to the U.S. Supreme Court, but withdrew before the Court ruled on the matter so it remains unanswered. An effort is currently being made to get an answer to this question. Until this is done, I must continue to vote against further progress of the Stonegate development on the grounds that I do not believe that the rezoning was legally achieved.