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COMMON MISTAKES IN LAND USE ORDINANCES Based on a presentation to the 2002 Minnesota Association of City Attorneys Educational Conference and Annual Meeting, February 8-9, 2002, by Duke Addicks, Special Counsel, League of Minnesota Cities (800) 925-1122. (651) 281-1221. addicks lnmc.org In reviewing over 80 sets of land use ordinances over the past four years, I have discovered that there are many common mistakes made by those who drafted them. Also, there have been several recent changes in the Municipal Planning Act (M. S. §§ 462.351 to 462.365) which conflict with and override provisions in existing land use ordinances. City attorneys should encourage every planning commission and zoning administrator to review their existing ordinances to determine if they are consistent with the following suggestions. 1. 60 Day Rule. Most city zoning ordinances have built in time limits which, if followed, would result in a timeline which exceeds that permitted by law. Timelines should either not be included in land use ordinances or changed to conform to the 60 day rule. Also, the 60 day rule requires that the approval/disapproval process_operate in a certain way. Please note that the 2003 legislature will be making changes to this "rule" and the suggestions below should be compared with any changes the legislature may make. • M. S. § 15.99 requires cities to issue or deny zoning permits, rezoning petitions, and to approve or deny other land use related applications, including applications for variances and conditional use permits, within 60 days after a complete application is received or"tFie application will be deemed approved. An application is deemed completed unless within ten days after the application is received written notice is given'the applicant of what information is missing in order for the application to be complete. • A city council must either approve or deny an.application within 60 days after the completed application is filed, unless the Council determines within that 60 day period that an additional 60 days is necessary and informs the applicant in writing of its decision to and the reasons for extending the first 60 day period by an additional 60 days. • If a city denies the application it must state in writing at the time of the denial the reasons for the denial. Written notice of the approval or denial must be sent to the applicant within the 60 day period. • The failure of a vote to approve an application is not deemed to be a denial of the application. A motion to deny the application must be adopted. See Manco of Fairmont v. Town Board of Rock Dell Township. "" 583 N. W. 2d 293 (Minn. App. 1998).