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0 4.' Be Sure Everyone is Mindful of the Timeclock at Every Step. It is critical that City decision-makers be aware of the § 15.99 deadlines at each step in processing an application. ' Each report prepared by City staff on a zoning application should prominently indicate the 60-day deadline. One way to accomplish this is illustrated in Attachment F. i The MUSA line is the metropolitan urban service area po � boundary in the seven-county metropolitan area. ,Property within this area is served by metropolitan sewage treatment facilities. 2 Many city attorneys and city officials assisted in preparation of this paper by providing copies of materials they are using. Special thanks to Desyl Peterson, Dave Ornstein, Michael Leek,'Julie Wischnack, Bonnie Baumetz,Patrick Peters, and John Sutter. a American Tower. L.P. v. City of Grant. 636 N.W. 2d 309 (Minn. 2001). - 4 Demolition Landfill Services. LLC v. City of Duluth. 2000 WL 1015 893 (Minn. Ct. App.July 25,2000),review denied (Minn. October 17,2000). 5 Each City should consider what grounds the City will use for extensions.- The fact that cities must specify a reason to extend the initial 60-day period suggests that a blanket extension applicable to all applications'will not pass muster. A blanket extension that is equally applicable to all cities and to all applications would "swallow" the general statutory 60-day rule and would ignore the requirement that a reason be provided for the extension. In a recent case, the Minnesota Supreme Court considered what kind of reasons would suffice. In that case, the Supreme Court rejected the position of the lower court that extensions could be granted only when there are "extenuating circumstances." American Tower. L.P. v. City of Grant 636 N.W.2d 309, 314 (Minn. 2001). The Supreme Court did suggest, however, that extensions should not be granted based on a blanket approach, but should be granted on a case-by-case basis. Id. at 313. What constitutes sufficient grounds for an extension? The need to collect further information on an application or to conduct further analysis of it because, for example, of its size or complexity or because of the sensitivity of the affected area, are solid grounds for an extension. Grounds for an extension could also include circumstances that distinguish one city from cities generally at the time of the application. The argument can be made that,while the 60-day limit was intended to apply to cities generally, it was not intended to apply to a particular city under specific circumstances. Karen R Cole Kennedy&Graven