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terms of the original purchase agreement, the Seller must sell the Park to the home <br />owners or non-profit on those terms. <br /> <br />A non-profit housing developer, Aeon, and a group of Lowry Grove home owners <br />and residents allege that Aeon supplied just such a purchase offer to the Seller, but that <br />the Seller violated the Statute by rejecting the offer and selling the property to The <br />Village. They claimed that because the sale violated the statute, the sale was invalid, <br />and they asked the Hennepin County Court to require Seller to sell the property to <br />Aeon, who would keep the Park open for manufactured homes. <br /> <br />The Village defends the legality of the sale, arguing that Aeon did not meet <br />several key terms of the purchase agreement, including the earnest money amount and <br />the closing date, and that Aeon’s offer did not have support of 51% of the home owners. <br />The Village also argued that, even if the sale violated the statute, the statute says the <br />sale itself cannot be undone and that therefore closure of the Park cannot be prevented. <br />Instead, Aeon and the home owners can only sue the Seller for money damages to <br />compensate them for the harm caused by violation of the statute. <br /> <br />Concerned for the welfare of Lowry Grove home owners and residents, the City <br />Council asked us to review the statute to determine whether the City was required to <br />hold the public hearing on the park closure even though ownership of the Park and the <br />right to close the Park was being litigated. After analyzing the statute, we concluded <br />there was no exception to the obligation to hold a public hearing, and that the City was <br />required to hold the public hearing despite the existence of the lawsuit. Consequently, <br />we recommended proceeding with the public hearing, and the public hearing was <br />scheduled for September 8, 2016. <br /> <br /> On September 8, 2016, just hours before the hearing, the City Council received a <br />letter from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MFHA), which has responsibility for <br />administering the Relocation Trust Fund. The letter informed the Council of the MFHA’s <br />concern that the lawsuit could affect the fiscal health of the Fund and its ability to <br />compensate future manufactured home relocations. The MFHA’s interpretation of the <br />Statute also raised a question in our minds whether Lowry Grove residents who decided <br />to relocate because of the promised closure of the Park would receive compensation <br />should a court order invalidate the sale to The Village and prevent actual closure. <br /> <br /> The Council convened the public hearing on September 8, 2016, as scheduled. <br />At the public hearing, the Council asked an MHFA representative to comment on its <br />concerns. Based on the MFHA representative’s response, the City Council expressed <br />concern that the issues raised in the lawsuit could impair the ability not only of Lowry <br />Grove home owners to be compensated for relocation, but also manufactured home <br />owners affected by future Park closures. Citing its responsibility to protect St. Anthony <br />residents and the public interest, the Council asked the city attorney for options. City <br />attorney Phil Steger recommended that, because Section 327C.095, Subdivision 1 of <br />the Minnesota Statutes prohibits residents from being required to relocate until 60-days <br />after the conclusion of the public hearing, the City Council continued – and did not <br />24