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12 decision with findings at the time of the decision. This can make things difficult if the 60-day calendar is running out. 2.Findings need to be based on evidence submitted as a part of the City’s hearing process. This means that if the City is going to decide a permit request based on a particular reason, that reason must have been a part of the debate or submissions made to the City. It does not necessarily have to have been brought up by the applicant. Planning Commissioners or Councilmembers may raise an issue during the debate, and having arrived at a conclusion based on that issue, may include it in the findings. 3.Findings need to be written. This means that the City should rely on a written record documenting the debate and the decision, and the record should include the findings. This may be in the form of a separate resolution, or it may be imbedded into the meeting minutes. 4.Findings should be as specific as possible. They should include references to specific policies or components of the City’s Comprehensive Plan or a specific ordinance standard. Vague findings may be better than none, but only a little better. If a City makes clear, written, contemporaneous findings of fact with their land use decisions, a court will most often rely on the City’s record in reviewing a challenged City decision. And, if the findings meet the rational basis test, the City’s decision will most likely withstand challenge. “60 Day Rule ” This rule is a statute (Minn. Stat. §15.99) which requires local governments and state agencies to respond to zoning applications within (usually) 60 days of application. There are a number of complications to this law. 1.The City has 15 days from the time that an application is made to determine whether or not the application is complete. The City must notify the applicant within this time period of any incompleteness. The 60 day period does not begin until the application is complete. However, if the City does not notify an applicant as to incompleteness within the first 15 days, the application is deemed complete as a matter of law, and the calendar starts running as of the original date of submission. It is important to note that completeness does not mean acceptability. The application just has to have addressed the required items – the subsequent review process will determine whether the project is acceptable under the City’s regulations. 2.If the City cannot come to a final decision prior to the end of the first 60 days, for almost any reason, it may extend the review period by an additional 60 days, if the applicant is notified in writing prior to the expiration of the first 60 day period. There appears to be little constraint on the “quality” of the reason - a simple explanation