Featured in Upcoming Presentation: The Promise and Pain of Transit-Oriented Development
The construction of light rail corridors creates new development opportunities – it also affects existing property owners. Issues and challenges facing existing properties along the new line include condemnation, relocation, and construction interference. On the other side of the coin, developers planning to build along new corridors need to navigate a host of planning issues.
The firm will lead a presentation on these and other land use topics at a breakfast seminar on Tuesday, Oct. 3 hosted by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. The event will feature two transit-oriented panel discussions with industry insiders from the Met Council, McGough Construction, Kraus-Anderson, Firm 70, Shenehon Company and others. The panelists will discuss the advantages and obstacles related to these new transit projects.
Click here to RSVP
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Larkin Hoffman Launches ‘North Star Land Use’ Blog
Larkin Hoffman’s land use practice launched its North Star Land Use blog this summer. Regular contributors will include Gary Van Cleve, Peter Coyle, Bill Griffith, Jake Steen and Matthew Bergeron. The blog will identify and discuss land use issues and trends arising in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest with a perspective that is grounded in broad, substantial experience. Click here to check out the blog.
New Rights Available to Property Owners in Path of Transit Projects
by Gary Van Cleve
Property owners in the path of light rail and bus rapid transit projects are now eligible to receive the full protection of the state’s eminent domain laws, thanks to legislation passed in 2017 by the State Legislature.
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Court Awards More Than $1 Million in Damages From City Land Use Decisions That Violated Church’s Constitutional Rights
by Bryan Huntington
Landowners challenging land use decisions generally have an uphill battle. Government subdivisions are accorded broad discretion by courts, such that prevailing in an action challenging a zoning decision requires compelling evidence of arbitrary government action. However, a recent decision of a federal district court in Minnesota, Riverside Church v. City of St. Michael, counsels that churches and religious institutions have a powerful tool that can flip the general rule upside down and place a heavy burden of proof on the government.
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Contractor's Corner
Texas Court Strikes Down Department of Labor Overtime Rule
by Dan Ballintine and Nic Puechner
In November 2016, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction blocking a Department of Labor (DOL) regulation, originally scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2016. On August 31, 2017, that same court issued a summary judgment order which fully invalidated the regulation.
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News and Notes
Rob Stefonowicz and Gary Van Cleve secured an important decision from the Minnesota Court of Appeals confirming that Minnesota cities cannot impose offsite road improvement fees on developers which are not authorized by state law. At the heart of Stefonowicz and Van Cleve’s victory was the Court of Appeals’ decision that a city does not have the express or implied authority to impose a road assessment for roads that are not a part of the proposed development as a condition for its approval of a developer’s subdivision application.
David Hammargren and Inga Schuchard successfully obtained summary judgment for their surety client in an Iowa federal court case. The plaintiff, a local government body, claimed that equipment installed during construction of a bonded project was never brought to a fully operational state, and claimed the surety client breached its obligations under a performance and maintenance bond as well as the principal’s construction agreement. The court dismissed all claims against Hammargren and Schuchard’s client.
David Hammargren will be presenting to the Westfield Insurance Company Surety Bond Claims Department in Westfield, Ohio on September 28, 2017 about “The Surety’s Contractor Default Checklist.”
On October 11, 2017, Larkin Hoffman's real estate litigation group will host its second annual Minnesota Surety Conference, jointly sponsored by the firm and the Minnesota Surety Association.
Gary Van Cleve will be a member of a panel of experts discussing “Hot Topics in Eminent Domain” at the 2017 Real Estate Institute on Thursday, Nov. 2.
David Hammargren was recently selected as a founding member of the Construction Lawyers Society of America. The CLSA is an honorary society of select construction attorneys.
Over the summer Tim Rye settled six property tax appeals for junior box retail stores operated by a national retailer with an average reduction in value of 19 percent per location.
Tim Rye negotiated the settlement of a property tax appeal for a big box retail location in Baxter, Minn. reducing the value by approximately 18 percent and saving the taxpayer more than $110,000.
Tim Rye and Gary Van Cleve negotiated a four year property tax appeal settlement for a predominant corporate headquarter located in the Twin Cities. The reduction in value due to the settlement averaged 15 percent per year and results in more than $3.5 million in savings over the four years.
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