Harstad v. City of Woodbury
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Harstad v. City of Woodbury
Opinion of the Court
We are asked to decide, in the context of a subdivision-application process, whether
FACTS
In July 2015, Martin Harstad submitted an application to the City of Woodbury for approval to subdivide approximately 77 acres of land in Woodbury for the purpose of developing a 183-unit residential community called Bailey Park. Woodbury received the application but regarded it as incomplete and sought additional information from Harstad about his subdivision plan. In December 2015, Woodbury sent Harstad a memorandum outlining proposed charges for the subdivision, including a $1,389,444 infrastructure charge.
It is important to understand that the charge at issue here is not the traditional street assessment provided for in
Woodbury adopted the infrastructure charge by resolution in 2011 as part of a larger set of provisions concerning "Public Infrastructure Improvements for New Residential Development." The resolution describes the infrastructure charge as "[m]ajor roadway costs [that] will be attributed to properties regardless of zoning, size or homestead status,"
Woodbury's senior planner has described the infrastructure charge as "a mechanism that the city has created to fund the infrastructure improvements that are identified within the comprehensive plan ... to create the necessary roadways to serve the burden of the development within our development areas."
According to Woodbury's senior planner, Woodbury calculates an initial infrastructure charge based on the location of the proposed development and the cost of all of the "roadway improvements [and] roadway segments that are necessary to be improved to facilitate development" in the corresponding part of the city. The initial infrastructure charge has occasionally changed slightly after negotiation between the developer and Woodbury. Once the applicant pays the infrastructure charge, the funds are held in a "dedicated funding account," which Woodbury draws from, as needed, to finance any of the predetermined road-improvement projects outside the area to be developed. Additionally, the senior planner explained that the timing of road improvements depends on when "development occurs and funding is identified."
When Harstad applied for subdivision approval, Woodbury calculated the infrastructure charge for his application at $20,230 per acre. Woodbury used this per-acre number to calculate the $1,389,444 infrastructure charge it proposed to Harstad.
Harstad refused to pay the infrastructure charge or to negotiate the amount of the charge. Instead, he brought this action against Woodbury. Among other relief, he requested that the district court issue a declaratory judgment concluding that Woodbury's infrastructure charge is "illegal, null and void, unenforceable and otherwise contrary to Minnesota law."
In response to cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court granted summary judgment to Harstad on his claim that Woodbury has no statutory authority to impose an infrastructure charge, reasoning that Woodbury lacked authority under
Woodbury appealed the district court's decision and the court of appeals affirmed, agreeing that Woodbury does not have authority to impose the infrastructure *545charge. Harstad v. City of Woodbury ,
We granted Woodbury's petition for review.
ANALYSIS
Harstad argues that Woodbury has no statutory authority to impose conditions on the approval of a subdivision application in the form of an infrastructure charge. Woodbury argues that
Woodbury is a statutory city, which means that it "has not adopted a home rule charter,"
Minnesota Statutes § 462.358 (2016) grants statutory cities the authority to pass regulations "for the review and approval or disapproval" of applications for the subdivision of land within a municipality.
Subdivision 2a of the statute describes the terms of subdivision regulations. It lists the utilities, built environment, and natural spaces that a city's subdivision regulations "may address without limitation."
Although the parties disagree on whether the statute authorizes Woodbury to condition subdivision approval on the payment of an infrastructure charge, neither argues that it is ambiguous. Harstad asserts that
When we interpret a statute, we seek to "ascertain and effectuate" the Legislature's intent.
In ascertaining the meaning of a statute, we construe "words and phrases ... according to rules of grammar and according to their common and approved usage."
A.
The first provision that Woodbury relies on as authority for the infrastructure charge is found in the second paragraph of
The regulations may permit the municipality to condition its approval on the construction and installation of sewers, streets ... and similar utilities and improvements or, in lieu thereof, on the receipt by the municipality of a cash deposit, certified check, irrevocable letter of credit, bond, or other financial security in an amount and with surety and conditions sufficient to assure the municipality that the utilities and improvements will be constructed or installed according to the specifications of the municipality.
According to Woodbury, the infrastructure charge is either a "cash deposit" or "other financial security" for purposes of *547
The forms of "financial security" that are listed in the statute are all contemporary security measures that protect a city's interest in covering the costs of completing the infrastructure or improvement in the event that a developer fails to finish a project. The forms of financial security in this provision are inconsistent with a cash payment because they are intended to be returned or released, unless the developer fails to satisfy the conditions of the contract concerning infrastructure improvements.
The fourth paragraph of subdivision 2a supports this interpretation. It states, in relevant part:
When the applicant vouches, by certified letter to the municipality, that the conditions required by the municipality for approval under this subdivision have been satisfied, the municipality has 30 days to release and return to the applicant any and all financial securities tied to the requirements.
The language used in subdivision 2b of section 462.358 also supports this interpretation because subdivision 2b expressly refers to a "cash fee" and not "financial security." See
The infrastructure charge that Woodbury seeks to impose as a condition on approval of Harstad's subdivision application is not a program designed to provide it with financial security, despite Woodbury's contrary argument. A subdivision applicant's payment of Woodbury's infrastructure charge does not provide the city with financial security because the infrastructure charge does not contemplate a return of funds by Woodbury to the applicant in the event that the applicant satisfies all the conditions tied to that security. Instead, the money goes into a city-managed fund that is used for future road-construction projects in the part of Woodbury that corresponds to the proposed development. No matter what Woodbury chooses to call this obligation, payment under Woodbury's infrastructure charge is a charge or fee. Any funds received by Woodbury under the infrastructure charge are thus not a form of financial security.
In sum, the portion of
B.
The second provision that Woodbury relies on
The regulations may permit the municipality to condition its approval on compliance with other requirements reasonably related to the provisions of the regulations and to execute development contracts embodying the terms and conditions of approval. The municipality may enforce such agreements and conditions by appropriate legal and equitable remedies.
Harstad disagrees. First, he argues that the development-contract provision of subdivision 2a does not authorize a city to *549negotiate for a provision "in the form of a fee for which it has no statutory authority." Second, he contends that the infrastructure charge is not voluntary and thus not a true negotiated term of a development contract.
We agree with Harstad. First, the attempt to characterize the infrastructure charge as a voluntary obligation fails. Although the record shows that proposed infrastructure charges have changed slightly in past discussions between Woodbury and developers applying for subdivision approval, Woodbury's willingness to negotiate the specific amount of an infrastructure charge does not transform it into a voluntary payment. Although Woodbury consistently refers to infrastructure charges as "negotiable," the record does not support any suggestion by Woodbury that a developer has the option of avoiding the infrastructure charge altogether.
Second, the power to enter into a development contract does not include the power to require a developer to pay an infrastructure charge. We have already concluded that the second paragraph of
Our conclusion relies on the plain meaning of "other requirements reasonably related to the provisions of the regulations."
We conclude that the last paragraph of
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.
Affirmed.
THISSEN, J., not having been a member of this court at the time of submission, took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.
We use "Harstad" to collectively refer to Martin Harstad, Harstad Hills Inc., and Creative Capital Holdings, LP, the three respondents in this matter. Harstad Hills is the corporation identified as the developer on the application. Creative Capital Holdings, LP, is the owner of the land of the proposed subdivision.
We use the term "infrastructure charge" to refer to Woodbury's "Major Roadway Assessment" program (MRA). Woodbury also has used the terms "proposed major roadway assessment," "major roadway cost participation," and "major roadway special assessment" to refer to the infrastructure charge.
Although Woodbury has occasionally used the term "major roadway special assessment" to refer to its infrastructure charge, it has not argued that the infrastructure charge is a special assessment covered by chapter 429 of the Minnesota Statutes.
The resolution defines "Major Roadways" as the "arterial, minor arterial and collector roadways identified in the [Woodbury] Comprehensive Plan."
The infrastructure charge is Woodbury's response to concerns about financing roadway improvements in the context of increased development. Woodbury's 2000 Comprehensive Plan notes that there would likely be a "shortfall of revenue" to pay for necessary roadway improvements between 1999 and 2035 and that Woodbury "need[ed] to identify potential future sources of funding." Specifically, Woodbury suggested "tax increment funding," "development impact fees," and "transportation user fees" as potential funding mechanisms, but it noted that "[n]ew state legislation" would be necessary before development impact fees and transportation user fees "can be used in Minnesota." In the 2030 Comprehensive Plan, published in 2010, Woodbury described potential funding sources for "future roadway related projects," including a funding mechanism that significantly resembles the infrastructure charge.
According to a Woodbury ordinance, the City Council may not approve "[a]ny proposed subdivision deemed premature for development." Woodbury, Minn., Code of Ordinances § 21-16 (2018). A subdivision may be deemed premature for development for many reasons, including "if streets to serve the proposed subdivision are not.... readily extended and funded consistent with the phasing in the comprehensive plan, the capital improvements program and any relevant city ordinances, plans and policies.... [or] if the traffic volume generated by the proposed subdivision would create a hazard to public safety and general welfare or create unacceptable levels of congestion on existing or proposed streets."
Amici curiae Kottschade, National Association of Home Builders, and the Builders Association of the Twin Cities contend that the infrastructure charge is an illegal tax. Neither party raises this argument. We decline to decide this issue because we generally do not consider arguments raised for the first time on appeal and generally do not decide issues raised only by an amicus. See Hegseth v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Grp. ,
Because we conclude that Woodbury did not have the authority to condition the approval of a subdivision application on payment of its infrastructure charge, we do not address whether
Although it is the League of Minnesota Cities' amicus brief that clarifies the argument, Woodbury confirmed at oral argument that it was making this argument.
Woodbury suggests that the infrastructure charge is not required. But the record does not support this claim. When asked whether a developer is "required, in the City of Woodbury, to pay a Major Roadway Assessment fee," Woodbury's senior planner admitted that "financial participation has been required to provide the necessary roadway infrastructure needed to support the subdivision of properties within our phase 2 area." (Emphasis added.) Harstad's development is in Woodbury's "phase 2." It is undisputed that what is negotiable about the infrastructure charge is the specific amount of the charge, not the charge itself. However Harstad's obligation to Woodbury is characterized, it is not voluntary.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Martin M. HARSTAD v. CITY OF WOODBURY
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published