HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980 08-14 maplewood man fighting wetlands ruling DISPATCH Thursday,Augusi 14, 1980 St. Paul Dispatch 71
Maplewood man fighting wetlands ruling
By BETSY BECKER William Essling, McDaniels' Liam Essling wrote that the section denies McDaniels equa
Staff Writer attorney, asserted in court docu- "constitutional infirmities of this protection under the law.
ments that the law was added to law are legion."
A Maplewood land owner is the omnibus or garbage bill "so Essling wrote that while twa
challenging a state law that was as to sneak it into law." ESSLING questioned the law's courts and an administrative de
:'added to the Omnibus A ro ri
PP P legality because of the way it cision of the DNR found that. the
:tion bill this spring specifically And McDaniels said in an affa- was added to the omnibus bill. land does not fall under the defi
declaring his property a wetland. davit: "Prior to this, the DNR He said a 120-year-old constitu nition of a wetland, the stat(
had consistently stated that my tional provision prohibited the Legislature said: "Yes it does."
property was not a wetland un- addition of unrelated issues to
Ron McDaniels filed the suit in der Minnesota Law. Now, the major bills. . Added Essling: "Everyone elsE
Ramsey County District Court at DNR claims it is a wetland and I in the state who owns property
St. Paul last week. He is asking cannot build solely because of Wrote Essling: "This constitu similar to 'plaintiff's is not in
-that the law be set aside as un- this crazy law." tional provision was placed there eluded in the definition, but
tonstitional and that the state be to prevent the very thing that plaintiff is.
(stopped from enforcingit. This is McDaniels' third law-
suit over the wetland status of happened here: The placing of an "Section 165 (the wetland dec-
IN AN INITIAL hearing last the land. unrelated and, to the vast major- laration in the omnibus bill) is a
ity of legislators, unknown piece
dicial
week, Judge David E. Marsden He was successful in 1979 and of special legislation in a ajor function rpationThe Legof the islature
turned down McDaniels' request 1980 in suits against the Ram- bill so as to sneak it into law. businessg
for a temporary injunction sey-Washington Watershed Dis- has laws, the interpretingfunctionf the
against the state. The.judge set a trict and the U.S. Corps of Eri i- "It is 76 es long on page courthat is in tt the
trial date for Oct. 8. g 154 of a 176page bill.'' courts. However, in this instance
neers. Both agencies tried to re- this is precisely what the legisla-
McDaniels filed suit after offi- quire and then deny permits for Essling also stated that the ture has done."
cials of the Department of Natu- filling on the property.
ral Resources (DNR) told him -The courts ruled that neither _......i..........
that because of the Legislative body had jurisdiction, mainly be-
declaration, they would not give cause the land didn't fit defini-
him a permit to fill and develop tions of a wetland.
his land at Highway 61 and
Beam Avenue for a car dealer- In documenting the new law-
ship. suit, McDaniels' attorney Wil-