Petition left up to Quality Board
Published 10:15 am Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The Austin City Council has left the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board to decide whether the city should be the responsible governmental unit that approves or denies local petitioners’ request for an environmental assessment worksheet on the downtown “Robbins block.”
“We will send a letter and fact sheet to the Environmental Quality Board to determine whether we are the RGU (responsible governmental unit),” said city attorney David Hoversten, adding that the city would also find out who is responsible for payment should an assessment worksheet be ordered.
“The RGU would be responsible for determining whether an EAW is necessary,” he added.
The action, which didn’t require council vote, comes following the recent submission of a 25-name petition urging “our leaders to act now to require an Environmental review of Mower County’s acquisition and demolition of the Robbins block.”
“The entire purpose behind the Citizens Petition Process is to serve as a check and balance against developers who may sacrifice the public good in favor of their personal ambitions,” wrote local business owner, mayoral candidate and petitioners’ representative Mark Nagle in a letter to the EQB.
“Instead, an independent voice must be heard,” he said.
That voice may be the City of Austin, which, according to Hoversten, was deemed by the EQB to be the appropriate entity to pursue or deny the request.
“The Environmental Board has received the petition requesting that an EAW be prepared on the project and has determined that the City of Austin is the appropriate governmental unit to decide the need to an EAW,” said environmental review coordinator Gregg Downing in a letter to Jim Hurm.
Hoversten said Monday that the reason is likely because the city is charged with other local planning issues, such as zoning, permits and conditional use.
In this case, the entity would be responsible for determining whether the Robbins block, located from First and Second Street and First to Second Avenue Northeast, has the “historical, archeological or architectural” significance to merit preservation.
According to the EQB, the process includes 14 steps beginning with verification that the RGU was properly designated to preparing a timetable and determining findings of fact.
This is distinct from an environmental review, which is a mandated study that tests for pollutants and other toxins before demolition and construction projects.
The Robbins block
County coordinator Craig Oscarson said in a Herald article Friday the city has already considered the effect of demolition on the Robbins block, and found it negligible.
“We contacted the Mower County Historical Society and other sources to determine what the impact would be if the Robbins building were demolished, and we found it would be nil,” he said. “Or at least no more than other buildings in Austin which have been torn down.”
During the council meeting Monday, 3rd District county commissioner Dave Hillier said his chief concern is the timeline, which he felt may be stretched as the city is forced into discussion about the environmental worksheet.
“My biggest concern is the delays,” Hillier said, suggesting that it may take the council six more weeks before it would determine whether an EAW was necessary.
Downings’s letter states that the council would have 30 working days to prepare an EAW, according to state statute.
Mike Robbins, owner of Robbins Furniture and Gallery, concurred with Hillier, adding that the petition represents only a small portion of public opinion, and would likely result in administrative baggage and unnecessary spending.
“It’s just another way to stall things,” Robbins said.
Be that as it may, Hoversten said, the citizens met all requirements outlined by the EQB, and had every right to petition for the worksheet.
First Ward council member Jeff Austin agreed.
“I think it’s the citizens of Austin taking action to make sure they’re heard,” he said.
If the Environmental Quality Board determines, upon review, that the city is not the most appropriate governmental body, the matter will likely be delegated to the county.
Hoversten said the only recourse for petitioners would be district court if they decide to challenge a worksheet denial, if the county is handed the issue.
“Some may argue that there’s an inherent conflict of interest because they are the developing property,” he said.
City engineer Jon Erichson and Oscarson said the city and county have been required to make that call on their own projects before; one example, Erichson said, is the Oakland Avenue underpass project that began construction Monday.
“Typically, it is the developer who is responsible for cost, but we’ll have to research that,” Erichson said.
Deals sealed
The city, which had led property acquisition on the actual jail site, recently closed two settlements with owners of Showgirls Saloon and Farmers Insurance Group. Scott Goergen, of Thirsty’s Bar, closed last weekend after reaching an agreement earlier this summer.
During the work session Monday, community development director Craig Hoium said the city has also drawn up a purchase package with Austin Medical Center, which owns a building and parking lot on the corner of Second Street and Second Avenue Northeast.
After an appraisal of $450,000, the city offered a $300,000 cash transfer, relocation expenses, 12 months rental support and two acres of land, with the option of two more, for a new 10,000 square-foot warehouse at the Cook Farm Industrial site off Highway 218 North.
He said the total cost would be $416,400, plus $26,400 in relocation assistance and any expenses incurred by Austin Utilities for public infrastructure. AMC uses its downtown building for records and office storage, he said.