HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 074-20 - Infrastructure Accountability Resolution
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, populations in Minnesota cities are growing statewide; and
WHEREAS, the development and construction associated with that growth are driving the
need for road improvements to facilitate additional capacity, street redesign, and street
reconstruction; and
WHEREAS, municipal statutory authority appropriately exists for fees to support added
need for parks, sewer, and water; and
WHEREAS, this municipal authority does not exist for street infrastructure development
fees; and
WHEREAS, city streets are one of the four major types of infrastructure local government
is responsible to provide to protect public safety and health, and city streets represent a
separate but integral piece of the network of roads supporting movement of people and
goods; and
WHEREAS, existing funding mechanisms, such as Municipal State Aid (MSA), property
taxes, and special assessments have limited applications, leaving cities under-equipped
to address growing needs; and
WHEREAS, neighborhood streets are constructed according to city standards by
developers; and
WHEREAS, funding sources for larger streets and intersections to support new
developments have historically come from development fees; and
WHEREAS, the Minnesota Supreme Court found in Harstad v. City of Woodbury that no
statutory authority existed for these infrastructure development fees for future road-
improvement projects; and
WHEREAS, cities should not be forced to make current residents and businesses pay for
costs of growth through local taxes but rather by those that are responsible for the growth;
and
WHEREAS, cities are finding it difficult to develop adequate funding systems to support
needed infrastructure development related to growth while complying with existing state
statutes; and
WHEREAS, cities need flexible policies and greater resources in order to meet growing
demands for street improvements.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Rochester,
Minnesota supports legislation that would authorize cities to collect infrastructure
development fees to fund municipal street improvements as a necessary component of
growth.
PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA, THIS __________ DAY OF _______________, 2020.
___________________________________
PRESIDENT OF SAID COMMON COUNCIL
ATTEST: __________________________
CITY CLERK
APPROVED THIS _____ DAY OF ______________________, 2020.
________________________________
MAYOR OF SAID CITY
(Seal of the City of
Rochester, Minnesota)