05.01 Planning and Zoning Administrator's Report

Home Browse Search

Joseph R. Dotty 30389 Highway 371 Pequot Lakes,MN 56472 March 2,2004 Mayor and City Council City of Pequot Lakes P.O. Box 361 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472 Re: Letter from the Planning& Zoning Board dated February 26th,2004 Dear Mayor and City Council, As an appointed member of the Pequot Lakes Planning and Zoning Commission, I, along with hundreds of other residents, do not believe that the thru-town option will severely and permanently damage the Pequot Lakes community. I do not support nor do I agree with the outrageous opinions that have been presented in the Planning and Zoning Board's letter dated February 26th. Absolutely no factual evidence has been presented which would support the outlandish conclusions reached by the Planning Board. As a concerned citizen of this community, I have attended numerous public meetings and discussions regarding the proposed highway. This topic has created a lot of public and media attention during the past year. If this topic was so very important to the Planning and Zoning Board's proposed long-range community plans then why was I the only member present and the only member who spoke my opinion at the City Council's final vote? Furthermore,why in the world would the Planning Board wait until after a final decision had been reached on this highly contested and very controversial topic to submit their opinions? If these opinions were so vitally important why weren't they submitted prior to the City Council's decision regarding the highway? Also, I fail to see any procedural authority cited in the Planning Board's letter that would support reopening this topic for further discussion and review. Before any further discussions are had regarding this topic,the procedural posture and appropriateness of the Planning and Zoning Board's letter needs to be addressed by the City Attorney. Unfortunately, it appears to me that this letter is a politically motivated and underhanded method of re-visiting a closed issue. There was ample opportunity for every one to be heard regarding this topic over the past several months. When the City Council's final vote was taken, some of the members that voted in favor of the thru-town option did so not based upon their own personal thoughts but because it was what the vast majority of the townspeople wanted. (Specifically, Council Member Joann Johnson voted in favor of the thru-town option because that is what the majority of the people in town wanted to see happen.)