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.~. I I I POPHAM, HAIK, SCHNOBRICH, KAUFMAN & DOTY, LTD. Mayor and City Council April 21, 1981 -2- safety, and welfare of the public and restrictions which invade the rights secured to the property owner by the constitutional provisions that his property shall not be taken, damaged or destroyed without just compensation is a difficult line to draw. This problem was addressed by the Minnesota Supreme Court in Johnson v. City of Plynouth, 263 N.W.2d 603(1978) in which the court stated: "The dividing line bet\ieen restrictions which may be lawfully imposed under the police power and those which invade the rights secured to the property owner by the constitutional provisions that his property shall not be taken or damaged without com- pensation, nor he be deprived of it without due process of law, has never been distinctly marked out, and probably cannot be. As different cases arise, the courts determine from the facts and circumstances of the particular case whether it falls upon one side or the other of the line." The Minnesota Supreme Court has also stated that "...zoning ordinances which purport to apply to established properties cannot be used to restructure development existing at and prior to the adoption of the,ordinance". Girvan vs. County of LeSueUr, 232 N.W.2d 888, 893 (1975). In our opinion, the reclassification of the property as "Sensitive Industrial" \V'ould violate this legal standard, and would constitute an act on the improper side of the dividing line of legal propriety, due to the long established use of the subject property for industrial purposes. This letter is reflective of the concern our client has as to the pending reclassification of the property in the proposed Comprehensive Plan, which concern is compounded due to the fact the property was purchased as industrial and a considerable amount of time, effort, and money has been spent to date to secure plat approval in a configuration that meets all applicable requirements. Although these concerns are very real, Walburn, Ltd. is not at all approaching the situation in a combative fashion. Rather, the intention of the partnership is to develop a first class environmentally sound industrial park that will be a credit to the city of New Brighton. Walburn, Ltd. stands ready and willing to do anything within reason that the City believes will assist in achieving that goal. ve~~#h4 ~~ 'torden RAW/jlm cc: Richard B. Bury