DULUTH — The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Monday that Duluth’s City Council didn’t err when it reversed its planning commission’s decision about the need for environmental review of a 100-room hotel development.
Opponents of an $18 million Duluth hotel project last year appealed to the court a council decision that said an Environmental Assessment Worksheet wasn’t necessary for a development near Miller Hill Mall and an impaired trout stream, Miller Creek.
Duluth resident and neighbor to the site Rebecca Mulenburg argued that the city shouldn’t have allowed the council authority to make the decision, among other claims listed in court documents. She contended it was up to the state court to hear appeals, per local and state laws. A city-appointed group of citizens that make up a commission for city development had initially directed hotel developer Kinseth Hospitality Cos. to conduct an EAW, prompting Kinseth’s appeal of that decision to the City Council.
City administration has said potential effects of hotel construction, such as warm-water runoff, would be controlled through provisions in the city zoning review and building permit process.
The court said the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board designated the city as the appropriate governmental unit to decide the need for an EAW, consistent with state and local law, including the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act.
“The relevant authorities contemplate a city, not a planning commission alone,” to be the responsible governmental body, Judge Peter Reyes Jr. wrote.
Jill Crawford-Nichols is another neighbor to the site who advocated for environmental review. She said the court’s decision weakens the state’s Environmental Quality Board.
“Now, any disgruntled developer can circumnavigate the EQB appeal process by challenging the decision internally and pass the burden of the court of appeals process back to the homeowner or environmental organization,” Crawford-Nichols said.
