Protect Stillwater

“It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error.”

Robert H. Jackson; Justice of the Supreme Court 1941 – 1954

At some point in time, we as citizens are compelled to take action to protect our rights and property, to right a wrong, to express our views, and stand up and be counted for something we believe to be important. For the citizens of our city and citizens of any community who seek to join us, this is one of those points of time.

This GoFundMe endeavor seeks to raise the money for our civil lawsuit to overturn an arbitrary and erroneous ruling by the city council of Stillwater, Minnesota and bring transparency as to why members of the council ignored the interests and voice of citizens, overruled the recommendations of the city’s planning staff, and failed to enforce regulations it applies to others.

Videos

The best way to understand our cause is to watch our YouTube video.

Just to let you know, on September 15th, someone negatively flagged our YouTube video. Obviously, their intent was to silence our cause. Our video was offline for about 12 hours. It was put back on after YouTube reviewed the video, this website and the documentation listed below.

The right to freedom of speech and to challenge one's government is a very special right and one we need to protect. Ask anyone in Russia or other dictatorships where their citizens fear to speak openly.

What We Ask

From our discussions with attorneys, our legal fees are expected to be $15,000. Our “asks” of citizens of Stillwater and citizens of any community that seeks to support our cause, we ask that you:

Contribute

Help Us Go Viral

Contact Us For Questions & Comments

Our Cause

The following is fully explained in our YouTube video and confirms our statements.

In January of 2022, the Stillwater city council voted to grant a conditional use permit (CUP) to allow the Stillwater Towing Company to put a wrecked vehicle and impound lot on five acres of forested land within the city limits at 1749 South Greeley Street (the “1749 site”). The 1749 site is on the high ground of a regional watershed that flows into a wetland, Brick Pond, and Lilly Lake and borders Forest Hills, a residential neighborhood. All are within the city of Stillwater.

In December of 2021, citizens objected to the city’s intention to issue the CUP and grant a variance to the city’s tree and forest protection ordinances. Citizen testimony at public hearings and photographs taken by the city’s planning staff demonstrated the removal of trees from the proposed site, violating the tree and forest protection regulations. Stillwater Towing withdrew its application for a variance to the tree and forest protection regulations but has continued to deforest the property into August.

The citizen’s objection compelled the city to conduct a review of the proposed CUP. On January 4th, 2022, the city of Stillwater’s planning staff issued a comprehensive 17-page report entitled:

Consideration of an appeal to the Planning Commission's actions pertaining to Case No. 2021- 57, A Conditional Use Permit for Outside Storage for a vehicle impound lot associated with Stillwater Towing" (owned by RMR LLC of Stillwater).

In the summary of the report, the planning staff stated:

“Thus, staff finds the proposed use of Outside Storage for an impound lot associated with Stillwater Towing’s business is not in conformance to City Code Section 31-207.”

Even if the use as Outside Storage were to be considered under the Conditional Use Permit [CUP] standard on its own basis, the proposed use does not conform to the intent of the Zoning Code, is not consistent with the [city’s] Comprehensive Plan, and would be a nuisance to the public welfare of the community.”

What is not clear or decisive in the planning staff’s statement that would entice Stillwater’s city council to grant the CUP – which they did – and ignore their own planning staff and the interests of their city and citizens, which they did as well. Once a CUP is granted, it becomes permanent with the property. The CUP enables current and future owners of the site to further exploit the CUP and property for uses that were not foreseen.

The Need To Challenge

If we as citizens, fail to challenge arbitrary and erroneous actions of our public officials, it only emboldens and empowers them to continue to place other interests over the needs and interests of the people they were elected to serve. And we as citizens, only become more disillusioned about our democracy, rather than being proud of what so many before us have striven and sacrificed to protect.

Legal Counsel

Since March of 2022, we have contested the city council’s granting of the CUP and failure to enforce its tree and forestry regulations as “pro se,” the legal term for “for oneself,” where one citizen has filed the legal complaint (lawsuit), but cannot represent other citizens. Acting pro se, without a law degree and specific knowledge of land use law, is difficult because the judicial process is complicated, and the court only sees you as one person, not the citizens you represent.

Decrease In Commercial Property Values

There is a saying, “a rising tide lifts all boats.” If a quality office building or similar structure were built on the 1749 site, instead of the wrecked vehicle impound lot, the property values of adjacent commercial buildings would likely rise as the “commercial neighborhood” has become more attractive. Additionally, the tax collections would increase and other higher quality commercial operations would be incented to locate in adjacent areas.

Conversely, “a falling tide sinks all boats.” A wrecked vehicle and impound lot with hundreds of vehicles on the lot and recycling of thousands annually will likely decrease the market value of adjacent and affected property owners. This will likely reduce tax collections that will have to be assumed by others. Stillwater Towing’s operations would likely inhibit more suitable and higher quality commercial properties from locating in the adjacent and affected areas, leaving only lesser quality with greater nuisance potential as commercial residents.

Stillwater’s Reputation As A Desired Community

Stillwater is one of the most desirable Minnesota cities to live in and visit. In the planning staff’s summary as to not grant the CUP, the staff stated, "the proposed use does not conform to the intent of the Zoning Code, is not consistent with the [city’s] Comprehensive Plan, and would be a nuisance to the public welfare of the community.”

A reading of Stillwater’s Comprehensive plan would confirm the planning staff’s assessment as does this statement from the land use section of the Comprehensive plan.

Community Character - For Stillwater, character is found in the natural and cultural features that make it a truly special place. It is defined by the physical landscape, the built environment of downtown and varied residential areas, the gateways into the city, and its numerous and remarkable scenic vistas. Existing land use, development patterns and the plan for future redevelopment are also important contributors to that community character. This section pays tribute to some of Stillwater’s defining character elements. These elements should be considered when planning for future land uses.

Pollution Potential

The following information was provided to the Stillwater council prior to their vote to provide the CUP to Stillwater Towing.

Wrecked vehicle and impound lots are well-documented polluters. The Louisville, Kentucky, city impound lot stored more than 2,000 damaged, abandoned, or impounded vehicles on a 13-acre lot; about 161 vehicles per acre. Clean-up of the pollution from the Louisville lot was estimated in 2021 to be $800,000.

The Environmental Pollution Agency (EPA) lists Superfund sites based on NAICS codes. There is no NAICS code for impound lots for wrecked and abandoned vehicles. However, using the search term “towing” within the name of the company yielded 13 Superfund sites. Using the search term “wreck” within the name of the company, yielded 82 Superfund sites.

Pollution Potential From Stillwater Towing Operations

Since about 1980, Stillwater Towing has operated a small, one-half acre (0.50 acre), wrecked vehicle and impound lot at 1656 South Greeley Street. As stated by Stillwater Towing, the lot holds only a maximum of 80 vehicles, which is why the company needs the new acreage at the 1749 site. Using the vehicle density at Stillwater Towing’s current site of 80 vehicles on 0.5 acres, the 1749 site will have space for 320 vehicles on just 2.0 acres to 640 vehicles on 4.0 acres.

Assuming an average of 40 days for turnover, the lot could cycle through 3,000 on 2.0 acres and 6,000 and vehicles on 4.0 acres. The way to visualize this is to think that 320 vehicles with a 40-day turnover would be equivalent to 9.1 layers of 320 vehicles stacked vertically. Many of these vehicles will be potential polluters, and that pollution will all be within the city limits, a watershed, and adjacent to residential and commercial properties.

The city council sought to mute citizens’ concerns about pollution by creating criteria for the operations. Citizen input was not accepted, and any complaints about Stillwater Towing’s operations would be evaluated and judged by the city council. In other words, a closed loop system would force citizens to seek relief in the courts.

Stillwater Towing, through its parent company, RMR LLC of Stillwater, owns an additional two parcels of land that are far better suited for vehicle storage and in rural areas. One site has 2.5 acres at 2931 Quant Avenue North West Lakeland Township. The other is 5.9 acres at 480 Stagecoach Trail North, West Lakeland. Both sites are currently being used for vehicle storage.

Documentation