Troy property owner asks court to reverse town zoning decision

By Judy Wiff and

Katie Chaffee

A woman who owns 120 acres in the town of Troy and the men who want to buy the land have filed a lawsuit asking a St. Croix County judge to overturn a Town Board zoning decision.

The suit was filed Jan. 19 on behalf of Barbara L. Weber, Bloomington, Minn.; and Brad Diller, Tom Vina, John Nielsen and JTB Properties, all of St. Paul.

According to the complaint, the three men and their corporation have a purchase agreement with Weber contingent on the land being zoned from Agriculture to Agriculture/ Residential.

On Dec. 14 the St. Croix County Board approved that zoning change, but on Dec. 20 the Troy Town Board held a special meeting and vetoed the county's action.

Weber, Diller, Vina and Nielsen are asking the court to rule that the Town Board's actions are "arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of the Town Board's discretion .."

The suit also asks that the Town Board's decision be overturned and that the Weber property be rezoned to Agricultural/ Residential.

Diller said because the group had originally asked for rezoning on May 27, 1999, the request can be considered under the old zoning rules in Troy. New regulations designed to protect at least some farmland from development were adopted last October, after a 4-month moratorium on rezoning that was passed at the June town board meeting.

The original plan for the land has not changed, according to Diller. That plan shows 40 lots on the property. Under the new law, the land can be subdivided into no more than 25 lots.

Consideration under the old rules does not mean the request to rezone the land will automatically be granted, said Dean Albert, town board chairman.

Albert said the town's growth management plan shows Weber's land as exclusive ag zoning.

If Weber decided to apply under the new rules, the request would likely be granted by the town board but only 60% of the land could be subdivided. The remaining 40% would need to be kept available for some sort of agricultural use, Albert said.

Weber's grandparents passed the farm down to their daughter, who then passed it on to her. Weber, a nearly 70-year-old widow, no longer lives on the farm. She has moved to Bloomington, Minn.