Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- Once again a vote to override a veto is on the Rochester City Council’s agenda.
The latest veto from Mayor Kim Norton came last month after council members approved a variance to allow Reagan Outdoor Advertising to place a new billboard about 165 feet from a church located along the East Frontage Road along Highway 52. The company needs the variance because Rochester’s zoning ordinance restricts billboards from being less than 300 feet from a Place of Worship.
City staff was opposed to the variance and the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals had previously voted unanimously to deny it, however the council approved the variance on a 5-2 vote during its July 24 meeting. The Mayor’s veto came just days after the Rochester City Council voted to override her veto of a resolution calling for a special election on a proposed extension of the city’s sales tax.
Mayor Norton accompanied her veto with some comments concerning her decision. She indicated she was not satisfied that sound “judicial judgment based on the law was used in identifying rationale for over-riding the prior decisions of City staff and the Zoning Board of Appeals.”
She went on to say that she fears that issuing the variance will put the city at risk legally, and set a disturbing precedent.
At least five members of the city council need to vote for the override for it to be successful. Monday’s council meeting starts at 7 p.m.
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