Minnesota Session Laws - 1984, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1984 

                        CHAPTER 650-H.F.No. 1903 
           An act relating to local government; permitting the 
          payment of certain legal fees by cities and counties; 
          clarifying powers of municipalities with respect to 
          sale of air rights; permitting refunding of certain 
          bonds; amending Minnesota Statutes 1982, sections 
          472A.03 and 472A.06; proposing new law coded in 
          Minnesota Statutes, chapter 465. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  [465.76] [LEGAL COUNSEL; REIMBURSEMENT.] 
   If reimbursement is requested by the officer or employee, 
the governing body of a home rule charter or statutory city or 
county may, after consultation with its legal counsel, reimburse 
a city or county officer or employee for any costs and 
reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the person to defend 
charges of a criminal nature brought against the person that 
arose out of the reasonable and lawful performance of duties for 
the city or county, provided if less than a quorum of the 
governing body is disinterested, that such reimbursement shall 
be approved by a judge of the district court.  
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 472A.03, is 
amended to read: 
    472A.03 [AUTHORITY GRANTED.] 
    A municipality may after consultation with its planning 
agency or planning department and after public hearings, notice 
of which shall have been published in the official newspaper of 
the municipality, or if the municipality has no official 
newspaper, in a newspaper of general distribution within the 
municipality, designate development districts within the 
boundaries of the municipality.  The municipality shall also 
provide for relocation pursuant to section 472A.12 and consult 
with the advisory board created by section 472A.11 before making 
this designation.  Within these districts the municipality may 
adopt a development program consistent with which the 
municipality may acquire, construct, reconstruct, improve, 
alter, extend, operate, maintain, or promote developments aimed 
at improving the physical facilities, quality of life and 
quality of transportation.  The municipality may acquire land or 
easements through negotiation or through powers of eminent 
domain.  The municipal council may adopt ordinances regulating 
traffic in pedestrian skyway systems, public parking structures, 
and other facilities constructed within the development 
district.  The municipal council may pass ordinances regulating 
access to pedestrian skyway systems and the conditions under 
which such access is allowed.  
    Traffic regulations may include but shall not be limited to 
direction and speed of traffic, policing of pedestrianways, 
hours that pedestrianways are open to the public, kinds of 
service activities that will be allowed in arcades, parks and 
plazas, fares to be charged on the people movers, and rates to 
be charged in the parking structures.  The municipality shall 
have the power to require private developers to construct 
buildings so as to accommodate and support pedestrian systems 
which are part of the program for the development district.  
When the municipality requires the developer to construct 
columns, beams or girders with greater strength than required 
for normal building purposes, the municipality shall reimburse 
the developer for the added expense from development district 
funds.  The municipality shall have the authority to install 
special lighting systems, special street signs and street 
furniture, special landscaping of streets and public property; 
to install special snow removal systems; to acquire property for 
the district; to lease or sell air rights over public buildings 
and to spend public funds for constructing the foundations and 
columns in the public buildings strong enough to support the 
buildings to be constructed on air rights; to lease all or 
portions of basement, ground and second floors of the public 
buildings constructed in the district; to negotiate the sale or 
lease of property for private development if the development is 
consistent with the development program for the district.  
    Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 472A.06, is 
amended to read:  
    472A.06 [ISSUANCE OF BONDS.] 
    (a) The governing body of the municipality, may authorize, 
issue and sell general obligation bonds, which shall mature 
within 30 years from the date of issue, to finance the 
acquisition and betterment of real and personal property needed 
to carry out the development program within the development 
district together with all relocation costs incidental thereto 
in accordance with sections 475.51, 475.53, 475.54, 475.55, 
475.56, 475.60, 475.61, 475.62, 475.63, 475.65, 475.66, 475.69, 
475.70, 475.71.  All tax increments received by the municipality 
pursuant to section 472A.08 shall be pledged for the payment of 
these bonds and used to reduce or cancel the taxes otherwise 
required to be extended for that purpose, and the bonds shall 
not be included when computing the municipality's net debt.  
Bonds shall not be issued under this section paragraph 
subsequent to August 1, 1979.  
    (b) A muncipality or authority may authorize, issue and 
sell revenue bonds under section 273.77, clause (c) to refund 
the principal of and interest on general obligation bonds 
originally issued to finance a development district, or one or 
more series of bonds one of which series was originally issued 
to finance a development district, for the purpose of relieving 
the municipality or authority of restrictions on the application 
of tax increments or for other purposes authorized by law.  The 
refunding bonds shall not be subject to the conditions set out 
in section 475.67, subdivisions 11 and 12.  Tax increments 
received by the municipality or authority with respect to the 
district or districts may be used to pay the principal of and 
interest on the refunding bonds and to pay premiums for 
insurance or other security guaranteeing the payment of their 
principal and interest when due.  Tax increments may be applied 
in any manner permitted by section 273.75, subdivisions 2 and 4. 
    Sec. 4.  [PURPOSE.] 
    The amended effect of section 2 is remedial in character, 
being adopted to clarify the powers intended to be granted to 
municipalities under Minnesota Statutes, section 472A.03, and 
may be applied with respect to any projects heretofore or 
hereafter undertaken by a municipality.  All proceedings and 
other actions taken heretofore by municipalities which would be 
authorized under section 472A.03 as amended by this act are 
valid and confirmed, and all obligations incurred and to be 
incurred and contracts made and to be made pursuant to those 
actions and proceedings are valid and binding.  
    Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    This act is effective the day after final enactment. 
    Approved May 2, 1984