Sharon4Council: July 2009

Front Page todays Paper:Wed. 22July2009

Minnesota Supreme Court rules against West St. Paul in nuisance neighbor fight

Pioneer Press file photo

A West St. Paul woman left homeless after the city kicked her out of her house for a year said she was "on top of the world" after learning the state's highest court had ruled in her favor.

Minnesota Supreme Court rules against West St. Paul in nuisance neighbor fight - TwinCities.com

Alice Krengel, 58, was forced from her home in West St. Paul for a year after a series of public nuisance violations. (Pioneer Press file photo)

A West St. Paul woman left homeless after the city kicked her out of her house for a year said she was "on top of the world" after learning the state's highest court had ruled in her favor.

"I felt like I popped my head out of the water, and I can now breathe," Alice Krengel, 58, said Tuesday.

On Thursday, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that a district court improperly forced Krengel out after a series of public-nuisance violations.

The justices concluded the city did not have authority to seek an injunction banning Krengel from her Allen Avenue home because she was not a nuisance at the time the injunction was requested.

The justices also concluded a Dakota County judge was wrong in issuing a permanent injunction that barred her from the home from August 2006 to August 2007.

"I feel beyond vindicated," Krengel said. "I feel totally exonerated."

Krengel would not comment on whether she would sue the city.

"I'm a poker player," she said, "and I'd rather not show my hand. A lesson I learned is that if you truly know you are right, never give up."

During oral arguments before the state Supreme Court in January, attorneys for the city said they were justified in seeking the injunction because Krengel did not comply with the terms of an abatement plan the city had set up with her after a string of nuisance calls.

Court Holds That Documents Disclosed by County to Developer Remained

Posted: 20 Jul 2009 10:25 PM PDT

Note: The following is from the Bingham McCutchen Land Use Development Alert (July 16, 2009). Developers and their opponents have argued for years over the scope of disclosure required by CEQA...