Rochester Mayor Issues Another Veto
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Rochester's Mayor has pulled out her veto pen again.
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 Kim Norton has vetoed a variance sought by Reagan Outdoor Advertising to place a new billboard near a Place of Worship. The City Council voted 5-2 Monday to approve the variance.
The company needs the variance because Rochester's zoning ordinance restricts billboards from being less than 300 feet from a Place of Worship and the planned sign would be located about 165 feet from a church located along the East Frontage Road along Highway 52. City staff was opposed to the variance and the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals had previously voted unanimously to deny it.
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.
Under the City's Charter, a vote on whether to override the Mayor's veto will be included on the agenda for the next regular meeting of the City Council.
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