The Minnesota Court of Appeals panel has issued the University of St. Thomas at least a partial legal victory in a tussle with neighbors over a new Division I basketball and hockey arena on campus.
Homeowners near the St. Paul campus calling themselves Advocates for Responsible Development have fought the 5,300-seat Lee and Penny Anderson Arena on multiple fronts, filing legal claims alleging the $183 million facility lacked proper environmental review and mitigation for traffic and parking, emissions, soil erosion, ice rink refrigerants and bumblebee habitat.
In July 2024, the appeals court forced the city to consider the cumulative impacts of other construction projects on campus, such as the new Schoenecker Center, and spell out specific traffic mitigation measures in a revised Environmental Assessment Worksheet, which was published last October.
On Monday, rebuffing a legal petition filed by Advocates for Responsible Development, a three-judge panel found that the project’s second EAW — which lays out specific measures being taken to address parking and traffic — was sufficient, and a more intense review known as an Environmental Impact Statement would not be necessary.
The judges noted, however, that questions over whether the arena’s height and bluff setbacks violate city zoning restrictions remain open in a legal action before Ramsey County District Court, and the land-use claims would not be addressed in their latest ruling.
The arena will welcome fans with two doubleheaders Oct. 24 and 25 when women’s and men’s hockey play Providence College and on Nov. 8 when women’s and men’s basketball teams play the Army.
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