The Minnesota Supreme Court will not consider a legal appeal filed by the University of St. Thomas, which had objected to being required to revisit traffic, parking and air quality concerns surrounding a new Division 1 sports arena on its St. Paul campus.
When the city of St. Paul reviewed the expected environmental and community impacts of a new 5,000-seat hockey and basketball arena off Cretin and Grand avenues, the city’s Environmental Assessment Worksheet identified five general steps the university could take to offset parking and traffic concerns, such as monitoring event attendance for two years and “keeping the community informed of events.”
The Minnesota Court of Appeals this summer ordered the city to effectively start over and publish a new EAW that lists more specific mitigation measures, and takes into account traffic, parking and air quality impacts from new projects on campus such as the Schoenecker Center, a new science and engineering building. The city released a 464-page updated document a week ago.
While working on the new document, the University of St. Thomas also filed a legal appeal of the Court of Appeals decision, asking the state’s highest court to drop the requirement for an updated EAW. On Tuesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court came out with a one-sentence response that boils down, in essence, to a single word: No.
“Based upon all the files, records, and proceedings herein, it is hereby ordered that the petition of the University of St. Thomas for
further review is denied,” reads the court opinion, which is signed by Chief Justice Natalie Hudson.
Calling the city’s decision to issue building permits and site plan approval without a valid EAW premature, arena opponents with the citizens’ group Advocates for Responsible Development had attempted to block construction through a court injunction. The Court of Appeals indicated in late August it would not consider granting the injunction before the Supreme Court weighed in on the university’s appeal.
Daniel Kennedy, a spokesperson for Advocates for Responsible Development, said Wednesday he has asked St. Thomas to voluntarily stop construction until the new EAW is approved and fresh building permits are issued. That would determine whether the advocates file another legal request for a court order to stop work on the arena.
As of early this week, construction was still underway.
“The University of St. Thomas is aware of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to deny its petition to appeal and is reviewing the potential impacts of this decision,” reads an unsigned statement issued Wednesday by the university. “Last week, the city of St. Paul published an updated Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for public comment, and that process will continue. Construction of the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena will also continue, as permitted by law.”
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