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The Chisago County Board held a special session March 15 and voted 4-0 with Lora Walker absent, to authorize a permit for a new cemetery that had been denied 3-2 in December 2016.  The two earlier yes votes were from Ben Montzka and Mike Robinson.

The commissioners did not discuss the matter.  

The 3 p.m. meeting was prefaced with legal counsel advising the Board to approve the Conditional Use Permit or face a lengthy expensive court fight.  Attorney Paul Reuvers was contracted to provide outside counsel so as to avoid any conflict-- and he said he had “no doubt” any claim in federal court ( he was referring to a Dept of Justice investigation under the RLUIPA filed by the cemetery applicant) will result in the county losing.

“It will be protracted and costs will roll up exponentially,” Reuvers added.  He advised the commissioners to take three steps: suspend Roberts Rules of Order to put the denial back on the table, support a motion to reconsider and then vote to approve the Conditional Use Permit.

Commissioner George McMahon motioned for all three.

Commissioner Lora Walker was absent, recovering from a freeway vehicle crash she was involved in just days before the meeting.  

Commissioner Mike Robinson asked if there could be additional requirements attached to the permit but, he was advised “...the time is passed to reopen the permit.”  Legal counsel said the Board needs to act based on the official record that’s established.

The Islamic Community of Bosniaks in Minnesota sought the permit for a 16 acre parcel south of Chisago City on Lofton Avenue.  A willing seller had been found and the site was okayed by both the township supervisors and the county planning commission for the cemetery permit.  As a conditional use allowed in this zone-- there are regulations attached to the cemetery development; such as screening, setback, accessory structure design, etc.  The cemetery is a green burial site which means there are no bodily processing chemicals or caskets used in interment.

Opposition issues included concerns about the natural burial methods and traffic, among other factors.

The U.S. Department of Justice was asked to begin investigating the permit denial as a violation of federal law,  under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act or RLUIPA.  The County Board was advised there is no Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust coverage for DOJ investigations or court proceedings, so this could all come off the local levy.  Plus, there are allowances in the federal act for the injured party to ask for monetary compensation.

The ICBMN also had filed a lawsuit in the MN Court of Appeals (story Press March 9) to have the land use decision overturned as arbitrary and capricious, and without basis in the record.  This had the possible outcome of simply reversing the land use  vote and was not a civil or human rights review.

At a press conference called by the Twin Cities chapter of CAIR, the Council on Arabic and Islamic Relations, which was held in the Twin Cities after the County Board vote-- the commissioners were thanked by the applicant for the ICBMN permit, Enes Gluhic.  

He said the people who would operate and take care of the cemetery in Chisago Lake Twsp. were “shocked and disappointed” at first when the permit was denied.  He said the group plans to work on making the site the least intrusive as they can and hope to get to know the people in the area, be able to answer questions and move forward.

County Administrator Bruce Messelt, directed to attend the new conference for the county, stated, the Board is thankful “to put the issue behind us.”  Messelt added that the commissioners had to weigh land use rights with impacts to citizens and how the goals and objectives of the county could be detracted from by fighting this, and the Board felt it was necessary to reverse the decision.  Land use decisions are highly regulated in Minnesota and are “complicated” decisions, he said.

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