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STATE OF MINNESOTA IN SUPREME COURT A07-1932 & A07-2006 Court of Appeals Gildea, J. Took no part, Magnuson, C.J., and Page, J.

In the Matter of the Denial of Certification of the Variance Granted to Robert W. Hubbard by the City of Lakeland.

Filed: February 11, 2010 Office of Appellate Courts

________________________ Lori Swanson, Attorney General, David P. Iverson, Kimberly Middendorf, Assistant Attorneys General, St. Paul, Minnesota, for appellant Commissioner of Natural Resources. Andrew T. Shern, Thomas A. Gilligan, Jr., Murnane Brandt, St. Paul, Minnesota, for appellants Sierra Club and St. Croix River Association. Sam Hanson, Diane B. Bratvold, Briggs and Morgan, P.A., Minneapolis, Minnesota, Scott R. Strand, St. Paul, Minnesota, and David A. Jones, St. Paul, Minnesota, for respondent Robert W. Hubbard. Nicholas J. Vivian, Eckberg, Lammers, Briggs, Wolff & Vierling, P.L.L.P., Stillwater, Minnesota, for respondent City of Lakeland. ________________________ SYLLABUS Because the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources lacked express and implied statutory authority to certify variance decisions by local units of government, the agencys refusal to certify the variance has no effect. Affirmed. 1

OPINION GILDEA, Justice. This action arises from respondent Robert W. Hubbards application to the City of Lakeland (City) for a variance in connection with Hubbards efforts to build a new home on a bluff overlooking the lower St. Croix River. The City granted the variance, but the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) declined to certify1 the Citys action. The DNR upheld its decision through a contested case hearing pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, Minn. Stat. ch. 14 (2008). The court of appeals reversed the agencys decision, concluding that the variance was deemed granted by operation of the "60-day rule" of Minn. Stat.

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