This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Rule by Precedent in the Spring

On composting and the environment.

Stare decisis. You may find this to be an uncommon word outside the legal world or uncommon if you are not fluent in Latin. 

Stare decisis in simple terms is “precedent” or “to do what has been done before.”  Attorneys use Stare decisis to guide decisions of law and as a tool in the application of how to proceed.

Precedent becomes the overarching device by which rules are abided by and made. So, it’s makes perfect sense to expect precedent to guide officials in the City of Woodbury when enacting ordinances, especially when many of these officials are attorneys themselves.

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For more than 20 years now the citizens of Woodbury have been charged for a service that most other communities in Minnesota receive for free. Precedent would dictate that we also receive this service for free.

I am writing about the practice of charging for compost drop off and pick up in Woodbury.

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From raking up the leaves in the fall to mowing the grass throughout the spring and summer we are being charged around 5-10 dollars per visit for the compost this creates in maintaining our yards and enhancing our neighborhoods. Instead of receiving accolades for this, we are charged and penalized for the beautification of our community.

After bringing this topic to the attention of city officials and listening to their concerns as well as the concerns of many citizens in the community, I heard many times, “Mark, How do you plan to convince others to give  something for free that we now pay for without raising taxes or putting a privately run company out of business?”

The solution to this issue is outlined here with everyone’s concerns being met. From the city worries about funding, to the compost site being a private business these concerns are addressed herein:

  • Citizens of Woodbury will no longer have to pay for the drop off and pick up of compost from the privately run site, through creative acquisition of compost for phase 2 and development proposed for the surrounding area.
  • The private compost site will manage the compost drop off and pick up as they currently do and will receive allocated dollars from new sources.
  • New developments require topsoil to be placed on the ground before seeding or sodding in many areas of Woodbury because of the clay soil in the area. When developments are being analyzed and structured for city approval the city council has the authority to require conditions to developments on behalf of the citizens of Woodbury. City officials could mandate that a portion of the topsoil needed for finish “dirt” work on newly developed land come from the compost site at a predetermined rate worked out with the compost site owner. The developer would save money by having a close proximity readily available topsoil source in the area.  
  • This becomes a win-win situation for everyone.
  • The citizens receive compost drop off and pick up for free.
  • No additional city funds are necessary to subsidize the venture.
  • Current city staff can be used to facilitate and monitor compliance and rules.
  • Developers acquire topsoil for their construction projects at as reduced cost.
  • Trucking costs of topsoil for the developments finish work is reduced and less fossil fuels are burned in the process.
  • Environmental friendly recycling of materials is taking place.
  • The private compost site has a guaranteed steady source of funding.
  • The community will be more receptive to new developments as they are helping out themselves and their neighborhoods by encouraging yard maintenance and saving money.
  • In the future the city may be able to increase hiring in construction inspections department.

These items could easily be incorporated with proper planning and negotiating with all parties involved.

City officials, developers, private companies, and the citizens could all work together to benefit our community as a whole at no additional cost to anyone. So, getting back to Stare decisis, which is perhaps the strongest argument of all for this proposal; most other communities offer this service for free to its citizens, so should the City of Woodbury.

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