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Land Use and Zoning—Legal Review <br /> Planning Commission Meeting <br /> May 13,2003 <br /> Page 12 <br /> • F.2d 1211 (8th Cir.,1983),which held that a landowner does not have <br /> a vested right to develop property in accordance with the laws that <br /> existed prior to a change in the zoning regulation if the landowner <br /> has not progressed sufficiently with construction. In that case,the <br /> landowner had constructed a sewer system for the proposed use, but <br /> had not begun physical construction of the structure. See also, <br /> Ridgewood Development Co.v. State,294 N.W.2d 288 (Minn., <br /> 1980). <br /> The courts have not fixed a definite percentage of the total cost <br /> which establishes a vested right to complete and establish a use, but <br /> have held that it depends on the type of project,its location,ultimate <br /> costs, and the extent to which the use is in conformity with the <br /> zoning regulations. Jasaka Co.v.City of St.Paul, 309 N.W.2d 40 <br /> (Minn., 1981). See also Stotts v.Wright County,478 N.W.2d 802 <br /> (Minn.App., 1991). However,most of the cases do recognize that <br /> there is a point at which,if the property owner or developer has <br /> proceeded in reliance on the existing zoning,they are entitled to <br /> complete the development and establish the use. See Olsen v.City of <br /> Minneapolis, 263 Minn. 1, 115 N.W.2d 734 (1962);Jasaka Co.v.City <br /> of St. Paul, 309 N.W.2d 40 (Minn., 1981);City of St. Paul v.Rein <br /> Recreation Inc. ,298 N.W.2d 46 (Minn., 1980). More recently,the <br /> Supreme Court has warned zoning authorities that they do not have <br /> III "carte blanche" to arbitrarily block otherwise lawful development by <br /> the passage of new zoning law. Interstate Power Co., Inc.v.Nobles <br /> County Bd. of Comm'rs., 617 N.W.2d 566 (Minn.,2000). In that <br /> case the court noted that application of the new zoning requirement <br /> would result in a "manifest injustice" that warrants deviation from <br /> the usual rule of applying the law as amended. <br /> 3. Estoppel. Related to the concept of vested rights is the theory that <br /> government can be estopped from enforcing its building and zoning <br /> ordinances in certain circumstances. The central concept to the <br /> doctrine of equitable estoppel is inducement. The claim in these <br /> cases is that the zoning authority should be estopped from <br /> preventing a developer or landowner from proceeding with an <br /> activity that the zoning authority induced, for instance, by issuing a <br /> building permit. The general rule is that issuance of a building permit <br /> under a zoning ordinance falls within the governmental rather than <br /> the proprietary functions of a municipality,and that estoppel will not <br /> lay against a municipality for its actions performed in a governmental <br /> capacity. Kiges v.City of St. Paul, 240 Minn. 522, 62N.W.2d 363 <br /> (1953); Frank's Nursery Sales, Inc.v.City of Roseville, 295 N.W.2d <br /> 604 (Minn., 1980);Ridgewood Development Co.v. State, 294 <br /> N.W.2d 288 (Minn., 1980);Dege v. City of Maplewood, 416 N.W.2d <br /> 854 (Minn.App., 1987). However,in certain circumstances a vested <br /> IIIright may be established under an invalid building permit. See Snyder <br />