In re City of St. Paul’s Decision on the Need for an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed University of St. Thomas Multipurpose Arena

The Minnesota Court of Appeals found that the City of St. Paul acted arbitrarily and capriciously in its environmental review of a proposed multipurpose arena on the University of St. Thomas campus. The court found that the City should have considered the proposed arena as part of a phased action that included a university building under construction on an adjacent site. The court also found that the City’s determination that an environmental impact statement was not required was arbitrary and capricious because the greenhouse gas analysis overlooked an increase in spectator traffic from moving the hockey program and events to the St. Paul campus. In addition, the court found that the City’s mitigation measures were not specific, targeted, and certain. The court found, however, that the City’s decision to omit cooling and refrigeration systems for the ice rinks from the greenhouse gas analysis was supported by substantial evidence based on the explanation that they would use electric equipment to service the facility and “acceptable non-ozone depleting alternatives” for refrigerants.