The St. Croix Scenic Coalition is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to review a lower court’s ruling that favored a developer that wants to build a 99-unit apartment complex in Osceola, Wis., on the bluffs of the St. Croix River. St. Croix Scenic Coalition officials say last month’s decision by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, which determined that the coalition and others did not have standing to challenge the Village of Osceola’s approval of the project, will have “far-reaching effects statewide … insulating development projects from review to the detriment of communities and the environments in which they are located.” The coalition wants the Supreme Court to “help develop, clarify or harmonize” a new state law in Wisconsin, enacted in June 2023, that limits which parties can sue to stop housing development projects. “The heart of this case is the interpretation and application of a new law, which limits who may bring certiorari actions,” attorneys for the petitioners wrote in their petition for review. “This is a novel issue – the law has not yet been addressed by this Court and this case gives the Court an opportunity to do so.” There is no guarantee, however, that the Supreme Court will hear the case. Who has standing? Last April, a Polk County Circuit Court judge ruled that the proposed Osceola Bluffs Development violated state St. Croix River protections and impedes views along the river bluffs. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals in November reversed that ruling. The appellate court also instructed the circuit court to dismiss a petition challenging the Village’s approval of the development. The apartment complex was approved by Osceola officials in July 2023, and was contested by St. Croix Scenic Coalition. Throughout the approval process, coalition members questioned the proposed building height and the visual impacts, eventually leading them to file a lawsuit in August 2023. In its 15-page decision, the Court of Appeals ruled that the coalition did not have standing to challenge the Village’s approval of the project. “A petitioner must demonstrate that he or she sustained ‘actual damages or will imminently sustain actual damages as a result of the final decision on the application for approval,’” according to the decision. The law states that only certain categories of plaintiffs, including “a person that, as a result of the final decision on the application for an approval, sustains actual damages or will imminently sustain actual damages that are personal to the person and distinct from the damages that impact the public generally,” can take action to stop a project, according to the petition for review. The Court of Appeals held that “because any impact to property values had not yet occurred, it was merely the possibility of future harm and insufficient to confer standing,” the petitioners wrote. “It also held that negative impacts on the scenic qualities of the St. Croix River, pollution, tax impacts, and infrastructure problems could never confer standing to challenge a site plan approval because they are not ‘personal’ or ‘distinct from damages that impact the public generally.’” The Court of Appeals ruling “interprets the statute so narrowly that development projects are effectively insulated from review,” they continued. “No neighbor could ever have standing to challenge the project because harm to their property is deemed merely a possibility until after the building has been built, at which point it is too late to file a certiorari action. (G)iven the increasing demand for development, this issue is likely to recur until resolved by this Court.” Former Osceola Medical Center Related Articles Environment | Mississippi River advocates raise concerns about company’s plan to mine riverbed Environment | Unusual sea smoke engulfs ships approaching Duluth port Environment | North Dakota approves construction of proposed carbon pipeline, underground CO2 storage Environment | Monarch butterflies to be listed as a threatened species in US Environment | Malibu wildfire prompts evacuation orders and warnings for 20,000, including Dick Van Dyke and Cher Plans call for Forest Lake-based developer Gaughan Cos. to build a new apartment complex on site of the former Osceola Medical Center, located at 301 River St., which has been vacant for more than 15 years. The three-story apartment complex project is slated to include a retail unit and a restaurant. It is expected to rise just over 44 feet; town ordinances set maximum building heights at 35 feet in that part of Osceola near the St. Croix River. The Village of Osceola Board approved three permits for construction, but Polk County Circuit Court Judge Daniel J. Tolan ruled, in reversing the approval from the Village, that the development would rise above the tree canopy along the river bluffs, and would prove to be “visually conspicuous” from the river. Development along that area of the St. Croix River is bound by Wisconsin state statute, which lays out standards for the Lower St. Croix River National Scenic Riverway.