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Resident alleges county took his property; official says matter is in the courts
Summary
Chester Cohen spoke during public comment to allege a county action removed his property; a presiding official responded that the issue is in the court system and outside the county's role, and staff has spoken with the resident.
Chester Cohen, a resident, told St. Louis County officials during the public-comment portion of the meeting that local authorities had taken his property and that he has notarized documents supporting his account.
Cohen said he returned from Alaska to find changes affecting his land and that he contacted his representative immediately. “It's real. And you let them keep chiseling away at it,” Cohen said, adding that he planned to post meeting footage and other materials on a YouTube channel he named during his remarks.
Cohen described physical alterations to the property, saying there were pieces of wood “8 to 10 feet long” that he snapped off with an excavator and that those actions led to a restraining order against him. He also said two trees had been cleared along a quarter-mile stretch and that he had offered a different arrangement, which he said was refused. Cohen characterized the situation as “fraud” and urged officials to review the matter.
A presiding official responded during the public-comment exchange that the issue is part of the court process and not within the county’s role. The official added staff has spoken with Cohen. “This is something that is within the court system, and so is not within the role of the state,” the presiding official said.
No formal action or vote was taken by the meeting body in response to the comment. The meeting then moved on to its scheduled agenda items with no directive recorded requiring additional county action on Cohen’s statements.
