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Resident alleges county misconduct in wetlands fill dispute
Summary
A resident accused St. Louis County staff and the county attorney of manipulating facts, allowing recent fill on alleged wetlands that causes flooding, and using a resolution to benefit a private family; the transcript records no county response.
A resident accused St. Louis County officials of wrongdoing in a public-comment address, alleging that county staff and the county attorney have shaped the narrative to justify keeping recent fill that the speaker said caused flooding on his property.
"The county land department should not be allowed to claim property they do not legally own," Chester Cohen told commissioners. He said the county knew the fill was recent and causing flooding, that a county resolution conditioned a cartway on corrections by Brian Hutchinson and that the county nonetheless allowed the fill to remain, creating what he described as a loss of property rights.
Cohen said the county's actions made it hard for residents to find attorneys without conflicts and accused the county attorney's office of misusing power. The transcript records these allegations and the speaker's account of unresolved flooding but contains no recorded response from county staff or legal counsel during the public-comment period.
