Sep. 20—ROCHESTER — A billboard company has filed a lawsuit against the city of Rochester in hopes of reversing a mayoral veto that denied its request to place a 600-square-foot sign along U.S. Highway 52.

"Mayor (Kim) Norton's conclusions are based upon application of the wrong legal standard, unsupported by substantial evidence, and contrary to the record," attorney Bryan Huntington of the Minneapolis-based Larkin Hoffman law firm wrote in a complaint filed earlier this month on behalf of Reagan Outdoor Advertising.

Huntington is asking a judge reverse the veto after the Rochester City Council declined to do so.

Reagan Outdoor Advertising wanted to place a one-sided, digital billboard at the site of Classic Storage, 2836 E Frontage Road. Since the property sits adjacent to Homestead Church, city staff denied the application, citing restrictions to billboards within 300 feet of churches.

The sign company appealed the decision, first to the city's Zoning Board of Appeals and then to the City Council. While it was denied by the appeals board, the council voted 5-2 to allow the sign to be put up.

Norton vetoed the decision three days later, citing concerns about the rationale used by council members to approve the billboard.

"I was not satisfied that sound judicial judgment based on the law was utilized in identifying rationale for overriding the prior decisions of city staff and the Zoning Board of Appeals," she wrote in her veto memo.

The council did not override the veto after Council Member Molly Dennis reversed her stance on the sign and Council Member Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick opted to abstain from the vote.

Since council member Mark Bransford was absent for the second vote, only council members Shaun Palmer and Norman Wahl remained in support of the sign.

An override would have required support from five council members.

Reagan Outdoor Advertising claims city staff incorrectly interpreted the city's code in its initial denial of a variance to allow the sign, and Norton's veto of the initial council decision should be reversed by the court. Additionally, Huntington argues that the vote to override the July 27 veto should have been postponed to allow Bransford to participate and that a letter to the council from City Attorney Michael Spindler-Krage violated open meeting laws, since it addressed the issue outside a public meeting.

The city will be represented by John Baker of the Minneapolis-based Greene Espel law firm in the case. He has not yet filed a formal response to the complaint.