Blaine couple sues city for denying home modification, alleging misinformation influenced council members

Blaine couple suing city

A couple in Blaine is suing the city for allegedly unjustly denying a modification to their home.

Alex and Lynda Pepin announced the lawsuit during a press conference on Tuesday.

The legal action comes after the couple sought to add an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to their home, with the purpose of providing shelter to “a local family experiencing hardship,” but were denied.

The Pepins claim that opponents of the ADU said the couple was planning to create a homeless shelter or house criminals, which caused the Blaine City Council to deny the permit.

Alex said during the Tuesday press conference that part of their plan is to house families coming out of homelessness, adding that those people would have gone through a program for unhoused people prior to staying in the ADU.

The council voted 5-2 to deny the permit, saying it conflicted with the “unwritten intent of the ADU ordinance.”

“The impetus of doing this was, we have some resources, Blaine has an ordinance that allows this — we also have aging parents, kids that are going to transition, so, we just thought, hey this would be a way to do a lot of good in an affordable way,” Alex said during the press conference.

The Pepins noted the Blaine Planning Commission reviewed their application prior to it going to the council and said it complied with city law.

The Pepins are suing for declaratory relief and allegedly violating the plaintiff’s:

Right to equal protection under the Minnesota Constitution

Freedom of association under the Minnesota Constitution

Freedom to establish a home under the Minnesota Constitution

Right to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution

Freedom of association under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

The full lawsuit can be read below.

Lynda and Alex Pepin v. City of BlaineDownload

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