Whitney Clark, Director of Friends of the Mississippi River, gave me permission to post his comments regarding the reasons why we need to preserve the Riverview Site for open/green space: > > > > * Loss of open space will hurt the viability of other planned > > developments in the area. TheUpper River Master Plan calls for > > building 2,500 new units of housing many of which would be proximate > > to the Riverview site. The plan identified the Riverview site as an > > ideal location for a large node of open space, in part, because of > > its views of downtown. This amenity is what leverages the value of > > the Mississippi River for all the planned new units. Allowing one > > development to accrue all the benefit leaving very little for future > > projects is unwise. > > > > * The Mississippi River is first and foremost a natural resource of > > national and international significance. It is a living system upon > > which plants, animals, birds and, of course, people depend. The river > > is a flyway for more that 40% of North America's waterfowl and > > millions of neotropical songbirds. Natural landscapes provide > > filtration for stormwater, helping to protect water quality. The > > establishment of large nodes of restored habitat maintains these > > ecological values for future generations of Minneapolitans to enjoy. > > > > * $1.35 million dollars have already been secured from state and > > federal sources to protect this site as open space. $500,000 of that > > money would not be available if part of the site is used for housing. > > Granting a zoning change to the developer means turning down half a > > million dollars of non-city funds that could be utilized to purchase > > parkland for Minneapolis residents. > > > > * North side residents have never enjoyed access to this great > > natural amenity which flows right through their community. Ask the > > residents of the Longfellow, Seward or Prospect Park neighborhoods > > how valuable the Mississippi River is to their quality of life and > > property values. Why would we let another private developer syphon > > off the majority of the river's value as an amenity, leaving only a > > narrow strip of park for the local residents. > > > > * The master plan calls for a citizen/stakeholder committee to > > provide input into the implementation of the plan. dozens of citizens > > met (along with staff from the MCDA, the Park Board, and the City) > > during the winter and spring to hammer out a consensus on how that > > committee should be constituted and how it would function. The City > > Council should not act in variance to the plan at this time, just > > before the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) is about to be convened. > > > > Mary Jamin Maguire Marshall Terrace-Ward 3
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