I think a moratorium on non emergency demolitions has merit. When I moved onto the 2400 block of 17th Ave, in Phillips, there were three 1800's vintage duplexes across the alley. We bought the rattiest one and rehabbed it. Is it a palace? No. But it does provide affordable housing for two families. The other two were allowed to deteriorate and were torn down. A moratorium will at least give us some time to get things sorted out. Exceptions can be made of course. Old housing is affordable because it is already paid for. It is a rare building that could not be fixed up cheaper than putting up something new.
When buildings come down, they should be made available to scavengers first--let us get everything useful out before the wrecking ball arrives. There is a market for used building materials. An aspect of affordable housing that is not being talked about is energy efficiency. Green buildings cost less to operate. At the Green Institute we have what we call the "1-10-100 formula". Simply put this formula says that for every $1.00 that you put into constructing a building you will, over the life of that building, spend $10.00 on utilities and maintenance AND if it a commercial building, you will spend $100.00 over the life of the building on your staff(on salaries, health care, etc.) This formula tells us that if you can slightly increase the cost of the initial construction of the building in order to cut your energy savings in half, you will save big time. So if you can change the formula to $1.25-$7.50-$100.00 you have huge savings over the long run. For this to have any practical application, we need to work with the lending industry in order to restructure mortgages in reflect this savings. It is in a way like TIF, in that it uses future savings to finance up front costs. Also, buy greening the building you can make a building more pleasant and healthy in order to cut down on absenteeism and health costs, the savings are huge. Dean Zimmermann Commissioner, Mpls Park & Rec Board City Council Member, elect Ward 6 612-722-8768 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2001 5:03 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Mpls] Housing Crisis & A Challenge for the New Council & Mayor Most of us are well aware that a major contributor to the affordable housing crisis is the "demolition quest" the city has been on for almost a decade. Clearly, the most affordable housing is the housing that we already have. A lot of funny math and "functional silo" behavior on the part of city departments and agencies has contributed to the problem. MCDA and Inspections both are guilty of excessive demolition of properties that could have otherwise become affordable units for folks, whether homeowners, condo-owners, or renters; everyone who would live in the city has suffered. Our landfills have suffered, the timber we use is not old enough to vote (thus poor quality with heartwood and sapwood everywhere), and increasingly we turn to plastic (petroleum based) for new construction, which has a pretty short shelf life. Clearly other agendas contributed to the demolition quest. In some cases, I believe otherwise salvageable houses were demolished simply because that was easier for the staff person involved (as opposed to cost effectiveness or social agendas). In some cases, staff have stated that they believe new construction is the only way suburban buyers can be drawn into the city (even if it's true, why is that desirable?). In light of this history, I challenge the new council (re-elected and newly elected) as well as mayor-elect Rybak to call for an immediate city-wide moratorium on non-emergency demolition of housing until recycling policy options can be reviewed. A moratorium on demolition would make a strong statement about how serious the new council is about the affordable housing problems. I have actually already spoken with a number of council members regarding this issue, and it was well received. So folks, how about it? David Piehl Central/8th Ward ______________________________________________________________________ The information contained in this message is private and confidential information which may also be subject to the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine. This information is intended only for the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution or copy of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by return e-mail and destroy all copies of the message. Thank you. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
