I too congratulate Kingfield for dealing with this in an up-front and honest way, getting the real issues out for discussion, even though those real issues are very very tough. On the one hand, a respected local hardware store fighting to stay open amid the suburban influx of Home Depots, Menard's, etc. On the other hand, the loss of two (and I've seen them) nice homes off a major street. Not a pretty decision to make.
With upfront honest debate this may work out--let's hope the Community Land Trust out of Lyndale is a real viable option, or else moving the houses to vacant lots nearby. Please keep us posted. Gregory Luce North Phillips (work) David Brauer wrote: > > Their case is that they lose a lot of business from people who can't > find nearby parking and they need the lot to prosper. Although they are > large for a neighborhood store, they are no Home Depot, and competing > with the big guys gets tougher all the time. A small 23-car lot, they > said, is a small concession to helping them stay competitive. And if > they stay around, city folks can use them and not have to drive to the > 'burbs or the Quarry, making everyone's roads and highways less > congested. > > Meanwhile, the housing arguments were staring us in the face. I'm proud > to say that as a neighborhood, we have not been a roadblock to > affordable housing projects, including Hollman units in Kingfield. > However, I'm chagrined to say the supply hasn't really zoomed, either - > open lots are either bought by commercial developers or market-rate > projects. We're pretty sure we can turn the vacant Good Samaritan home > at 44th & Nicollet into an affordable development, but that hasn't > happened yet. As a neighborhood group, we've done no harm but not a lot > of good yet, either. > > So enabling the destruction of two homes really stuck in many members' > craws. Ace said they'd called several organizations about moving the > homes - they later identified two, neither of which had much experience > doing that sort of thing. > > Some board members asked for a delay, and there was some logic to doing > this since it was being sprung upon us. However, Ace's good citizenship > and the idea that the fundamentals wouldn't really change led the board > to ultimately approve the upzoning recommendation 9-2 (with, he notes > wryly, one abstention - not mine...I don't vote except in ties). > > The vote was very real-world. It was really interesting that one of the > "yes" votes came from a board member whose family sold their only car > and now uses a customized recumbent bike, walking, and the bus to get > around. On the other hand, the board member that I respect the most > voted no, wanting to delay at least a month to get more leverage to save > the houses, Ace's cash flow be damned (if they were pressed for time > they should have given us more notice). > > The matter is now before the City Council. Robert Lilligren, in whose > ward the houses are, and Dan Niziolek, whose ward is across the street, > have been great about staying on top of the situation and helping > everyone figure out how to save the houses. > > And there's an epilogue: as a board, we are scrambling to see if those > houses really can be moved. Ace is open to this, though they've given us > a very tight two-month timeframe. Our neighborhood executive director > has recruited PPL, who has inspected the houses (we're awaiting their > estimate). Simultaneously, the Lyndale Neighborhood Development Corp. > has come forward. They are interested in moving the houses onto sites in > Lyndale as part of the first in a new land trust that would guarantee > long-term affordability. > > Our neighborhood NRP committee has voted to spend up to $50,000 to > facilitate the house-move, if feasible. In my opinion, this is a good > buy at $25,000 a unit, especially since we would be converting > market-rate houses to affordable (that is a pre-requisite for spending > our NRP money). PPL said they will probably need our money to proceed; > LNDC officials, amazingly, say they won't - though the sticking point > here is that the Land Trust in question isn't up and running yet, and > this IS a race against time. > > If people are interested, I'll keep you posted on what's happening. But > again, these are the sorts of things we grapple with at the neighborhood > level - few heroes, much uncertainty, frustration, competing interests, > honest second-guessing and hope. > > David Brauer > King Field - Ward 10 > > > _________________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com > > _______________________________________ > 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 North Phillips Press is a publication of Project 504, a housing related neighborhood organization based in the Phillips neighborhood. _______________________________________ 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
