An open letter to the City Council:
I am extremely disappointed in what I perceive to be a rush to build
another parking lot seven blocks from my home. I am sick of the
capitulation to the car culture. I urge you to oppose a zoning
variance that would allow Ace Hardware to move or tear down two
inhabited houses on Nicollet Avenue and replace them with pavement.
Even though I am a politically active citizen, I just found out about
the plan two weeks ago. And the more I learn about it, the less I
like.
This plan will --
� encourage more driving and more pollution in our neighborhoods;
� remove homes or spend precious NRP housing money on moving homes,
rather than creating more affordable housing (during a time when
the creation of housing is supposed to be the top priority for
our new city leadership);
� push forward on a fast track with minimal public feedback;
� set a bad precedent for displacing neighbors for the benefit of
business, and;
� set another bad precedent for using public resources for private
benefit.
Instead of another parking lot, we need to --
� slow down and implement a sustainable and comprehensive
transportation plan for our neighborhoods that emphasizes
alternatives to more cars and more pavement;
� protect existing housing and use our resources to create more
affordable homes; and
� avoid making controversial decisions under the influence of few
people.
Didn't we just elect a new City Council to do things differently?
This afternoon, I spoke with the neighbors who live right next to the
site of the proposed parking lot. I assure you that they were
furious about the proposal. One woman told me that having a parking
lot as a neighbor would reduce her safety at night. As we spoke, her
teenage daughters came home from school, and I could see that she had
no time to keep up with the latest machinations in city politics.
A man in the next house knew nothing about the proposal, but he was
very grateful that I had knocked on his door to tell him about it.
As soon as he heard that two houses would be moved for a parking lot,
he was against the plan. Some things in life don't need explaining.
I would be remiss not to mention a glaring factor that I noticed
during my conversations. Both of the neighbors were black, and both
of them seemed resigned to "business as usual" from those with the
political power in Minneapolis. I acknowledge that my experience was
with only two people this afternoon, but it still left me with a
distinctly uncomfortable feeling.
For all of the reasons I have mentioned, I would like you to
reconsider what you are about to do.
Sincerely,
Mark Knapp
Lyndale, Ward 10
--------------------
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
-- Joni Mitchell
Big Yellow Taxi
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