I think there is much to be said in favor of a requirement for garages and basements for new residential construction in Minneapolis. Conventional slab construction is very energy-inefficient in our climate. Basements provide storage space, work space and room for expansion as a family grows. Garages too, provide storage space, work space, and they allow owners to get their vehicles off the street. Basements undoubtedly add to the cost of a dwelling, but it is all usable space year 'round. Garages also add cost, and maybe there are alternatives that should be considered, such as car ports or simply off street parking space that drains water into the yard or nearby storm drains without getting sidewalks wet and creating ice danger for pedestrians in winter months.
side bar- I can relate to Barb L's comments about all the 'collectables' taking space in her garage, forcing her to park in the driveway. Many years ago I lived in a great old apartment building on 35th and Emerson So, near the cemetery. We had a single garage in the rear that we were never able to use because I had tons of storage tanks, pipes, valves and fittings that I used in various methane digesters I had built or would be building on farms west of the city. I designed these systems to operate on hog, horse and turkey manures and they produced high octane methane (natural gas) that researchers at Minnegasco and the ag school at the U of M found very interesting (good story for the next list get-together). I hauled everything around in a 3/4 ton pickup and had to park the truck and a smaller car on the one way street out front. With parking on both sides of the street, that left room for a single lane of traffic. Winters were tough. What I needed was a three car garage; but I'd probably still have been parking on the street! Michael Hohmann on a landfill in Linden Hills _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
