My, My, My, we seem to have a lawyer who is unaware that life existed on the Avenue before his arrival. Before we break down into a spitting contest with personal attacks and innuendo instead of good upfront honest accusations, perhaps we should use "outside" sources. I did not intend my assertions to be more than a shotgun approach to accuracy. But there is a wealth of people to ask about such development. I can assure folks that anything the residents were not involved in and approve of probably did not happen, OR is presently in Federal Litigation. It is not necessary at all to take my word for this; there are the people who were heavily involved from day one. Any interested person should perhaps talk to Dean Dovolis about "planning" for the neighborhood and where it came from. His number is in the book under DJR Architects
No doubt there were enormous efforts by many organizations doing development on Franklin Avenue, but we probably need to understand that the drive and motivation came from those neighborhood residents that were involved in the process for over 15 years. Those same people were also involved in the early stages of NRP and probably those same people who motivated that little, Irish, political genius, Tony Scallon, when he first invented NRP as a means of avoiding heat in his ward about Minneapolis spending all its resources on "Downtown". So let us look at some of those issues Mr. Luce is "aiming" at. Hope did do the Children's Village; with a great deal of input from the Neighborhood. In order to even get to that stage of planning the neighborhood had to "guarantee" it would not allow Hope to go beyond neighborhood approved plans. Otherwise the hostile neighbors of Hope were out to kill the plan and Hope. The neighborhood was already involved in a Master Planning effort for the entire neighborhood and participated in this developers work. Observing the great drawings and renderings that architect Dennis Grebner made, the neighborhood decided to use Dennis and DJR to do similar renderings for the whole of the Avenue. Grebner quite simply does the best renderings and designs of anyone I have seen. The picture is not the Plan, however. Though it makes the Plan more of a "reality", because you can see and touch it, and no one makes it more real than Dennis Grebner. Luce is correct about the sometimes heat with Hope, but we would not have the "Gateway" project at all without that heat. The neighborhood has stood and fought to protect the interests of "Peace House" and individual homeowners. Steve Crammer tipped us off that Hope was planning on asking that a twenty block area be declared a redevelopment area, (so the folks owning property there could be moved with imminent domain). The Luce is correct, the neighborhood had more than a little heat on that score. Rather than demonizing Hope for such an "unchristian act", however, the neighborhood sought ways to revitalize hope in the project. Alan Arthur supplied that touch of hope at just the right time. People who had other plans for the land owned the northern side of Franklin Avenue. Kevin Tharp was intending to put in a pawnshop on the Total-Mart site; the neighborhood blocked that move then rehabilitated Kevin to see the light. When Kevin stood and thanked the neighborhood for bringing him to that vision and his plans for developing the northern side of Franklin into Portland Crossings he received a standing ovation and cheers from 125 neighbors. Kevin quickly became a very valuable friend and neighbor. Kevin became an ardent protector of Pease House and accepted the Ventura Village Vision. Kevin even appeared on Television thanking the neighborhood for making him a better person and leading him to a better way of doing business. Channel 9 (I believe with Dean Dovolis and myself). Kevin formed a partnership with Alan Arthur from CCHT, and with Hope to develop the whole area. That totality became the ""Gateway" project and came because of that NRP "empowered" neighborhood, that Greg discounts, forced it. I like to tell people to ask others, so I would recommend calling Alan Arthur or Dean Dovolis about this. I happen to believe Alan Arthur is ethical enough to tell the truth. Alan understands how to use the momentum of a neighborhood to swim across, and how to use the stream of public involvement, to get to the other shore faster. American Indian Housing Community Development Corporation's relationship with the neighborhood is an example of that positive constructive suggestion I made a couple of days ago. Those who have any question about the neighborhood's involvement with "Franklin Avenue Planning" should probably call Gordon Thayer or Bob Albee from that organization. AIHCDC has fully participated in the planning and development on Franklin, and in the community as a whole. This participation was as a neighborhood member. The neighborhood has also fully participated in the planning of AIHCDC developments. This relationship has solved planning problems, siting problems, funding problems, and public relations issues. It is the model that MUST be used for future siting of projects in Minneapolis. AIHCDC has a commitment to build ONLY what the neighborhood desires and needs. AIHCDC has a commitment to be an active member of the Neighborhood rather than viewing the neighborhood as a fertile ground to be exploited. It was AIHCDC who came up with the slogan YIMBY, and made up personal nametags for everyone at a public meeting that stated such. Yes In My Back Yard does not mean YES to anything a developer wants. What it means is, " yes, we will build affordable housing in our back yard, but the kind of housing WE decide is best in our neighborhood and that it needs." Minneapolis neighborhoods need other ethical organizations like AIHCDC, and individuals like Alan Arthur, who wishes to "partner" with neighborhoods to do that development the neighborhoods designs call for. Such organizations when teamed with neighborhoods and those organizations allied with other neighborhoods and communities can do a great deal to bring resources to Minneapolis. We need such an organized partnership and effort to "go get the money". Without it we are a group of people and organizations fighting over the last few potatoes while our City starves. In his 2002 Affordable Housing report RT Rybak says, "One challenge is right in our backyard. Siting affordable housing is still very difficult; every project is a battle. We need the spirited partnership of residents and advocates to help us---" RT's statement has shown the real problem. It addresses siting as an outside issue. This is the wrong direction entirely and shows an outside "colonial" type of thinking and perception of neighborhoods. The answer is in our backyard however, because the neighborhood residents need to decide what projects and types of projects "THEY" need and where. Then the City needs to fund those and assist with developments of those projects the neighborhoods actually want and will support. That spirited partnership RT talks about are the NRP organized neighborhood residents. Any project not coming from that neighborhood is going to face far greater "OPPOSITION" in the future. That opposition is starting to become organized and will have great power in that future. Such organized energy would certainly be more productive if allied with developer and City efforts, and then applied to creating and accessing new funding sources. RT also said in that piece, "Working together, we will sustain the progress we've made this year, and assure that Minneapolis is a place where everyone has a chance to thrive." RT is correct! But the key is "Working together". So far the City and developers have, (by and large), thought of working together as the Neighborhoods getting the hell out of the way and letting them do what they want. That is not working together, and it is not a partnership. If it were working together the neighborhood residents would not have to sue the City of Minneapolis and PPL in Federal Court, and other neighborhoods would not have to sue their own City in State Court to stop a pattern of discrimination. A new relationship has to be created that is truly "working together". The relationship of Ventura Village and the developer, American Indian Housing Community Development Corporation, is the model for such a relationship. It is much easier to organize troops to fight than to organize labor to construct, but we get so much more out of working together to build a better Minneapolis. NRP is an incredible tool that has been designed to create that very "Working together" relationship. Rather than face subjugation and victimization the neighborhoods might choose fighting every development in every neighborhood in the City of Minneapolis, but there is a viable alternative. I think it much wiser for RT and the Council to recognize that they have this great tool that has already been shaped to the hand to build a better City. That tool is NRP! With the election of Don Samuels, that Neighborhood-City-Community Developer partnership may be able to "use" that NRP tool to do Community Development. Trust is all it takes, but trust goes more than one way in a true partnership. Don may have that trust to "Empower" neighborhoods with trust of their own. Mr. Luce should try the NRP model in his own neighborhood in the City of St. Paul. It takes real work and dedication, but it is worth the effort. Perhaps then he would have a greater appreciation for the power of organized residents. An appreciation for Residents working together to make a better place for their families and themselves to live. Jim Graham, Ventura Village >The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it. - John Ruskin >The same is true of Neighborhoods >There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into babies and revolution into minds. - Toe TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. 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