Keith and others: People are entitled to different opinions about the proposed Pedestrian Oriented (PO) Overlay District at Penn-Broadway. The PO designation supports a distinctive character that may or may not be appropriate as applied to Penn-Broadway. But for people to make up their minds on this, as on anything, it is critical that they have good information. Mr. Reitman's use of the phrases "dummy down", "castrate" and "hobbling" is, in my view, very misleading. But the question he raises is very valid and has received a lot of consideration--that is, whether the PO District restricts the TYPES and SIZES of businesses at Penn-Broadway to an extent that would be detrimental to its development? This post is to provide the specifics on these points, and note some examples of other City PO Districts, so that people can come to their own conclusions based on more complete information.
PURPOSE. The purpose of a PO District is to "preserve and encourage the pedestrian character of commercial areas and to promote street life and activity by regulating building orientation and design and accessory parking facilities, and by prohibiting certain high impact and automobile-oriented uses." Buildings have to be built up to the street, with parking next to or behind the building. Gas stations are prohibited. As are fast food restaurants with drive throughs. EXAMPLES. About a dozen City business districts are in PO zoning overlay districts. The character of these areas ranges from the small-scale shops area of Linden Hills to the historic multi-story business corridor of Central Avenue. The PO District can be used with good effect in impacted neighborhoods, as in the case of "Eat Street" on South Nicollet. A PO District at Penn-Broadway would be the second PO District in north Minneapolis, the other one being at Penn and 44th. SIZE OF BUSINESSES. The PO District does not restrict the size of businesses at all. Allowed business floor area is determined by the underlying zoning. In the case of Penn-Broadway, the underlying zoning is a mix of neighborhood commercial (C1), which caps floor area at 4,000 to 8,000 square feet, and general commercial (C2), which allows up to 30,000 square feet of floor area. The larger parcels in the Penn-Broadway area are appropriately zoned C2, which would permit a good sized grocery, drug store, bank, or other retailer. The rezoning proposal for Penn-Broadway slightly increases the amount of C2 zoning at Penn-Broadway. PROHIBITED BUSINESSES. The PO District does not restrict uses to "ice cream cones, coffee, and a bibelot." It prohibits a small set of uses that are considered to be most detrimental to the purpose of supporting active pedestrian activity. The complete list of prohibited uses: 1) Drive-through facilities, 2) Automobile Services uses, 3) Transportation uses. Drive through facilities are most commonly associated with a bank or fast food restaurant. Banks or fast food restaurants without drive through facilities are allowed. "Automobile Services uses" includes a) gas stations, b) car repair, c) auto sales lots, and d) car washes. Auto parts stores are considered "Retail Sales and Services", not "Automobile Services". "Transportation uses" is not relevant in this instance since the uses that fall under this heading--bus garage, taxi service, etc--are not allowed by the underlying zoning anyway. So in practical terms the total number of uses that would be prohibited by the PO district is six. The exact and complete language of the PO Pedestrian Oriented Overlay District can be found in Chapter 551 of the City's Zoning Code, available through the City's website. If anyone has additional questions about this issue, or has other thoughts about development at Penn-Broadway (or West Broadway in general), please feel free to give me a call at 673-3853. Tom Leighton City Planning Department Seward Message: 20 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 15:29:23 EST To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Mpls] Last night at JACC/City Proposed Pedestrian Overlay & Metro Bus Rapid Transit I attended a meeting of the Jordan Neighborhood Community Council last night, well moderated by Stephen Oates. It was well attended by neighborhood folks, and others. Thomas Leighton, Mpls. Planning Dept., was cautiously promoting neighborhood support for a Pedestrian Overlay District (a Commercial Zoning designation) for Penn and West Broadway. He informed us that the City Council may deliberate on this matter within a couple weeks. He wished to give the Jordan neighborhood community an opportunity to ponder, and voice opinion, on the matter. I was surprised that he never once read the Mpls. ordinance (or whatever) with the exact wording of what a Pedestrian overlay is, what it does, and what it specifically prohibits and proscribes. He did seem to explain what such a designation is intended to promote. In general he described a more pedestrian friendly streetscape that neighborhood folks can stroll to, from their homes. A place where they can buy from small business's such things as coffee, an ice cream cone, a boutique item, etc. Prohibited items are gas station, fast food w/drive through, new auto parts, and big box retailing. That may perhaps sound dandy, as offered, but some others, including myself were less indulgent of the presentation. First of all, West Broadway (County HWY 81) was, is, and will be the main commercial corridor, and transport route, of the Northwest quadrant of both Mpls. and the Metro area. In fact, what this road is able to provide in service now, both for transport, and for commercial amenities, is but a small fraction of the growth, and vitality, assured in the not very distant future. The Penn/Broadway intersection may be the keystone, and confluence, of our (Mpls.) West Broadway redevelopment. Do we really want to limit retail, there, to ice cream cones, coffee, and a bibelot? What I call ... the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker! It appears to me, our City's Planning Department has a directive, or is self directed, to 'dummy down' zoning. It is wrong to castrate major corridors like West Broadway; to limit larger and more diverse commercial uses, either by not allowing adequate, larger, C-2 opportunities, or overlaying them with other restrictions (pedestrian overlay). It saps the ability to compete, and limits adjacent neighborhoods' access to retail buying opportunities, and retail choices. It also restricts locally owned business start up opportunities, and local jobs. We already have many neighborhood commercial corridors, smaller mixed use streets with room for many more small business's. Streets such as Lowry, Plymouth, Glenwood and Cedar Lake Road, are our 'neighborhood' commercial infrastructure. We also have Lyndale, Emerson, and Penn, for small business, and services, growth. West Broadway shall always allow "The butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker", but our North Mpls. area should not be denied the full opportunity that only our West Broadway can provide us. The other streets mentioned will funnel activity, interest, and vitality to West Broadway. A fully functioning West Broadway will reflect back healthy commercial vigor to all adjacent neighborhoods. The restructuring of HWY 81 beyond the western City limits, all the way to Rogers is occurring. It is an astounding opportunity for new connection and reconnection of our neighborhoods with the broader Metro Area. In addition, the forthcoming Bus Rapid Transit will help assure further access to those additional jobs that are available in the broader metro area. Of course, the improvements, and streamlining, of a transit corridor present new challenges to our 'main street' along with the opportunities. Penn/Bro will be one of the BRT stops. It will become a collector point for commuters; a destination for suburban spenders. But, people will only visit; stick, stay, and spend, if there is some "THERE", there!! Nor will some coffee, a cookie, and a widget, be a draw that will keep Northside neighbors from driving West, 'over the hill' to Robbinsdale and beyond. And we always take our spending cash with us, now. Let us not 'dummy down' and hobble, our unique, and highly challenged West Broadway Av. as we enter the new era of reconnection and vitality with the Northwest Quadrant of the Metro Area. Big avenue; Big zoning/little avenue little zoning. The North side needs, and deserves, one West Broadway Avenue. Keith Reitman NearNorth TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ 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
