Keith says; I wish to remind all that my message of concern was much broader
then the intersection of Penn/Bro. and the Pedestrian Overlay debate. I have
learned first hand how a former Valvoline oil change building (50 years), and
a former Tiremart building (50 years) become functionally obsolete, and
remain vacant. The City simply says: Zoning does not allow it any longer. I
have turned down 100 people who wished to serve neighborhood needs with new
business offerings that are auto related. Inquiries come in every other day
or two, and I say 'No!! The City will not allow it.'
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, and has the right feathers...
I say it is a duck. The City says it is not a duck; and blasts it's highest
CURRENT use out of the sky. And the neighborhood gets duck soup. This being a
very thin broth that offers no jobs, nor new business start ups, nor service
options for their cars, to our neighborhood residents
I am 'in the kitchen' with Dyna, from Hawthorne, on the nature of West
Broadway's Past. I am in Jim Graham's shoes on the nature of Mpls. Zoning
inhibition, and prohibition.
The short summation of my outlook for West Bro.'s
future:======================
Big Avenue/Big Zoning -- little avenue/little zoning. And flexibility.
Keith Reitman NearNorth
In a message dated 3/24/03 11:24:39 AM Pacific Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Tom suggests that fast food and banks would be allowed, just not
> with drive-through facilities. What Tom and some planners may not realize
> is that such a limitation in effect entirely bans those kinds of business.
> It is an economic fact of life that banks without drive throughs and fast
> food without drive throughs are not very competitive. I would invite Mr.
> Leighton to bring either a bank or fast food provider to the table that is
> willing to locate in that area without a drive through.
>
> This is not supposition on my part. As part of planning for Franklin
Avenue
> we talked to several of both kinds of business and universally it was a
> requirement. Or they were simply not interested in even talking to us.
> Franklin was fortunate that we had a banking entity that was very
interested
> in out area and a location for a bank with drive through, without those two
> variables we could not have interested City-County Federal Credit Union and
> attracted there large new building. We earlier failed for several years
> when attempting to attract banks for that very reason.
>
> The problem with zoning in Minneapolis is that Minneapolis has only seven
or
> six zoning categories to try to fit eighty individual neighborhoods and a
> hundred different situations. It is like a shoe store trying to fit
> everyone from a baby to Shaq. with only six shoe sizes and only "medium"
> width. It would be ridiculous. For that reason I have attempted to
suggest
> to City Council People and the Mayor, as well as "Planning" people, that
> there be a "L" after such zoning categories. This "L" would indicate,
> "Limited" to the Master Land Use Plan for that specific neighborhood.
> Everyone says it is a good idea, but no one does anything about it. I am
> even fairly certain planners such as Tom Leighton would welcome a more
> flexible system, but need political leadership to make such a plan reality.
> Which indicates the paralysis our City Government seems to be exhibiting.
>
Dyna Sluyter said:
Your pretty much right on this one Keith- the powers that be have
pretty much written off the Northside. That anyone is taking the busway
seriously shows how ignorant they are of our transportation resources
like the rail line from downtown to Monticello, former 90+ mile per
hour route of the Empire Builder. The West Broadway rebuild has lots of
potential, but our city planners are bound and determined that Broadway
will never again be an "auto row". IIRC, West Broadway was once home to
Ford, Mercury, Chevrolet, and Dodge dealers, and I think maybe American
Motors too. With suburban land going for over a million dollars an acre
"auto row" might be lured back... but Noooo...
Keith, what it comes down to is I think the southsiders don't
understand our Northside working class history of railroads, cars, and
a working river. They'd prefer to remake us in the image of their
southside, coffee shops, culture vultures, and all. Failing that,
they'd just as soon abandon the northside to the gangs and sex
offenders.
hanging on in Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
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