Just to clarify here, neighborhood associations or "neighborhoods" have no real power in the decisions made by elected officials at any level. The input from these groups are considered recommendations to the planning commission and other city departments. Most neighborhood associations are contracted with the MCDA (soon to be CPED) to organize neighborhood stakeholders and gather opinions regarding properties owned by the MCDA/CPED or issues that MCDA/CPED want opinions from the neighborhoods about. The neighborhood associations are also contracted by the NRP to conduct planning and implementation activities for the NRP funds allocated to each neighborhood. Both the MCDA/CPED and NRP have formal established policies for what is expected and both organization provide funding to neighborhoods to do this work.
Neighborhoods are NOT however contracted by any city department to do any work or conduct any public meetings, hearings, opinion polls or anything for zoning and planning issues such as conditional use permits, variances, zoning changes, public works, transportation, human services, public safety, regulatory, etc. The Park Board has their own community input process and I assume the Library Board does as well although I can't testify to that. The fact that Zoning and Planning or Public Works instructs applicants to "go through the neighborhood review process" is a courtesy. While it may be part of an understood and accepted practice at the planning commission there is certainly nothing outlined in writing that speaks to any formal policy with neighborhoods on what is expected when they say "go through the neighborhood review process". There is no contract, no formal policy and no payment to neighborhood associations for all the work they do to organize around these issues. The applicants are by and large subject to whatever process a particular neighborhood devises for hearing these issues and believe each neighborhood differs in process. Vice versa, the neighborhoods are left to establish their own individual processes which may or may not match what other neighborhoods are doing and they do these processes for free. Zoning and Planning issues as well as transportation and public works issues are often the most time consuming and contentious issues neighborhoods deal with. By and large they all perform this function as a courtesy. MCDA or NRP funds are used to underwrite the neighborhood staff time and copying and mailing expenses incurred from this work. In very dense, mixed-use core city neighborhoods these issues constitute much of what the neighborhood visits at their monthly meetings. The planning commission and council members may take what the neighborhood thinks into consideration when making their decisions but there is certainly no obligation whatsoever to follow the neighborhoods recommendation. In many neighborhoods like Whittier, Phillips and others the neighborhood recommendations are ignored regularly. The planning commission has been known to ignore their own ordinances when it was convenient for them to do so. (i.e. the quarter mile spacing requirement) Yet, just tonight at the planning commission I heard two of the same commissioners who so willingly ignored their own ordinances in one case give a educational lecture to one of their fellow commissioners and the audience about how important it is for the planning commission to follow the ordinances established. I found it very amusing and quite inconsistent if not down right hypocritical. I am not sure if the city will ever address the fact that there is no formal "neighborhood review process" in place. It would certainly go a long way to helping applicants get through the myriad of steps they have to go through to get their needs met be it a business trying to put a dumpster on his property or a homeowner trying to add on to his garage or house if we had a consistent, formal, defined and documented process in place between neighborhoods and the city. I would also help to educate neighborhood stakeholders what their real power or lack thereof was in these issues. Barb Lickness Whittier ===== "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
