By way of information and to address some of your parking/occupancy questions--
As Linda commented, there are no occupancy levels or vendor maximums on the "farmers market" model which is being applied to the ethnic market/gathering space. As part of the WA presentation, we asked the PC to reevaluate the formula applied to parking requirement and occupancy levels. Right now, parking requirements are based on square footage in commercial space and seating for restaurants. The intent is NOT to blacktop the area to accomodate parking (we have that at KMart) but to force the city to look at the issue of cumulative impact of parking and traffic on neighborhoods based on existing and proposed developments and how the parking formula is applied to the development usage. For example the proposed Karmel Plaza (not including the light industrial component) has 14595 sqft of commercial requiring 35 parking space the restaruant has 2591sqft (80 seats) requires 26 parking places. Therefore 17,186 total sqft requires 61 parking places (per city ordinance). The traffic/parking impact will be wildly different if the commercial area has 50 vendors or 150 vendors. There is currently no ordinance that limits the number of vendors or occupancy. Many businesses don't need liscences so as many businesses as can fit can go into the space. Meanwhile, Karmel Square has approximately 20,800 sqft and approximately 73 vendors/businesses and WILL have (if the project is completed) 35 spots along the southside of Elroy. The theory is to have the Karmel Plaza parking relieve the parking shortage for Karmel Square. In a recent count prior to the start of Elroy site digging, 250 cars were parked on the vacated Elroy site--plus cars parked on the streets. Altho the overall parking in the proposed Karmel Plaza totals 141 spaces-underground and surface, the number of vendors in the commercial "farmers market" will dictate how many are available. Further, if 69 condo units are allowed to be built, 69 of the the 141 parking places will be dedicated to the condo units. The proposed 69 housing units are designed for families--mostly 2-3 bedroom. If each unit only has 1 child, that is 69 kids. The parking and traffic could be a safety issue for the kids. There is one playgound on the north side of the building for small kids but no other green space for the kids. Commissioner Lashomb's comment was that this project is ill-conceived and needs to go back to to the drawing board. Marian Biehn, Neighborhood Development Manager Whittier Alliance 10 East 25th Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404 (612) 871-7756 Fax (612) 871-0650 www.whittieralliance.org Whittier Alliance - Bringing Diverse Voices Together ----- Original Message ----- From: "Barbara Lickness" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "gemgram" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Whittier List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Whittier List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, July 12, 2004 1:15 PM Subject: [whittier egroup] Re: [Mpls] Will Minneapolis Stop Bait & Switch Real Estate Development Scams > Jim is right in that the developer of the Elroy site > is attempting to change the original proposal to add > housing units on top of manufacturing in the proposed > development project. Keeping light industrial at > street level will satisfy the requirements of the > federal miles funds ($500K) that were invested in that > site. > > Neighborhood association staff and board members have > had many conversations with CPED staff over time about > this project. The neighborhood wanted to do an RFP and > solicit proposals from new developers based on the > fact that the current developer wants to change the > original plan. The board passed a motion during the > last project change presention stating that they > supported the original plan but if the plan was > changing they would like to see other developers given > the opportunity to bid on the site. > > There problem is there was never was an RFP issued to > solicit proposals for this site. While there is $150K > of NRP funds in this site in addition to the $500K > federal MILES money, the NRP funds were earmarked to > clear the site. The Elroy site just kind of hung out > there as an available site. Any developer could have > submitted a proposal but only one did. That was Basim > Sabri. I would like to know what Mr. Sabri paid for > the lot? Did he just inherit a $650K gift from the > feds and the neighborhood for this site or did he pay > something beyond the complimentary dollar? > > I believe the transfer of ownership from CPED to Basim > does have a caviat about the industrial use. As long > as Basim builds manufacturing in appropriate > proportion to the rest of the facility, he has > satisfied that legal caveat. > > I am not personally convinced that placing housing on > top of an industrial site is a good example of mixed > use. Retail is one thing but industrial is another. > The area surrounding the Elroy site is riddled with > bad zoning decisions of the past that were wheeled and > dealed through one councilmember or another. Now it > appears we may be headed toward the worst example yet > if this zoning overlay is approved today. > > The biggest issue with the Elroy site and its pending > development isn't the zoning overlay. It is the > parking issue surrounding Karmel Square. It is unclear > what the parking requirements are for Karmel Square. > Currently, it is an unmanaged mess. I have heard Basim > got the councilmember to get a parking variance > granted (without neighborhood review) so he didn't > have to provide adequate parking for the shopping > mall. Not sure, just unconfirmed rumor. Just for the > record, it isn't the first project the planning > commission and council waived the parking requirements > for. Karmel Square is just the poster child for why > varying from the requirement can present major > problems. > > For awhile, Karmel Square customers were using the > Elroy site illegally to park on. CPED put up a fence > but they broke that down. Now I believe ownership of > the Elroy site has been transferred to Basim. The > Karmel Square customer are parked en mass on the Elroy > site lot in an unlandscaped, unsurfaced area. Even > with the use of the Elroy site, the parking is still > not adequate for the customers of the Karmel Square > mall. > > If a building is put up on the Elroy site, once again > there will be no off street parking for Karmel Square > customers. I suggested at one Whittier meeting that > Mr. Sabri negotiate a parking lot use agreement with > the owners of the land that the Supervalu and K-Mart > are on as that is only 1 block from Karmel Square. > Basim thought it a great idea and assured me he would > look into it right away. I have seen no evidence that > has happened. I see no Karmel Square customers parking > in that lot and no signs around Karmel Square > encouraging customers to park over there. > > The people who live in the condominium building across > the street and other residents from the area > surrounding Karmel Square are exasperated. They > believe they have provided evidence of countless code > violations in Karmel Square and evidence of the > unmanaged parking problems surrounding it. I talked to > a woman on Friday that has videotape to back up her > assertions. She was screaming mad and thinks she hits > solid brick when she tries to deal with the city and > the council office about the problems. > > I would like to see fact separated from fiction here. > What are the required number of parking spaces for > Karmel Square? How many businesses is the mall zoned > for? How many businesses are currently in the > building? Based on the number of business owners > Basim packs to the Whittier Alliance meetings or > elections it appears as if there are over 100 > businesses in the mall. Is that property zoned or > licensed for that many businesses? Are there > outstanding orders for code violations from > inspections on Karmel Square? If so, what are they > for? When are they required to be remedied? > > A savvy reporter from the Southwest Journal could look > into this issue and do a nice story. Maybe one has > already been done and I missed it. Not sure about that > but the issue is impacting Whittier greatly right now > and we could use some help getting down to the real > truth on what is really going on in this area. > > 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 > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! 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