Part of the problem is the "Farmers Market" designation. Farmer's Markets were supposed to be open areas where farmers and others would bring their own products and produce, and then sell it in a non-store venue. Much as the wonderful Farmer's Market at the corner of Lake and Hiawatha. That is a "Farmer's Market" and what the ordinances are designed for.
The Karmel Plaza and the Karmel Square are no more "Farmers Markets" than Southdale is, Ridgedale is, or Mall of America is. Individual businesses, with specific discreet space, rented under normal leases, with walls and locks on doors do NOT constitute a farmers market. I don't care if you can teach the pig to swim and quack like a duck, even paste feathers on it, and have a Minneapolis "Planner" call it a duck, this old farm boy is still not going to believe it is a duck. The only difference between this and the shopping malls is that the exploited Somali store owners pay more per square foot and get fewer services. Hardly a reason to call them 'Farmers Markets'. These fine, industrious, ambitious, business people are storeowners, NOT farmers! It does them a disservice and shows them disrespect to not call them such, and as such not provide their legitimate businesses with the same zoning protection (such as adequate parking) that other legitimate businesses enjoy. Calling such 'Malls' Farmer's Markets is another example of "Bait & Switch" on the part of the developers. A Bait &Switch that some planners have not had the knowledge or gumption to challenge. Kim Tollefson, before she went on to greener pastures, was very concerned with this misapplication of the term. Kim had begun to start a process of making such developers, using such miss-application of the term, come into conformance with the actual law for what they were. Either to run legitimate "Farmer's Markets, or to comply with zoning requirements for "Shopping Malls" and the requirements for individual stores. Also, make no mistake this 'Farmer's Market' is also NOT industrial use. What happens with that MERL grant of Federal dollars given this switch? What happens to the neighborhood's NRP dollars that it spent on a duck, when it's now having a pig forced down its throat? Does the City reimburse the neighborhood or does it force the Developer to? No, I think not, what the City should do is take back the land as the Deed stipulates and start a new RFP process. If it wants a pig or a cow, and not a duck, then put it in the conditions of a new deed. I wonder when Uptown at Hennepin-Lake or the E-block will ask to be declared a "Farmer's Market"? They might have a fine minority owned business like "Famous Dave's", and as such claim to be ducks. Jim Graham, Ventura Village neighborhood, Phillips Community Planning District, 6th Ward of the City of Minneapolis >"If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marian Biehn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "gemgram" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 12:56 PM Subject: Re: [whittier egroup] Re: [Mpls] Will Minneapolis Stop Bait & Switch Real Estate Development Scams > 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 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. 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