David said: IF that sale proves legally valid, THEN we have a policy decision to make: allow housing on that site, or not. IF the condition exists, THEN what would you do, and why?
Me: If the sale proves legally valid and the legal pundits at city hall determine Mr. Sabri is not out of compliance with the contract or the deed for the land sale then I guess we are pretty much out of luck on this one. A two-year well intended planning process gets scraped and once again the Whittier neighborhood becomes the victim of another poorly planned, poorly placed housing project. At least this one will be owner occupied and the large infusions of cash to keep them livable will come from the homeowner, not the taxpayer. Forget the fact that the planning staff and commission did not know of the existence of its own policy document when they approved this plan, I am still wondering how they could have determined that a Housing over Industrial overlay was appropriate here when they don't even know what the industrial business is yet. How do they know the business will be "family friendly"? I think endorsing a "bait and switch" from a developer who got nearly a half a million dollar subsidy just plain stinks. But, it won't be the first time Whittier got screwed and it won't be the last. >From a different perspective, if this is all about increasing tax base and thoughtful appropriate planning be damned, then lets just increase all residential zoning to R5 or more and let developers slap up high density rental and condos all over the city. I grew up on Lake Nokomis. The corner house on Woodlawn up the hill from the little beach. I know developers were always nudging my parents to sell thinking they would get Denny Schulstad to push for rezoning. Fat chance that was ever going to happen under his watch or Sandy's for that matter. If developers thought they could get the zoning increased there and put up a big high rise overlooking the lake they would be beating each other up to get through the doors of city hall. Boy would that bring in some tax base. Same on the river or other lakes. Do you know what people would pay for a loft overlooking Lake of the Isles, Calhoun, Harriet or the river? We could do affordable lofts all around Powderhorn Park. That is considered the poor lake isn't it? Last night I listened to some outcomes of the Lake Street corridor study the planning department is conducting at the direction of Council Member Lilligren and Niziolek. The planning architect reported that the area just east of 35W is perfect for industrial job producing parcels. Forget that it would rip out several dozen houses (some of which are going anyway for 35W expansion) including Council member Lilligrens. The presenter said nothing about Housing over Industrial there. Now, let me twist that question a little. What happens if Jim and I are right and the legal pundits agree that the developer is out of compliance with the contract and deed. THEN what would I recommend and why? In this scenario, I recommend the city enforce the contract and rescind the sale of land and hand Mr. Sabri back his $126,000. I recommend that the City Council instruct the CPED to work with the Whittier neighborhood to revisit the South Whittier Redevelopment Plan, amend it if appropriate and then and go out with a formal RFP to develop that site in accordance with the amended plan. I have been saying from the beginning of this thread that I don't understand why there was no RFP in the first place. Certainly, the use of that much federal money must require some RFP process. I know there were other parties interested in the site. Some of which had creative housing ideas. One even wanted to turn the greenway into a creek with gondolas on it. I know there would be many more developers interested in the site today that would most likely be willing to pay way more than the $126,000 Mr. Sabri paid for it. Let's not forget that he got a $425,700 subsidy. This includes a $150,000 investment of NRP funds. I continue to say Mr. Sabri can build housing. He needs to do it on the blighted site he owns north of the greenway. We still get housing placed in accordance with city policy and Midtown Greenway policy, we still get increased tax base and we get rid of another blighted, poorly maintained building in the process. 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 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. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ 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
