They are going to start by trying to yank away the small amounts of funding neighborhood groups get to conduct city mandated citizen review of development initiatives. Once the funding is yanked, the mandate will be yanked too. The idea is to do an end run around neighborhood groups by moving citizen review to less-democratic multi-neighborhood entities that will be more amenable to a certain vision of development. This is being pushed by CPED with the support of certain city leaders and some larger development entities (like certain CDCs or other multineighborhood non-profits) who want to take over these roles from neighborhood groups. It is easy to see who the winners and losers will be if we think about this some.
Whether or not our city council members go along with this or not is going to be a huge litmus test on whether they are really committed to grassroots neighborhood driven citizen involvement or whether they are merely paying lip service to these principles.
It would be very interested to hear from some of our city leaders, including the mayor, regarding their thoughts on this. I suspect some of the forces pushing this would like to keep it all as quiet as possible.
Bruce Shoemaker Holland Neighborhood
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Message: 14 Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 12:49:41 -0500 From: "gemgram" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Mpls] Development Workshops may never get the chance to actually impact City Hall
I have heard the dark winds of political chicanery again seem to be blowing. Those chill breezes say there is speculation that City Hall has begun, or soon will begin, a new attempt to strip neighborhoods of even the limited citizen input that they now enjoy. Apparently neighborhood organizations opposing politicians, and their developer friend's plans, are viewed as something to be ended. Word on the street and from the City's "Halls" is that instead of creating greater community input and empowerment soon this new assault by politicians will start. The whispers say that in the name of "better communication", and citizen input, the City will soon attempt to curtail any citizen participation agreements that neighborhoods presently have with the City. Apparently the "Official Neighborhoods" have not been giving the Politicians exactly the rubber stamp they want. Apparently neighborhoods are giving something other than the "correct" input and answers when politicians ask for their opinion. Residents it seems are sometimes saying what they really want, rather than what they are told to say, and this is creating very embarrassing situations for politicians who like to pretend they are "servants" of the people. Some politicians apparently want a new, more controllable, "Citizen Input" mechanism.
Now, this does not mean that all the City Politicians are part of this scheme. The way to tell the difference between the public "servants" and the power brokers is to look at how they shake out on this issue. Some neighborhood and resident empowerment advocates such as Barb Johnson will of course oppose these attempts to discount neighborhood input. Others with a hunger for power, and with close ties to developers, will be attempting to lessen the "input" from the legitimate neighborhood organizations, and will be proposing new organizations to "better communicate". The good guys of course will counter with simply asking the neighborhoods how to better communicate and allow neighborhoods to create their own mechanism. The bad politicians of course will already have the plan made up by one of their hired, "Independent" outside consultants. (For those needing a laugh track, "Independent" is the joke, so its time to laugh).
Since the politicians have opened the door with their "better communication" plan, the legitimate neighborhoods should take advantage of the situation on behalf of their residents. They should form an alliance to support each other to become real partners with the City. Partners with REAL power on all planning or development efforts going on within the boundaries of that neighborhood. Neighborhoods should create planning and zoning plans that are (within certain guidelines) specific to that community. "Comprehensive Land Use Master Development Plans" created by a neighborhood should have the power of law. Law that must be changed by that neighborhood, NOT varied at the whim of easily influenced politicians. Before some politician in feigned moral outrage whimpers that this will never work, please remember that this has occured in Vancouver. And it sure seems to work there.
Because of NRP, the residents of even the poorest Minneapolis neighborhoods have a planning and policy sophistication that is probably greater than that of the limited planning personnel that can be assigned to communities by the City of Minneapolis. The City of Minneapolis should take advantage of that "people resource", NOT attempt to subdue it. "Good" politicians will do just that, use our people resources, not mislead the public by saying they "plan" to so, when their actions have shown they intend just the opposite.
Minneapolis' residents, and the wonderful neighborhoods of Minneapolis, should not sit idly by and watch the erosion of "citizen power" and watch the potential loss of what that "citizen power" offers to Minneapolis' future. They should seize control of their future. Minneapolis residents and their neighborhood organizations should start planning now. Ethical, responsible, elected political leaders will support that effort. Those who do not are not the friends of Minneapolis residents. In the next election Minneapolis voters should support ONLY those politicians who also support citizen and neighborhood empowerment."
Jim Graham, Ventura Village Neighborhood, Phillips Community Planning District, Sixth Ward of Minneapolis
"Wise sayings:
"We can only be what we give ourselves the power to be" - A Cherokee Feast of Days The people are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. - Thomas Jefferson
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