I do object to the Lagoon project for many reasons, first and foremost is not about the project itself, but about the intense demand for development in the Uptown area with no consideration to how all these developments will burden the infrastructure. This is just one of several projects on the table in Uptown, and it alone is one that will dramatically change the essential character of Uptown, in my opinion.
Should that kind of decision be made in a piecemeal fashion, one project at at time? I don't think so. If we want to promote greater density in this area, it seems to me we need to plan that in a more comprehensive manner and insure that the infrastructure is in place to support what is done. I strongly support development of more and improved mass transit, but I also know that cars are not going away for a long time. Once is building is built, it's too late to say, "Oops, we should have widened that street or created a turn lane," now with a new building in the way. It's a regular occurrence that power goes out in this area several times a year, not just during hot or stormy weather. How is the electrical grid being upgraded to support all this? When you look at the view of this project from the Hennepin elevation, it dominates. It is so out of scale with the surrounding area. Calhoun Square did such a wonderful job when it was built to blend with and enhance the existing environment. While I find the design of the Lagoon tower interesting, it both seems very out of place in Uptown and out of scale. What�s wrong with a 6-8 story building that would provide a backdrop to existing building, rather than detract from the stately old library, the respectful design of Calhoun Square and the existing Lagoon Theaters? It makes sense to me to increase the residential density in this area, but let�s not go overboard and let�s assure it is done in a planful way. Isn�t this the right time to have a building moratorium so our communities can discuss these issues and our city leader develop a plan? Developers will always say that they need more height and/or more density to make their project economically feasible. It seems to me that if they paid an appropriate price for the property based on existing zoning laws, they wouldn�t be saying that. It�s not my problem that they planned that the city would roll over and give them what they want. They shouldn�t hold us hostage to their speculative property purchases. That�s their problem. Uptown is great and it can be greater. Let�s make it that way by planning it. I welcome more residents to this area and more daytime activity as well, but simply yielding to piecemeal development without having an overall plan to support it is a recipe for disaster. Harvey Zuckman ECCO Resident - 29 year East Isles Business Owner - 37 years On 6/6/05 11:55 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Re: [Mpls] Re: Lagoon Project (Uptown) -- REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact 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 Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
