I propose that the city offer to except the height restriction if the developer limits sale and rental to people that do not own an automobile. For instance you could have enough parking spaces for 10 automobiles (10 units), and rent or sell to another 20, 30, or more people that did not own vehicles.
Seems unrealistic. Just off the top of my head, I can think of several ways to cheat on this: - Don't "own" vehicles, just lease them. (Many people do that now anyway.) - I own the vehicle in my name, my wife rents the apartment in her name. She owns no vehicle. - Keep the vehicle licensed in my mother's name. (An 80-year old widow living in rural MN gets much better insurance rates, anyway.) - Keep the vehicle licensed in my small business name, not my name. (Again, insurance savings to this already.) - Buy a used car, never bother to transfer the title to my name. (Also quite common now.)
These could probably all be caught fairly easily, but who's going to pay for someone to 'police' this? Not the developer; they have no incentive to hassle their tenants. Not the city inspections dept; they are much too busy. Nor our police force; also much too busy. Possibly a few neighborhood associations might have some budding stalinists who would enjoy hassling their neighbors. But any enforcement would seem to be very difficult.
And what enforcement could be done after the building is built, anyway? Could you force them to tear down the extra stories on top? Not likely. Or force tenants to move out, once they've signed a year-long lease? Most developments are done by a shell corporation, which promptly sells the building after it's built. Could you legally enforce this provision on a new owner?
This doesn't seem to me to be workable. Tim Bonham, Ward 12, Standish-Ericsson 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
