Wizard you should not be so hard on Mr. Graham, he really does mean well. Jim is still mad at me because I was able to get him a number of MCDA lots in Ventura Village for his American Indian Home Ownership Program - these houses are presently under construction. And probably because I helped him get his carriage house ordinance passed for Ventura Village-admittedly watered down significantly from what we wanted. And he is probably still mad at me because the new PPL headquarters on 11th & Franklin did not generate the parking problems he had so vehemently predicted. Or maybe he is still mad at me because the Collaborative Village housing project for at risk families on Elliot and Franklin has not created any of the problems for the neighborhood that he predicted.
But, I would like to clarify a couple of things. First, when I took office in January of 2002 the City had already signed a purchase agreement with Sabri for the Elroy site. Second, the Mayor's veto came as a complete surprise to me, as I had never discussed the matter with him. I have heard that the mayor said he vetoed it because he wanted affordable housing on the Greenway. There were a series of actions, as there often is in complicated projects. Among the things we were acting on was the implementation of that purchase agreement and site plan approvals that, like almost every project, require some variances and conditions. The Planning Commission had approved a two story building, Sabri asked for a 4 story building. The Council voted against the 4 story building. The mayor vetoed that action, but the Council overrode the veto. Sabri had wanted to locate the building closer to the Greenway, thus allowing more room for parking on the south side of the building. The Council wanted the building moved back off of the Greenway. It was built farther from the Greenway, therefore having less parking than proposed. Most of the complaints about Karmel Plaza stem from parking and traffic issues. Now that the second phase (which is often called the Elroy Project) has partially opened, the parking and traffic problems have improved. When the underground parking in the new building comes on line, we should see a dramatic improvement in the parking situation. Dean Zimmermann Mpls City Council Member - Ward 6 612-673-2206 3.6ºF 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
