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There are two candidates in St. Paul’s Ward 3: incumbent Chris Tolbert and challenger Patty Hartmann.
Continue reading “Endorsement: Chris Tolbert for Ward 3 on the St. Paul City Council”
A US President came to Minneapolis last night to lead a hate rally. The only thing remarkable about this fact is that it’s not remarkable anymore.
Continue reading “Some thoughts on Trump’s Minneapolis hate rally”
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Last night, Ward 13 Council Member Linea Palmisano hosted a meeting in the Fulton neighborhood to gather feedback on an idea to turn a city-owned parking lot near 50th and France into affordable housing. The lot is at 5028-5044 Ewing Ave S.
This is an early stage idea. Because this is a city-owned lot, criteria would be developed through extensive engagement with the neighborhood. The city would then put out a request for proposals from developers. The city would pick their preferred proposal — or pick none at all. Palmisano told residents at the meeting that she wants to do this “collaboratively” so that it brings “the least amount of disruption to the neighborhood as possible.”
At the beginning of the meeting Palmisano acknowledged she had already heard concerns about parking. To which the guy next to me said, “big time.” Palmisano promised “some amount of parking” included in any development. Parking concerns would go on to dominate much of the meeting.
Continue reading “Southwest Mpls Reacts to Plan for Affordable Housing”Here’s a story about an attempt to change the name of the Carl W. Kroening *Interpretive* Center to the Carl W. Kroening *Nature* Center. It’s also a story of Parks Commissioner Meg Forney being one of the weirdest elected officials in Minneapolis.
Continue reading “Dumb Park News”
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There’s a plan for a mixed-use building with 108 apartments at 13th Ave and 3rd St NE. Five stories on a commercial corridor might not sound remarkable, but the issue brought a sizable crowd to a neighborhood association meeting on Monday night.
Continue reading “Five Stories of Concern at 13th Ave NE”
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At a meeting of the Minneapolis Planning Commission last Thursday, Commissioner Alissa Luepke-Pier argued against implementation of the 2040 plan’s triplex zoning. She referred to it as a “bait and switch” and “morally indefensible;” that it would “displace more people than we’re going to help.”
And it raises the question: If she thinks it will produce such profoundly negative consequences — why did Commissioner Luepke-Pier vote for this plan last year?
Continue reading “Planning Commissioner Wants to Un-Legalize Triplexes”
Three years, seven months, and 12 days after it was first proposed, Aldi’s newest Minneapolis store has opened at 26th and Lyndale. Above the grocery store is four additional floors, totaling 86 apartments. It was a long and winding road. We almost never had an “Uptown Aldi” (as our German corporate overlords are calling it).
Continue reading “Aldi Arrives in the Wedge to Great Fanfare”
If you’ve ever been to Uptown’s The Mall, you might not have realized it’s a park administered by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It can feel more like a nicely landscaped parking lot with a generous grassy median. The drive-able portion of The Mall really just serves the function of letting drivers hunt for parking. According to Google Maps, if you drove all .6 miles of this street-to-nowhere looking for a place to park, it would take you four minutes (without traffic). That’s a lot of space that could be used as a grassy area for people to socialize and entertain.
But why would anyone call a park a “Mall”?
Continue reading “Uptown’s Mall: More Park, Less Parking”“In the 17th and 18th centuries, ‘mall’ referred to a place where people would gather to play pall-mall, a croquet-like game. The games were social gatherings, and the term gradually transformed to mean any grassy area where people could gather to socialize and entertain.”
On Monday I was at the Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association (DMNA), mostly because I heard a crew of residents would be riled up over a plan for short term rentals. (The rumors were true. I’ve never heard so many lawsuit threats in my life).
As a bonus, I got to hear developers Mike Garvin and Kelly Doran make their case against a proposed city ordinance to limit landlord screening practices on things like background checks, credit checks, and deposit amounts.
Continue reading “Kelly Doran Bullshits His Way Through a Debate with Councilman Steve”
Inclusionary zoning is a done deal in Minneapolis. It’s happening. All that remains are the details.
City Council President Lisa Bender’s mantra during most of 2018: the Minneapolis 2040 plan was a “nonstarter” without an inclusionary zoning policy. Bender made it clear that she and her Council colleagues wouldn’t do one policy without the other: as the city makes it easier to build more housing in more places, some portion of that housing would need to be affordable. So last December, when the City Council passed what has now become the nationally heralded 2040 plan, they also passed an interim inclusionary zoning ordinance.
Continue reading “Council Considers Details of “Inclusionary Zoning” Affordable Housing Mandate”