Aside from a few highly restrictive neighborhood organizations, becoming a candidate for leadership in most Minneapolis neighborhoods couldn’t be easier (as my own biggest fan, I recently had the pleasure of nominating myself). Voting, however, is unnecessarily burdensome. In Lowry Hill East, which has a fairly typical process, the election happens around 8 p.m. Nominations […]
A local production company has completed casting for “The Real Renters of Minneapolis,” which promises viewers a look at the conflict that arises “when people stop living in houses, and start living on top of each other.” The show will be set in The Wedge neighborhood of Minneapolis, the heart of recent battles over development. Filming will coincide […]
Much of the Wedge neighborhood already is zoned low-density, which keeps out most multi-unit housing. So, what’s to gain from historic designation?
My apartment comes with a parking spot. I don’t use it, but I pay for it. My apartment, my parking spot–it’s a package deal. It sits empty through spring, summer, and fall. Sometimes a parking scofflaw appropriates my spot as their own (this happens rarely). But I don’t care, because I don’t need it. In the […]
On January 12th, the Whittier Alliance held a tense and somewhat controversial meeting for the purpose of amending their bylaws. Among the more contentious aspects of the new bylaw language was the section giving the Whittier Alliance’s Board of Directors the power to screen Board candidates according to subjective criteria. A clause was also added to require […]
Last Wednesday I found myself in a nearly empty meeting room, observing the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association (LHENA) at work. This has been an all-too-frequent circumstance for me in recent months, as I work the Wedge-beat for a fake news organization called @WedgeLIVE. I was there to watch the proposed development known as Frank-Lyn inch […]
The Healy Project’s quixotic lawsuit to save 2320 Colfax hit a major snag earlier this week when a judge denied their request for an injunction. And for anyone who’s followed the saga, there were some interesting and amusing tidbits in the judge’s ruling (p 4-5). The Healy Project’s two “experts” were each judged unqualified to give expert opinions. […]
Last week, a Minneapolis City Council member said something obvious regarding the unrepresentative composition of neighborhood associations and their influence on the development process. So, of course, the associations were steamed. Lisa Bender, the offending Council Member, was reportedly pelted with abuse at a Whittier Alliance meeting earlier this week. And here’s an excellent rundown […]
In Part I, an unsuspecting straight, white male was made to feel like a marginal member of society at his neighborhood association meeting. In Part II he saves Lowry Hill East from itself. Fighting Traffic, Battling for Parking There are those in Lowry Hill East, and every Minneapolis neighborhood, who value wide open streets and abundant, free car storage above all […]
I attended a Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association meeting about 7 weeks ago (cancel the BREAKING NEWS alert). There was one topic: a new mixed-use development for the corner of Franklin and Lyndale. I went in with a point of view, but an open mind regarding the opinions of my neighbors–of whom I generally have high regard. […]