» Good afternoon, everyone.
welcome to the regular meeting
of the business, housing and
zoning committee for july 7,
2026.
my name is jamal osman, and
I'm the chair of this
committee.
I will call to order this
meeting.
before we begin, I want to
remind all folks, this meeting
is broadcast live to enable
greater public participation.
they include realtime
captioning to increase the
accessibility of our
proceedings to the community.
therefore, all speakers need
to be mindful of their speech
so that our captioners can
fully transcribe all comments
for the broadcast.
we ask all speakers to
moderate their speed and
clarity of their comments.
we'll be using the speaker
management, so please sign u
at this time I'll ask the
clerk to call the roll so we
can verify a quorum.
thank you.
» Council member rainville.
» Present.
» Warren.
» Present.
» Shaffer.
» Present.
» Chavez.
» Present.
» Chug high is present --
chughtai is absent.
vice chair chowdhury.
» Present.
» And chair osman.
» Present.
» There are 6 members
present.
» Let the record reflect we
have a quorum.
our agenda is in front of us.
we will begin with the consent
agenda.
if you want to speak during
any of this public hearing
today, please sign up with the
clerk.
all right.
item 6, approve six liquor
licenses.
item 7 approves 24 liquor
license renewals.
item 8 approves 22 -- I'm
sorry -- item 8 approves two
gambling licenses.
item 9 approves amended
business licenses, operating
condition.
for breakfast bar of
minnesota.
item 10 accepts the low
responsive bid for snow
removal at minneapolis
convention center.
item 11 authorizes a loan
restructure for jigji dwsm a
business center.
item 12 authorizes financial
agreement for rehab
properties, part of
minneapolis housing finance.
item 13 authorizes revision to
the alternative financing
program.
item 14 is a resolution
approving land disposition and
financial assistance from
hennepin county housing and
redevelopment authority.
item 15 authorizes a contract
with metropolitan consortium
of community developers for
loan services.
item 16 approves two street
vacations located north of
franklin west.
item 17 refers to the staff an
ordinance related to the
autonomous vehicle regulation.
and, lastly, item 18 sets a
public hearing for july
22nd to consider the
mayor's nomination of enrique
valazquez to the director of
regulatory services
department.
» Thank you, chair.
I'd like to pull item 9 for a
separate discussion and vote.
» Item 9 we'll pull for
separate vote.
council member shaffer.
» I just wanted to make a
comment on 16 bore we move
to the vote.
and just to say thank you for
this work on behalf of cped
and others about this vacation
on these two small triangular
parcels.
with the eventual transfer,
hopefully, to mprb.
and this is something that we
were very interestedn for a
long time, and I'm just very
thankful to see that coming
forward.
this is an area of the city
that does not have a lot of
green space.
it's one of the target areas
for mprb.
and I'm thankful to see this
vacation coming forward.
» Thank you.
with that, I'll move items
except item 9.
and I refer item 17 to staff
and set item 18 for public
hearing.
on that motion, all those in
favor say aye.
and those opposed say nay.
the ayes have it and the
motion carries.
all right.
for public hearing, for
everyone in attendance and
especially those who might --
» Chair osman?
» Yes.
» Council member rainville
pulled out an item for
discussion, I believe.
» I appreciate the reminder.
council member rainville,
please go ahead with item 9.
» Thank you.
so I see ms. Lingo here.
I'm wondering if you could
describe the operating
conditions for the breakfast
bar.
» Through the chair, council
member rainville, thank you.
so the conditions that we have
before us for the breakfast
bar are related to the
activity for the business, as
well as for the outdoor
structure.
so we have negotiated a
take-down of that outdoor
structure to occur no later
than september 15th of
this year, and then in that
part of those negotiations we
have clearly laid out an
agreed-upon behavior and
expectations for sound and use
of that tent.
» And that's what you mean by
"activity"?
so you say the conditions are
regarding activity.
so the activity inside the
tent or thectivity once the
tent is gone?
» The activity inside of the
tent, how the patio space is
to be used for this time
frame.
» From now till september?
» Correct.
» Great.
thank you.
good job.
I appreciate the work.
we all know that there's been
some issues there.
so thank you.
» Council member shaffer.
» Yeah, I'm just thankful for
seeing this coming forward as
well.
this is something that we've
heard a lot of complaints
about, particularly from the
atrium, public housing, there
has been a written petition
going around with many
signatures and due to noise
complaints, very late at
night.
and early in the morning.
so thank you.
» Thank you.
and also, I do want to comment
that this is a business owned
by african american business,
and I really appreciate the
staff for finding a way to
have the business t continue
and especially the outdoor
situation.
and good luck to them and with
that, I will have council
member chav easy to speak on
this.
chavez to speak on this.
» I'll let it go.
» All right.
thank you so much.
I will approve for item 9,
all those in favor say aye.
[ members voting ]
and those opposed say nay.
[ no response heard ]
the ayes have it and the
motion carries.
all right.
public hearing for everyone in
attendance and especially
those who might participate in
our hearing or comment period,
let me offer this notice.
this hearing is being recorded
and broadcast, both
recordingings and broadcast
are classifd as public data
under the minnesota data
practices act.
by attending or participating
in this proceeding, your image
and any testimony or
information that you might
provide will be also subject
to disclosure under that law.
that includes but is not
limited to your attendance,
your name, and other personal
details you might provide, as
well as any testimony or
comments you provide which
includes any written
submission you make which are
included in the record of this
meeting.
our first public hearing is a
license application for
on-sale liquor with limited
entertainment for bill's bait
shop located at ward 12.
I would ask ahmed mohamed from
the business license for a
presentation on this.
welcome.
» I'm license inspector with
licenses and consumer
services.
I'm presenting an application
from bill's bait shop, lcc,
dba, bill's baithop, located
at 3101 42nd street east,
minneapolis, minnesota, 55406.
in ward 12.
the applicant is requesting
on-sale liquor, limited
entertainment with sunday
sales license.
if approved, they iend to be
a full-service restaurant with
a menu focused on fish, along
with burgers and hot dogs with
outdoor seating.
bill's bait shop will be a
sit-down restaurant with 48
interior seats and 18 private
patio seats.
the premises includes the
ground-level space at 3101
42nd street east.
they intend to provide limited
entertainment, only ambient
music playing in the
background inside only.
on occasion, they may offer
karaoke and trivia, but no
exterior eertainment.
hours of operation, indoor,
sunday for thursday, 11:00
a.m. To 11:00 p.m.
friday and saturday, 11:00
a. To 12:00 a.m
outdoor hours for the private
patio, sunday through
thursday, 11:00 a.m. To 10:00
p.m., and friday and saturday,
11:00 a.m. To 11:00 p.m.
on june 15th, 2026, 159
public hearing notices were
sent to residents, property
owners, posted on all
residential buildings with
four or more units within 600
feet of the premises.
notices were also sent to the
standish erickson neighborhood d
council member chowdhury.
we have received 18 comments
from the community.
18 in support of this
application.
however, their concerns are
closing hours for their
private patio.
these hours are based off the
feedback that was received in
response from neighbors and
are reflected in the requested
closing times for the interior
and exterior of the business.
we brought these concerns to
the applicant.
the applicant has a history of
running successful
neighborhood restaurts with
little issue.
they fully intend to operate
as a good neighbor.
this is a new business to a
ne location.
a review of any complaints,
311 calls, police calls, and
any operating conditions found
no signicant issues
concerning the business and
the issuanc of this license.
the license and consumer
services division recommends
approval of on-sale liquor,
limited entertainment, with
sunday sales license.
this concludes my
presention.
at this time, I will stand for
comments or questions.
thank you.
» Thank you so much for that
prestation.
now I'll proceed to open the
public hearing and recognize
jamie olson.
hi.
welcome.
» Thank you, act bar.
hello, council members.
thank you for having me.
I am jamie olson, founder and
ceo of central restaurant
group, bill's bait shop is one
of our newest projects and
near and dear to me, after
my -- it's in honor of my
grandpa, bill, who grew up in
northern minnesota and loved
fishing.
so really really excited about
this.
really excited about the
neighborhood.
we've heard nothing but
positive things and
excitement, and we are very
much a community-focused
restaurant brand company.
so, yeah, we respect the
community and I'm here to
answer any questions.
» Thank you so much.
are there anyone who would
like to speak on this item?
seeing none, I'll close the
public hearing and recognize
vice chair chowdhury.
» Thank you, chair osman.
akbar, would you just mind
saying what the hours are just
one more time for us?
» So, the indoor hours will
be sunday through thursday,
11:00 a.m. To 11:00 p.m.
friday and satday, 11:00
a.m. To 100 a.m.
the outor patio, private
patio hours, sunday through
thursday, 11:00 a.m. -- excuse
me -- 11:00 a.m. To 10:00 p.m.
friday and saturday, 11:00
a.m. To 11:00 p.m.
» Thank you, akbar.
» Sure.
I just first want to start off
by saying thank you so much
for coming to city hall, jamie
and jerry.
really appreciate you both.
I'm really excited to move
this forward for approval.
bill's bait shop is going to
be such a wonderful addition
to this corner of the 12th
ward and the neighborhood.
I have gotten so many emails,
calls, texts, just excited for
you to open and just really
appreciate the other
businesses you've ran in the
twin cities area and the
neighborhood here has really
shared that they would love to
have, like, a place where they
can walk and have a drink,
have some burgers.
I think that northwoods smoke
fish is going to be very
popular.
and I just want to also thank
amy and akbar for your work.
constituents have shared with
me how accessible you've been
and, really, I think
everyone's going to appreciate
this compromise on the hours.
it's going to go a really long
way and I'm just super excited
to bring this into this
corner.
this corner's been vacant for
a couple of years now.
chicago taste authority used
to be here.
so having it be filled with a
new neighbor is going to be
wonderful and I really
recommend, you probably
already have connecting with
the owner of every makeup,
they always have a really cool
crew of people coming through
there that will just probably
love bill's bait shop.
» Great.
wonderful.
thank you.
with that mion, all those in
favor say aye.
[ members voting ]
and those opposed say nay.
[ no response heard ]
the ayes have it a the
motion carries.
our next public hearing is a
license application for permit
expansion of premises and
street café, both are for
bryant lake bowl.
I'll have manager jamie lingo
to talk about and give us
presentation on this.
» Thank you, chair osman,
committee members, I'm amy
lingo.
I'm presenting an alication
from splitsville,
incorporated, lcc, doing
business as bryant lake bowl,
which is located at 810 lake
street west, minneapolis,
minnesota, 55408, which is in
the 10th ward.
the applicant is requesting a
street café and a permanent
expansion of license.
if approved, they intend to
expand their outdoor area to
provide a street calf yea for
the outside dining to
accompany their current
operations of restaurant,
bowling, and live theater.
the outdoor expansion will add
approximately 180 square feet
for 16 outdoor seats within a
designated and enclosed café
area operating during the
spring through the fall sea
season, street calf yeas
operate in spark -- in parking
spots.
the hours of oration are
monday through thursday, 8:00
a.m. To 12:00 p.m., the
outdoor hours on the proposed
street calf yea are monday
through sunday, 9:00 a.m. To
11:00 p.m.
on june 15th, 2026, 134
public hearing notices were
sent to residents, property
owners and posted on all
residential buildings with
four or more units within 600
feet of the premises.
notices were also sent to the
lourey hill east neighborhood
association, the lake street
business association, and
council member aisha chug
high.
we have received two comments
from the committee, both of
which were in support.
we have received no comments
in opposition.
a review of any complaints,
311 calls, police calls, or
anyther operating conditions
ha found no significant
issues concerning this
buness or the issuance of
this license.
licenses and consumer services
recommends approval of a
street calf yea and permanent
expansion of premises.
this concludes my
presentation.
at this time I'll stand for
any questions.
» Thank you so much for that
presentation.
I will proceed to open the
public hearing and see if
there's anyone who would like
to speak on this item.
yes, sir, welcome.
please state your name and --
yes, come over here, yup.
» Hello, everyone, my name is
ryan o'neill.
» Welcome.
go ahead.
» I'm a resident of the
whittier neighborhood.
I'm a longtime patron ofbryant e
here today to talk about favor
of the proposal.
it's a place that's been very
near and dear to me.
when people come in from out
of town, I always try and get
them to stop by during the --
stop by.
during the pandemic, I did
everything I could to keep the
place open.
I bought gift t-shirts for my
entire family in north
caroli.
so there's bryant lake bowl
advertising out of state.
I volunteer a lot there, doing
small things, I called the
bingo, we're doing bingo
tonight at 8:00 p.m.
so, it's a place that I've
been patronizing for quite
some time, over 15 years, and
I think this would be a great
opportunity for the business
in the neighborhood and I just
wanted to encrage the
council to approve this
proposal.
» All right.
thank you so much for your
testimony.
is there anyone else?
seeing none, I'll close the
public hearing and recognize
chair chowdhury.
» Thank you, chair osman.
I'll move this item for
approval and then also just
highlight to those who are
watching, bryant lake bowl was
very prominently featured on
"love is blind minneapolis,"
one of the most iconic breakup
scenes of the season occurred
at bryant lake bowl.
so, excited to expand the
premises.
hopefully there will be more
people getting together than
breaking up.
but that's not up to us here.
» All right.
wonderful.
with that motion, all those in
favor say aye.
[ members voting ]
and those opposed say nay.
[ no response heard ]
the ayes have it and the
motion carries.
our next public hearing is a
license applicationor wine
and strong beer with no live
entertainment at antojitos,
located at ward 4.
I will have sarah grace from
business license to give us
details about this.
welcome.
» Thank you, chair osman and
committee members.
I'm license inspector sarah
gray, that's s-a-r-a,
g-r-a-y-s, for special
purposes.
with licenses and consumer
services.
I'm presenting an application
from antojitos ryan.s, lcc,
doing business as antojos
ryan.
the business is located at
1724 lourey avenue north, in
ward 4.
the applicant is requesting an
on-sale wine with strong beer
and no entertainment.
if approved, they intend to
add wine and strong beer to
their full menu, sit-down
restaurant, whichocuses on
ecuadore and american
cuisine.
they've been open as a
restaurant only for the past
year.
there will be no entertainment
other than tvs or radio.
the restaurant is in a
standalone building and has
capacity for 60 seats inside.
ther is no outdo seating.
the hours of operation for the
restaurant are monday through
sunday, 11:00 a.m. Through
9:00 p.m.
on june 15th, public
hearing notices were sent to
residents, property 'owners,
and posted on all residential
buildings with four or more
units within 600 feet of the
premises.
noticesere also sent to the
followwell -- folwell
neighborhood and council
member.
we have received no complaints
from the community, 311 calls,
police calls, and we found no
significant issues concerning
the business and issuance of
this license and the business
has completed a thorough
security plan with the 4th
precinct police department.
the licenses and consumer
services division recommends
approval of an on-sale wine
and strong beer with no
entertainment license.
this concludes my
presentation.
at this time I will stand for
any questions or cments.
thank you.
» Thank you so much for that
presentation.
I will proceed to open the
public hearing and see if
there's anyone who would like
to speak on this item.
all right.
seeing none,'ll close the
public hearing.
I recognize council member
warren.
» Thank you, chair osman.
I've heard nothing but great
things about this
establishmen so I am excited
to know that they are
expanding their operations
there on lowry in our cultural
corridor, so this is exciting.
and, yeah, that's all I got.
» Thank you.
with that motion from council
member, all those in favor say
aye.
[ members voting ]
and those opposed say nay.
the ayes have it and the
motion carries.
our next item is a public
hearing related to the
financing for the grain
exchange conversion project.
I'll have amy carr from cped
to speak more about this item.
welcome.
» Good afternoon, chair and
committee members.
I'm he emily carr, I'm a
supervisor on the residential
finance team in cped.
and I'm before you today
requesting funding approvals
for the grain exchae
conversion project.
staff is recommending approval
of up to $39 in tax-exempt
housing revenue entitlement
'bonds and up to $1.775
million in tax indecreement
financing.
I'll be joine by matthew
hendricks and bradon rothe
from development finance for
the t.I.f. Portion of this
presentation.
therain exchange conversion
project is the proposed
conversion of the grain
exchange building from an
underutilized office space
into a mixed-use, mixed-income
development.
sherman associates is
proposing to redevelop this
hioric complex located in
the downtown west neighborhood
of ward 7.
into 232 units of mixed-income
housing, including 210 units
affordable at 60% ami, and 22
units atarket rate.
as well as 332,000 square --
32,000 square feet of
commercial and office space.
the grain exchange consists of
two buildings.
the north building, 301 fourth
avenue, is ten stories.
the first floor will be
occupied by the current
tenant, which is the u.s.
postal office.
resident amenities and lobby
space and rental units.
the remainder of this
building, floors 2 through 10,
will be occupied by rental
units.
the main building, 400 fourth
street is 12 stories and will
include commercial space on
the first two floors.
the third floor and the fifth
through 11th floors of
this building will be rental
units.
the fourth floor, currently
used as a co-working space
will be transferred into a
25,000-square-event event
rental space to accommodate
large gatherings, such as
weddings and conferences.
the 12th floor of this
building is a rooftop deck.
additional amenities include a
club room, fitness center,
lobby and management offices
and an outdoor play area for
children.
the developer, sherman's
associates, is a well known
minneapolis-based develop iser
and property management firm
with a portfolio that includes
commercial buildings, hotels,
and artments.
sherman has developed more
than 8,000 rental units in
minnesota, colorado, iowa, and
florida.
recent minneapolis projects
include groove lots of, beam
and ladder 260.
the first set of actions
before you today in this
report involve the developer's
application for tax-exempt
housing revenue entitlement
bonds, in an amount not to
exceed $39 million.
as a housing entitlement bond
issuer, each year the city
receives a bond allocation.
in 2026, this allocation was
approximately $72 million.
housing revenue bonds can be
used to finance the
acquisition, rehabilitation,
and construction of affordable
rental housing.
housing revenue bonds issued
by the city are sold to
investors to raise funds and
these sales proceeds are used
to finance affordableental
housing projects.
the debt or loan issued from a
bond sale is an obligation of
the borrower or the project
and not of the city.
tax-exempt housing revenue
bonds are paired with 4%
low-income housing tax credits
to generate tax credit equity
or syndication proceeds.
in the grain exchange project,
the tax credits will generate
more than $36 million in
syndication proceeds as a
source to the project.
the total development cost of
this project are estimated at
just over $122 million.
and the developer has also
secured approximately $46
million in federal and state
historic tax credits and
environmental passthrough
grants.
the second part of this
request involves the
developer's request for up to
1.775 million in increment tax
financing.
» Thanks, emily.
chair osman, committee
members, my name is matthew
hendricks, I'm a manager in
the city's development finance
division.
tax increment financing, or
t.I.f., is a fincing tool
available to all cities and
counties in minnesota and
governed b state statute.
the city can only utilize this
tool in accoance with the
rules established by thetate
t.I.f. Act, which means the
t.I.f. Disict can only
support the specific project
defined in the t.I.f. Plan.
in other words, under current
law, t.I.f. Cannot generate
unrestricted general use
funds.
the project must include
specific eligible costs, wch
are also defined by statute.
and, most importantly, the
project must meet a "but for"
test, a legal requirement that
local government must satisfy
before creating a new t.I.f.
district to ensure t.I.f. Is
only used on projects that are
not financially feasible but
for public financial
assistance.
based on staff's review, this
project meetshe statutory
requirements for the
establishment of a housing
t.I.f. District.
I will now invite our summer
urban scholar, bradon rothe to
join me and share a little
more detail on the rest for
the -- on the request for the
grain exchange.
» Good afternoon, chair and
members of the committee.
my name sioux bradon rothe,
and I'm an urban scholar with
the development finance team
this summer.
as noted, the grain exchange
project is requesting $1.775
million in tax increment
financing.
as with all t.I.f. Projects,
the increased property value
resulting from the completion
of this project will not be
included in the city's general
tax base until the t.I.f.
district is decertified, which
is anticipated to occur 15
years aer development
completion.
the city will also retain 10%
of the tax increment generated
each year to pay t.I.f.
administrative costs.
e t.I.f. Recapture
provisions for this project
include two components.
first, there will be a
post-construction review of
the deferred developer fee as
compared to the current
project budget.
if the developer is able to
increase their up-front fee
via construction savings,
improved financing terms or
any other factors than the
amount of t.I.f -- then the
amount of t.I.f. Assistance
will be reduced
proportionately.
the second piece of the
recapture language could
result in a reduction or
elimination of t.I.f. Support
for the project if the project
generates significant proceeds
for the developer in the event
of a sale or refinancing.
this provision is consistent
with our t.I.f. Agreements f
other projects and I will now
turn the preseation back
over to emily
» Thank you, bradon.
this concludes our
presentation today.
staff recommends proceeding
with these requests in today's
approvals.
if that happens, the project
will be positioned to close
and begin construction this
fall.
we can take any questions you
have at this time.
I also wanted to acknowledge
that there's representatives
from sherman associates here
as well today.
so, yes.
happy to answer any questions.
» Thank you so much, staff,
for your presentation of the
project and also information
about t.I.f.
on this we will -- it's a
public hearing, so we will
open the public hearing and
see if there's anyone who
would like to speak on this
item.I'm seeing no one.
I will close the public
hearing.
and I see a few council
members who have a comment or
question.
I have council member chavez.
» Thank you, chair osman.
I wouldirst like to mention
that building more housing is
a good thing and that I would
rather build more housing in
downtown minneapolis while
making it more family friendly
than being out data centers in
downtown.
I think it's important that we
should focus on our efforts on
building housing for people in
our city rather than building
it for data centers.
so I just wanted to mention
that first.
I guess for staff, I was
wondering if you could please
confirm that no data center is
going to be a part of this
housing project at all.
I would jus like to know
that.
» Did chair osman, council
member chavez, no data center
will be part of this project.
» Thank you.
I wanted to make sure.
just want to get it on record.
and I'm going to have a
variety of questions for city
staff.
can you please confirm the ami
breakdown for the public to
know?
I have the number, but I just
want to get it confirmed for
the public and people watching
at home.
» Chair osman, council member
chavez, the breakdown is 210
units at 60% ami and 22 units
at market rate.
» And what does cped
interpret that 60% ami income
range to be?
» I don't have the numbers in
front of me.
» I'll ask other questions if
folks would be able to figure
that out, at least before the
meeting ends, that would be
helpful.
do you know under this
development project how long,
is it going to be forever that
it'soing to be at 60% ami or
is it a specific amount of
years that it's going to be
required toe at 60% ami?
» So under the city tax
credit requirements, it will
be a minimum of 30 years.
» Do you know what's going to
happen, is there any
conversations with the
developer on what's going to
happen after those 30 years
pass?
are they going to keep it at
that level?
» So typically tax credit
runs a minimum of 40 years.
I can confirm and follow up
after the meeting on the tax
edit scoring, there's an
tion to get additiol
points for extendedaffordabilit.
I don't have the details of
that scoring in front of me.
» Yeah.
and I guess I'm asking more
of, like, has a developer at
least communicated with staff
what their pla would be
after that?
and not necessarily -- yes,
they're going to get some tax
breaks here, but I guess my
question is, has the developer
made a decision on what
happens after 30 years or even
40 years?
» W have the developer
available.
chris.
come on up.
» Chair osman, committee
members, to answer that
question, we're actually right
now facing a similar decision
with two properties in
northeast minneapolis,
bottineau commons, bottineau
lots of, that we developed 25
years ago.
and the decision we're making,
we're re-upping another 40
years of affordability, that
will extend out the
affordability at least 55
years.
so similar with grain
exchange, as we get 20 years
out from now, which I'll
probably be back up in front
in 20 years making a request
to reinvest more heavily back
into the apartments.
we'll comeack in, and we'll
probably re-up an
affordability long term.
that's been our general
practice to maintain
affordability long term,
high-quality housing,
generational housing.
we do not want to take
affordable housing off the
market.
we want to keep it high
quality, long term.
so 20 to 25, 30 years from now
I suspect we'll be back in
front of the council re-upping
long term for another 30 years
on affordability with grain
exchange.
» Suspect you will?
» We fully plan to.
» Okay, just wanted toake
sure.
thank you, chair.
I guess for staff, a question,
just because I think t.I.f.
districts or piece meelg
t.I.f. Districts, I think it's
important for the public to
better understand how this
works.
piecemealing.
what's happened, if let's just
say, and I hope this doesn't
happen, because I want these
buildings to be full and I
want more people that live in
these units.
what happens if the project
underperforms or if people
aren't renting it out and the
bonds aren't repaid on
schedule, does that impact the
city?
my understanding is that it
doesn't.
but I would like to understand
what that means for the city.>>.
chair osman, council member
chavez, thank you for the
question.
you are correct that the city
is not at risk of a debt
payment issue if the project
underpforms.
the city in this case is issue
a paygo t.I.f. Note so the
risk for any variation from
what we're currently
projecting lies with the
developer.
» Okay, thank you.
and then the last few
questions that I have here is
that given that this is really
focused in downtown in
higher-income areas in our
city, I guess a question for
cped that I have is, what is
cped doing to bring more
investments into our cultural
corridors with this kind of
t.I.f. District or
piecemealing t.I.f. Districts
into our city?
where else is this used in
minneapolis?
I would love to get a
breakdown on that as well.
I think my thing is, you see
$39 million in tax, whatever
you want to call t and you
think, my constituents see
that, where ee is that being
used in our city?
are we talking about different
zones in minneapolis, like on
lake street, 38th street,
franklin avenue, west
broadway, you name it?
so, yeah.
» Chair osman, council member
chavez, is your question
specific to housing revenue
bonds or tax increment
financing ten?
» T.I.f., I guess, either/or,
both.
I know there's t.I.f., there's
like less money on tha but I
guess both -- both.
there's many votes that are
happening right now so I would
say both.
» The housing revenue bonds
are a tool that are paired
with a housing tax credit.
so we have a lot of projects.
we close both new construction
an rehab every year acro
the city.typically those ared wh
our -- paired with our
affordable housing trust fund
which does prioritize projects
within cultural corridors.
I also -- I did -- I do have
the numbers here for your
previous question around ami,
and I can answer that now.
so for 60% I household,
that's up to a family of four,
the allowable income would be
up to $78,900.
for a family of two, it would
be $63,100.
and I'll let matthew answer
around the t.I.f.
» Tough the chair, council
member chavez, in terms of
geography of use of t.I.f.,
t.I.f. Is a citywide tool, and
we look at use of t.I.f. On a
case-by-case basis because
each district needs to meet
the state statutory
requirements.
but it's absolutely available
citywide.
and we could follow up with
your office and send a map of
current t.I.f. Districts, if
you'd like.
» Yeah, that would be
helpful, of, like, where we
usually use t.I.f. Districts,
how it's applied, how often do
we use it, areas in our city,
maybe the past few years.
so that would be super
helpful.
I'll be voting for this today.
I just had a lot of questions
that I think a lot of my
constituents are just asking
when they see this item
brought before us.
as I mentioned earlier, I am a
big supporter of building more
housing.I think building more hg
is really important.
I'd rather build more housing
downtown than data centers.
that's just something that I
will kp on naming because
am concerned that downtown is
going to become a place of
just data centers instead of
housing and a family-friendly
downtown.
but I'll support this today
and I just hope that in the
future if we're going to be
using this tool that we
prioritize more deeply
affordable housing.
I think that hearing the
salary income range is still
going to be hard for, you
know, folks that are
struggling to make it by to
live in downwn.
so, just want to make those
comments.
» All right.
thank you, council member
chavez.
I will recognize next council
member rainville.
» Thank you, chair.
I don't have any comments
about data centers.
I'm going to stick to the
germe here and talk about --
» Tnk you.
» -- this project.
but I wanted to thank our
staff.
this is really hard work to
get all these numbers to match
up and keep going back and
forth with the developer.
this project started two terms
ago.
I want to thank the developers
for your -- you are the best
at providing housing for those
who least can afford it.
you've shown that time and
time again in this city.
your heart is in the right
place.
and I really appreciate what
you're doing to help those who
are less fortunate in our
city.
so thank you very much.
I will be voting for this
today.
» Thank you, council member
rainville.
I recognize council member
shaffer, and hopefully she'll
make the motion, too.
» Sure.
I'll just say thank you as
well.
in a time where there's many
places to invest your money, I
want to say personally thank
you for investing in
affordable housing in the city
of minneapolis.
that matters.
your track record matters.
and you matter to this city.
and, so, thankful to cped for
your willingness to cobble all
these things together and for
your perseverence in putting
this deal together.
because I think a lot of
people are going to benefit,
and I'm thrilled to see that
reality start to happen even
this fall.
so thank you for the quick
timetable.
and with that, I will make the
tion to move forward the
grain exchang conversion
project fancing.
» Second.
» Thank you so much.
I will also make a comment
here.
I really appreciate the
developers' thinking.
this is something to
celebrate.
we talk about this conversion
plan in our downtown,
especially after the covid and
things are changing around.
so this will be really a good
model for the city of
minneapolis to follow, to
bring people into downtown,
they're close to work, a place
for folks to afford, and I did
talk to the developers to
really even get more deeply
affordable housing, and they
say they will look into it.
but also the exciting part
about it is there will be
commercial space in the area
where across e street from
here, you know, very short
distance for the people that
work in this blding to kind
of go and really enjoy that
place.
so, super excited for this
project and can't wait for the
ribbon cutting when this will
open.
with that motion, all those in
favor say aye.
[ members voting ]
and those opposed say nay.
[ no response heard ]
the ayes have it and the
motion carries.
thank you so much.
all right.
next item it's a
quasi-judicial hearing.
before we begin, if the
apicant is here to testify,
you'll be granted five minutes
to address this committee.
all other testifiers will be
given two minutes to address.
with that, this item is a
variance appeal submitted by
the property at 4710 humboldt
avenue north.
I will invite myles campo from
cped to give us more
information about this item.
welcome, sir.
» Thank you, chair osman,
board members -- or committee
members, excuse me.
so this item, 4710 bum holdt
avenue north, as mentioned, is
an appeal of a decision by the
zoning board of adjustment
back in may when that meeting
was held.
so the variance in this case
was regarding a trash
enclosure to the rear of an
existing eight-unit apartment
building at 4710 humboldt
avenue north.
you can see on the screen here
that existing lot, it's a bit
of a funky shape, being
located on humboldt avenue and
shingle creek parkway.
the parking and the trash
enclosure, as it were, are
both located to the rear of
the building off of of the
alley itself.
so you can see here, these are
existing conditions on the
site from earlier this spring.
trying to give a bit of a
view of that entire parking
area.
so, again, currently there are
eight spaces available for
those eight residents in the
building.
there are a couple of other
kind of impediments in
providing screening for that
dumpster.
so, again, the dumpster is
located on the far, kind of
north end of the parking area.
it is bracketed by some mature
trees, as well as utility
poles on both sides of that
parking area, which
potentially would need to be
modified in conjunction with
xcel energy, if the applicant
needed more space to enclose
that dumpster itself.
again, they can certainly
enclose it by moving into in
one of those parking spaces
and thereby lose that parking
area.
ideally, they would like to
keep a one-to-one ratio for
their parking and their
residents.
you can see that it already is
beginning to kind of encroach
into that eighth space.
one of the things that staff
really does want to highlight
in terms of context, we'll
talk a bit more about the
findings that need to be met
for a variance, one thing that
we always look at is are there
unique circumstances to the
property that cause the need
for a variance or cause the
need for kind of a discretion
from the code itself.
so in this case, again,
located at the corner of
humboldt and shingle creek
parkway.
humboldt itself has parking
restrictions all along it,
north and south.
and then there is a bus stop
directly in front of this
building.
so anything there with a red
line would be no street
parking allowed.
there is at least one space on
kind of the same block as the
apartment building itself, and
then on the opposite side of
the street there is parking
available.
one thing that happen the
applicant noted in their
materials to the board of
adjustment is just to the
southwest, you can see in this
image, there's a number of
industrial uses that have a
lot of truck traffic that go
and take this turn between the
two streets.
you can see from that aerial
imagery from the county that
those trucks do take a very
wide turn.
there have been a couple of
accidents on that street
related to trucks hitting
parked vehicles in the past.
so there was concern from the
applicant's perspective of
moving those residents on to
street parking.
usually not something we talk
a lot about with variances.
usually there is an
alternative option, but here
there definitely is a burden
here on the property in terms
of parking available.
when this went to board of
adjustment, the staff, again,
felt that it did meet that
unique circumstances finding
for a variance.
however, variances require all
three findings of the
practical difficulties exam to
be met in order to be
approved.
at the time staff did not feel
like that this meant the
intent of the code.
we require that dumpsters be
screened for apartment
buildings, to prevent the view
from public streets or
residential uses, but it
serves a practical effect of
being a barrier from a
nonresident from dumping their
trash in that area, which
seemed to have been an issue
in the past with this site.
similarly, again, the kind of
essential character, the
injury to detriment of
surrounding property owners,
we noted at board of
adjustment that this had five
complaints since I believe
2002, specifically related to
garbage overflowing in the
alley.
so clearly there was a burden
being felt by adjacent
property owners.
one thing that we noted at the
time, and this was something
where staff and the board of
adjustment were both under the
impression that we could not
set any sort of conditions
related to hiring a staff
person on site, we have
confirmed since that meeting
with the city attorney's
office that one option
available to you all would be
to condition the variance
approval on the hiring or the
maintaining of that site
through something like a
live-in supervisor, a live
199-in building manager.
it's not probably staff's
first choice in terms of
managing compliance long term,
right, there's not a lot of
ways for us to ensure that
requirement is being met 10,
15 years in the future.
this variance would run with
the land.
but it does seem to get at
those secondary points, right,
in terms of the intent of the
ordinance being to manage that
potential blight and nuisance
from the trash and then the
injury or detriment to other
property owners.
so with all that, I'm happy to
stand for questions.
we also do have wayne carlson,
the property owner here, here,
available to speak on this
topic.
» Okay.
thank you so much, staff.
I appreciate your
presentation.
we will proceed to open the
public hearing and give the
applicant a chance to speak
for five mines.
» Is this close enoh?
» Yes, please go ahead.
» I want to thank you for
listening to me today.
» Please state your name.
» Pardon?
» State your name.
» I'm wayne carlson.
and I'm t owner of the
horner-carlson family
partnership and the building.
I want to thank you for
listening to me, because to me
it's very critical what I'm
talking about.
and I realize that all you
people have a lot of things on
your agenda that are a lot
bigger than my issue.
and ihank you for listening
to me today.
I'm filing for an exemption to
the board ofdjustment for
having a refuse container
around my garbage container,
and I'm doing this, the bottom
line is having this surround
around my garbage container
has some unintended
consequences.
and the basis for that is that
all -- aut two of my eight
parking spots -- I can't see
well.
are going to be taken up with
this enclosure.
and then I have -- I have
really three choices I can
make.
first of all, I can extend the
parking lot and it's going to
cost about $138,000 to do
that.
number two, I can force two
tenants to park on the only
two parking spots available on
shingle creek parkway and
making them vulnerable, a
dangerous turning corners for
thousands of 18-wheelers.
or I can add -- third r
alternative is the one that
I'm proposing that I can add
to the management team, a
person that would live in the
builng -- a tenant that's in
the building and daily scan
the parking lot to make sure
that there's no stray trash.
in addition to that, I've
also -- at this point also
enlarged my container.
when I was before the board of
adjustment, it seemed like
that wasn't a place for me to
really be.
and one of the ladies there,
is it more important to have a
surround or to have control of
the rubbish?
the initial ownership, I
bought this building, preive a
tax exchange -- preserve a tax
exchange 25 years ago with the
understanding that the
building was going to be taken
as part of the greenway
project.
I understand that aer I
bought t the intention was
chand when the neighbors
insisted that the property be
left as a buffer to the
intersection and the
commercial area.
my management, I manage the
property as a tier one
property for 25 yea.
I visit the building at least
once a week, cleaning the
interiors, cutting the grass,
blowing the trash out of the
parking lot.
I believe this way of managing
gives me the ability to be on
the premises and see what's
going on.
over the years, the refuse
handling has been changed from
individual containers to
larger dumpsters to impro
the system.
the two pictures taken by
stuart and I show here, by the
city, shows a clean and
orderly dumpste area.
all the neighbors that see the
dumpster have sigd a letter
back when supporting me on
leaving the dumpsters
initially.
my interaction with the
council and inspection.
the inspection deparent
ordered that I provide a
surround.
I appealed to the council
president and she told me she
had asked the inspector leave
me alonend I was a tier one
landlord and she wanted to
keep me in the neighborhood.
I talked to council member
after that and she stressed
that in addition to my
hands-on management, I hire
somebody in the buildin to
survise the rubbish
container on a daily basis.
I've done that, in addition
I've added a larger container
to take care of that.
she recommended I try to
appeal to veterans who might
have a little more respect for
my property.
I think this should solve the
problem of cleaning up the
loose paper and plastic across
the building.
keeping the parking amenity
for the eight tenants requires
the parking lot to be extend
and paved for twoew spaces.
it would require the moving of
one or possibly two utility
poles to create a new space.
it also require removal of
large tree to the north, one
to the south, and a hedge to
the south.
it requires the moving of
phone, electrical, and come
cast -- commissioner cast
lines -- comcast at incredible
cost.
it's a cost of over $137,000.
this is beyond m financial
capabilities and most likely
force me to sell the property.
the minneapolis restricted
parking.
there's no legal parking on
either side of the humboldt,
which is the front of the
building, and on the side of
the building there's no
parkin because of the bus
stop.
there's basically one and a
half spots that people could
park there and tn that would
be subject to a snow
emergency.
there's no parking to the
north.
basically the's no parking
to any area around my building
on the north, south, east and
west, except these two parking
spots.
» Sir, you've run out of
time.
if you can wrap it up, that
would be great.
» Well, I was going to go
in the parking on the treat
is unsafe of, because there's
about 17,000 turns on that
street, and there's been three
accidents in the last year
there th vehicles running
into my buildin
front's been blocked off to
vehicles and right now there's
a bus sp that's knocked
over.
so what I'm suggesting, and I
hope that you'll concur with
this is that you allow me to
keep it the way it is and let
me go ahead with gting
someone in the building to
help with the cleaning and
take care of that aspect.
I think this is probably the
best interest of the city, the
tenants and the neighbors.
and I have -- all the things
I've discussed here are in
addendums, exhibits, so that
you know that what I'm saying
is as the basis.
» Thank you.
» Thank you for your time.
» If you have any --
» I have another question.
I just got a bill here for
this project for $13,303.65.
I hav no idea what that'--
» From the city?
we'll have staff to talk to
you after the meeting.
» Okay.
» If you have any documents
you'd like to submit in
writing, you can give it to
the clerk.
we can have that in the
record.
all right.
are there anyone who would
like to speak on this item?
seeing none, I will close the
public hearing and recognize
vice chair crowdry.
chowdhury.
» Thank you so much, chair
osman.
thank you, mr. Carlson, for
coming down to city hall and
writing your appeal.
so, colleagues, just taking a
look at the staff report on
this, I think this situation
is, I would say, a little
highly unusual.
I think, for me, it's very
hard to consider the granting
of a variance when the code is
straightforward.
however, the unique
circumstances of the
situation, I think the
applicant really clearly laid
out.
there's just -- it's just a
very tenuous corner for
on-street parking, even if you
did on-street parking, it
would go off in the vinter
time and there have been
several accidents and then
also I think mr. Carlson, in
your addendum you did a good
job of laying out the
financial hardship and that's
something that staff concurred
with.
and I know that council member
vita has been talking to you
and trying to figure out a
solution which commend you for
reaching out to your council
member and figuring out what
works.
my one ask, to consider along
with hiring a supervisor is
making a plan for if the
dumpster overflows, right?
where would it go even if you
had an on-site person to come
and pick it up?
I think that's really getting
to the heart of kind of the
issue that residents have
complained about.
the motion that I'm going to
make is based off of what the
city attorney's office has
said is allowable, which is
moving forward with the
variance with the condition
that mr. Carlson hires an
on-site supervisor to to clean
on a regular basis.
so I guess one question that
maybe I could ask the
applicant, if that's all right
with you, sir, if you want to
come up, mr. Carlson.
» My question for you, sir,
is in addition to the on-site
supervisor being there, will
you just commit to making a
plan for maybe if there's
extra space needed for
overflowing trash?
I know someone will come and
clean it up.
but just making sure that
there's a way for communi
members in your building to
know that there's a way to
address the situation as it
occurs.
» I guess what I c say is
this generally happens when
someone has moved out.
like in the last one I had
moved out, I had an eight-yard
container come overnd we put
all the garbage in that
container and had it moved out
that way.
so I guess I think I've
answered your question by my
actions already.
have I answered it?
» In part.
just making sure that -- I
think the goal is getting at
ensuring that there's no
overflow of trash and trash on
the ground
it sounds like the prfers is
going to help -- the
supervisor is going to help
with that, but making sure
there's a way that folks can
understand that, that's how
they can address thesituation.
just making it clear to your
tenants that this is available
to them.
» What is available to them?
» The on-site supervisor and
additional cleaning, if we
grant you the variance.
» They know that somebody's
doing that?
» Yh, and how to get ahold
of them.
I know you're at the property
once a week, you shared in
your addendum.
» Of course.
and I think they already
know --
» Oh, good.
» It's obvious --
» I just ask because it's
highly unusual for us to grant
a variance for something like
this.
but we have a way to condition
it, but the goal is to address
the problem at hand and it
sounds like there's a good
plan for it.
» Well, I concur with what
you're trying to do.
» Okay.
well, thank you, sir.
that's the motion that I'll be
making.
» Thank you.
» Second.
» All rig.
seeing no one else, I will --
» Apologies.
can I just seek clarification
here?
if the intent is to move
forward with an approval of
the appeal, I would
respectfully recommend in that
case that you do move this
forward without recommendation
at this moment and direct
staff to prepare findings of
fact in accordance with that
motion.
» Oy.
that sounds good, attorney.
so ultimately the goal is to
move for the appeal -- grant
the appeal with the condition
to hire an on-site supervisor
and we will ask staff to work
with us to create the findings
and we'll move forward without
recommendation.
» Without recommendation.
n>> all right.
perfect.
thank you, council member.
so with that motion from vice
chair crowdry, all --
chowdhury, all those in favor
say aye.
[ members voting ]
and those opposed say nay.
[ no response heard ]
the ayes have it and the
motion carries.
all right.
thank you.
» Thank you.
» All right.
next item is -- give me a
second here.
discussion.
okay, there we go, thank you.
next item is discussion.
we have a discussion related
to the historic designation of
lakeshore arms located at 3026
lake street.
I welcome rob from cped to
give a presentation.
thk you.
welcome.
» Thank you, chair osman,
good afternoon, council
members.
my name is rob skalecki,
senior city planner in the
historic team.
today I'm presenting the
designation of the lakeshore
arms apartments which are
located at 3026 lake street
west.
on august 12th, 2025, the
heritage preservation
commission voted to approve
the nomination for the
property at 3026 lake street
west as a landmark.
they established interim
protection at that time and
directed the planning director
to prepare or cause to be
prepared a designation study.
that nomination application
was submitted by minneapolis
hpc commissioner amy thomas.
following that cped staff
compiled a designation study
of the property that was
completed in april of 2026.
staff sent the study to the
state historic preservation
office for review and comment.
the study concluded that the
property is eligible for
landmark designation under
local criterion 4, for
architecture.
at their june 6th, 2026
meeting, the hbc voted to
recommend approval for the
designation.
the subject property is a
two-story brick veneer
apartment building with a
basement half story.the apartmeh
17 units and a bement-level
garage.
the building is clad in light
brown or tan brick and has a
flat roof that include select
locations with shaped roof
sections to add other
thanment.
the property was designed by
vanderbilt and it was built by
d for owner morris track, a
local builder and developer.
the received building approval
in october, 1930, and
newspaper records began
announcing the building
opening by march 1931.
the construction of lakeshore
arms apartments is tied to
multifamily housing options
that appeared around uptown in
the cedar isles dean area in
the 1920s and 1930s.
the urban setting in
connection to the lakes
attracted minneapol
residents in the early
20th sent the promise of
urban life mixed with water
recreation amenities.
mediterranean design
influences were especially
common in the area and spanish
eclectic style buildings
became popular.
the property was designed
using the spanish style and
contains a significant degree
of architectural features.
those include but are not
limited to a shaped main
doorway that includes a heavy
wood door, light color brick
cladding, cast cement
ornamentation, including
floral materials, concrete
relief, a cast cement balcony
with prominent cast cement,
shaped openings, spiraled
columns, varied roof shapes,
clay roof tiles, multilight
wood, double-hung sash windows
and french doors at various
openings and patios and
balconies throughout the
building.
properties built in the
spanish eclectic architectural
style use traditional spanish
design trends incorporating
balconies and plazas and
courtyards and patios to
create an apparent association
between the building and the
natural environment.
and this is evident in the
lakeshore arms apartments.
chapter 599 of the minneapolis
code of ordinances requires
that the designation be
submitted to the minnesota
state historic preservation
office for review and comment.
this was done and the
minnesota state historic
historic office concurred with
the findings and recommended
in a later dated may 19, 2026
that the property appeared to
be an excellent candidate for
local designation under that
criterion 4 for architecture.
in order for the hbc and
council to approve a lanark
designation, the following two
findings must be made.
one that the collection or
collection of properties meets
at least one local criterion
to be designated as a landmark
or historic district.
and two that the property or
collection of properties
retains sufficient historic
integrity to be designated a
a landmark or historic
strict.
staff and the hbc occur ensure
that it meets criterion 4 as a
property that embodies
distinctive characteristics of
the spanish eclectic
architectural style and meets
finding one and that lakeshore
arms apartments retains all
seven aspects of historic
integrity, including location,
setting, design, materials,
workmanship, feeling and
association to meet finding 2.
staff has been in contact with
the property owner about the
designation study and
designation process.
the owner has stated
opposition to the designation
for many reasons.
and those written comments are
included for council members
to consider.
I believe the owner is here
today and may want to speak if
possible.
staff will also note that the
owner has, as I mentioned,
been clear about the
opposition to the designation
but staff has received over 15
public comments that support
the historic designation of
the property.
with that, I'm available as
staff to answer any questions.
thank you.
» Thank you so much, staff.
I appreciate your
presentation.
is is a discussion.
'at the same time it's a
decision we have to make.
so, it's not a public hearing.
I'm open to giving an
opportunity for the owner to
speak.
but before that, I will
recognize council member
shaffer.
» Can I speak after the owner
speaks?
» If he wants to speak.
I don't know if the owner is
here.
welcome.
would you like to speak?
» Yes, I would.
» Yup.
we'll give you two minutes to
speak, that's okay.
come on.
» It's not a quasi judicial,
anything like that, but I
would say usually we give the
applicant seven minutes or so,
but it's not set up that way
today.
so I would just give you a
short time to kind of give us
a little bit of -- yeah.
» Okay.
chairman osman and vice chair
chowdhury and committee
members, my name is steve
horniyg and together with my
brother, gary, we purchased
lakeshore arms about a year
ago now.
and my family has owned,
restored and managed apartment
buildings in minneapolis for
four generations, over 100
years.
we believe in historic
preservation, that it is an
important public policy and
nothing I say today should be
interpreted otherwise.
I want to begin and make it
very clear that I accept the
hbc's conclusion that
lakeshore arms possesses
sufficient architectural
significance to qualify for
designation.
the issue is that over 17
buildings that were also
designed by c.j. Bard are also
beautiful buildings in south
minneapolis that are equal to
my building.
the designation study never
cited that for one reason or
another my building was more
special than any of the other
buildings.
you'll see pictures of them in
the slides that I prepared.
maybe if we could roll up just
a couple more on this.
no?
can't do that?
can I do that?
here is a collection of all of
the bard buildings in south
minneapolis.
they're absolutely gorgeous.
of there'sothing that my
building has over any of these
others and, so, the crucial
question I why was m
building chosen?
[ alarm ]
» Sorry.
please continue.
I want to hear.
» Your responsibility here is
much broader than looking at
the architectural features of
this.
you, under the statute, the
ordinance, chapter 599, you're
required to look more broadly,
not only at historic
preservation, but also the
economic growth and general
welfare of the city and the
implementaon of the
minneapolis comprehensive
plan.
that requires balancing on
your part several -- balancing
several important public
policies, not just
preservation.
I respectfully submit that
when all of these policies are
considered together,
designationf this particular
property is not in the city's
best interest.
» Sir, if you could wrap it
up, pase.
» So we've had 17 other
properties.
mine is n chosen.
two other quick points.
under the demolitiontatute,
if you don't designate this
today, the demolition statute
in minneapolis is very
protective of buildings thatareh
my building is, that if
there's ever a demolition
permit put forth, there would
be another opportunity to look
at this.
» Thank you.
» And I think to foreclose
the city, to give up the
possibility of greater
development to not only for
housing, more housing, that
includes affordable,
inclusionary housing, without
seeing apecific proposal
even being presented is reay
premature.
» I appreciate your time.
I'm sorry.
we've run out of time.
» It's okay.
I see council member shaffer.
» Tnk you, mr. Hornig,
for those thoughts.
and thank you for your long
history of providing
affordable housing in
minneapolis.
in many of our communities
across many wards.
and I know that there are ups
and downs to the housing
industry, but I want to say
thank you for that provision
and that commitment to
affordable housing in our
space.
today I will be making a
motion to deny the historic
designation, primarily, as you
can remember from the first
picture that this is really a
building that is on and
surrounded by more
high-density apartment
buildings.
and I know that we have heard
today that he has no plans to
demolish this building, and we
have the demolition statute to
fall back on.
putting this historic
designation in place now would
complely foreclose the
addition of higher density
housing at thispot at any
point in th future.
ich is really inconsistent
with many of the 2040 plan
goals for this area.
so, I will be supporting this
denial of the historic
landmark designation.
» Thank you, council member
shaffer.
I will recognize council
member chavez.
» Thank you, chair osman, and
maybe ask my colleague,
council member shaffer, if she
would move the motion to deny
without recommendation.
I just would rather have more
conversations with staff about
what this means.
so at least -- I don't want to
commit to my position today.
I want to have more
conversations about how this
came to be and I do have
questions.
so I'd rather --
» That's absolutely fine with
me, council member chavez.
» Thank you.
» Vice chair chowdhury.
» Thank you.
I have a question for staff.
I just wanted to know, I think
the property owner brought up
a good point of the many other
properties that are designed
by the same architects.
how was that -- how were these
properties selected and is
there a plan in the future to
look at the other properties?
» Yeah, thank you, chair
osman, council member
chowdhury.
so within the designation
study that staff wrote, a lot
of the buildings that were
identified and actually shown
by the property owner were
identified through that study.
so, initially we we looking
to see if the property met our
local criterion 6, which would
be tied to a master industry
professional like an
architect.
so that's part of the reason
why we looked at these other
buildings designed by this
architect.
we ultimately didn't recommend
designation under that
criteria specifically because
the firm of bard and
vanderbilt was distinct and
that is the firm that designed
this building, whereas, karl
bard,hen he practiced
independently earlier, was
making designs similar to
those that were shown.
so, to the other point, when
staff is looking at properties
that embody distinctive
characteristics of an
architectural style under
criterion 4 to be considered
for landmark status, we do
look at other properties and
consider if they retain
historic integri.
so do they still communicate
their historic significance.
and when looking at lakeshore
arms, we were able to deduce
that there's a lot that is
still there to be able to
communicate that it is an
example of this architectural
style.
that's not to say that if a
building comes in the future
that is also this style, you
know, if that can't be
considered if this one is
designated.
so with that, staff were able
to look through in the study
and determine that this
property did meet that
criterion 4 to be considered
for landmark status.
» Thank you.
that's helpful.
and then one final question
for me just to clarify,
because I know we're moving
this forward without
recommendation, I think I
definitely need some more time
to have conversations ahead of
full council.
should this go ahead.
and this islso just for my
understanding for future local
historic designations if it
comes to us, should a
resolution pass through this
body, what are the next steps
that follow?
I know you said it in your
presentation, but I'm kindly
asking you to repeat it.
» Sure, chair osman, council
member chowdhury.
to clarify, are you asking if
this is approved or denied?
» After approval, if there is
approval, what happens next?
» Sure.
if this is approved --
recommended approval today, it
will go up, of course, to city
council for your vote on the
resolution, and then that goes
up to the mayor's desk and
once it's signed and
published, then that would be
when it would formally become
a city of minneapolis
landmark.
standards.
national park service to make
sure that any changes to the
exterior are being sensitive
to the property's
significance.
and if a future property
owner would want to demolish,
they'd have the ability to
submit an application, called
the demolition of designated
property, to make that
decision at a future date if
it comes to that.
» And that would go to the
hpc, right, future demolition?
» Correct.
» Okay.
and is landmark desnation
any different than historic
preservation or are they the
same?
» So, it would be the same.
landmark designation at the
local level is different from
national register listing.
so I don't know if that -- I
think there's some confusion
between those two.
but this is local landmark
designation that we're
considering today.
» And if denied, what
happens?
» So if the designation is
denied, and the property owner
brought up a point, it could
be brought forward in the
future.
if that's the case, there
would have to be a three-year
waiting period for someone to
consider nominating it again
in the future.
but there is a possibility to
reconsider a history of a site
with a future timeline.
» Okay.
great.
that's all my questions.
really appreate it.
» All right.
council member rainville.
» Thank you.
I do have a question for
staff.
why was this property chosen
to study?
» Chair osman, council member
rainville, this was submitted
as a nomination by minneapolis
heritage preservation
commissioner, and they do have
the authority to do that.
and I think it was just a
personal interest in the site
that led to that.
» Thank you.
» All right.
seeingo -- oh, council
member chavez.
» One last thing, I guess.
I'm still trying to learn more
about this.
I probably will be reaching
out.
my question is, let's just
say, and I don't know what way
the council is going to decide
on this issue, but lest just
say they decide to -- but
let's just say they decide to
approve it, does staff have
any concerns it would set a
precedent for the rest of the
buildings that were
identified and what that would
mean for housing in our city?
I don't know, I'm just
wondering.
» Chair osman, council member
chavez, I think I understand
your question.
there's never going to be a
precedent-setting desion for
any property the city
that's being considered for
landmark status.
but, you know, at any point in
the future if one of the
nominators who's able to
nominate a property if the
city wants to bring forward
one of the other examples for
consideration, that is a
possibility.
» Okay.
thank you.
» All right.
thank you so much.
with that motion to forward
this item without
recommendation, all those in
favor say aye.
[ members voting ]
and tho opposed say nay.
[ no response heard ]
the ayes have it and the
motion carries.
all right, our last item is
presentation related to
impervious surfaces.
» Thank you chair osman,
committee members.
I'll be presenting today but
we alsoo have further staff
from our public works
department, surface waters and
sewers, available for any
questions you all may have at
the end.
again, this is a receive and
file for a legislative
directive that came out of
council member's wonsley's
office later.
looking at synthetic turf
systems and how those could be y
managed in code, how they
could be managed in coat, kind
of those long-term impacts for
those systems.
one of the principal questions
that we started out with just
what is artificial turf?
kind of working definition
that we had, this actually is
of not in the code today, it
was proposed by our
co-development team
independent from this
legislative directive as they
were looking at kind of our
single-family housing code,
looking at updating the
definitions chapter to address
artificial or hybrid turf, a
system which has the
appearance of natural turf
grass or reinforces natural
turf grass, there's not 100%
natural turf grass.
basically what I would say,
again, this was a pretty broad
definition.
I think it is a good starting
point to think about it.
there are a really broad range
of these types of systems out
there.
they can take many different
forms.
one of the things -- one other
thing that I would note,
though, in terms of our
literature review, the
minnesota storm water manual
is preparing and has been kind
of preparing to provide some
guidance on synthetic turf
systems.
it was a requirement from the
legislature, I believe, last
year through a study,
essentially, that might also
really inform what we end up,
if we adopt the definition of
artificial or synthetic turf,
looking to the state level
what they're proposing.
in terms of how artificial
turf is regulated today, I
think the main thing that I do
want to leave with you all
here is that it is not a
prohibited thing in the city.
folks can have artificial
turf.
the main two standards in
zoning that they are subject
to would be impervious surf
requirements.
so we have a maximum on
impervious surface that you
can have on a particular lot,
depending on the zoning
district.
and we currently treat
artificial turf as an I am
preservous surface, similar to
other things like permeable
pavers that purport and
represent that they are
permeable, but which either
have maintenance requirements
or which may have other draw
baks.
drawbacks.
secondly, it is not considered
an alternative to required
landscaping.
so when we talk about required
yards for a property, you
cannot have artificial turf in
lieu of a natural grass or
natural landscaping.
if you cannot meet those two
standards in terms of
providing artificial turf,
typically and historically the
avenue for you has been to
seek a land use variance from
those requirements.
and then from the public works
perspective, they noted that
any project that does disturb
over half an acre or more of
soils does need to demonstrate
compliance with city storm
water requirements, so that
includes run-off rate control,
water quality, and volume
control.
typically how that works and,
again, I would defer really
any in-depth scientific
questions to our surface water
and sewer staff, but design
documents are provided as part
of that application that are
then used to model or simulate
the performance of that ground
cover material in a rain event
or storm event.
one thing to note here, there
really is not a application or
a permit or other regulatory
document that would trigger
for a very small-scale
application.
so if someone wanted to
replace their front yard with
artificial turf, there right
now is just not a review
mechanism or anything that
triggers a city review and
that would be something that
would need to be created and
obviously has kind of knock-on
effects in terms of
enforcement.
part of this legislative
directive was looking at the
climate and water quality
impacts, you know, how can we
justify artificial turf as an
allowed material in lieu of
some of our goals around
climate sustainability in the
2040 plan.
in terms of those that work in
favor of artificial turf,
there's definitely an argument
for decreased water usage.
it's part of the reason why
they have they've seen a much
larger uptick in the
southwestern united states in
dry areas.
it typically incorporates
recycled materials.
so we're going to talk a
little bit about rubber crumb
or crumb rubber infill.
those are typically made out
of recycled tires, and that is
one of the few ways that the
industry has found to reuse
that type of material.
and then the other note is
from a sustainability, you
know, the climate 'cost to the
functional or the use cost,
typically those artificial
systems, especially here in
the north where we have kind
of wacky weather over winter
and spring, they have a longer
usable period.
so artificial turf is ready
sooner and is playable longer
into the fall and into early
winter than a natural turf.
in terms of kind of points
against artificial turf, one
of the main things is that
this would be a contributor to
urban heat island effect in
terms of that plastic does
retain and hold on to heat a
lot more than a natural grass
would.
obviously if you're replacing
natural landscaping, you're
losing some biodiversity and
natural habitat.
and then there is just a
higher carbon footprint in
installing an artificial turf
field.
there can be some savings in
terms of, again, having
decreased water usage, but a
thing to keep in mind is that
these typically have about a
ten-year life span.
so even if they're using
recycled materials, even if
they're allowing if a longer
in-year usability, they're
still going to be kind of a
deadline on that field where
it needs to then be disposed
of, typically to just a
landfill.
again, I mentioned that rubber
crumb infill material, this
was one where we did reach out
to our environmental health
staff and they really
highlighted a lot of concerns
about the potential storm
water impacts of that rubber
crumb material washing out
into water bodies around us,
specifically there has been
some studies monitoring levels
of heavy metals, pfas, pahss
and in general microplastics,
they're a major source.
again, more so from the kind
of habitat or economic
health -- or ecological
health, accuse me, rather than a
person playing on the field is
not necessarily going to be
subject to some of those
chemicals but it would run off
into the water.looking at kind o
the ordinance, specifically
looking at the zoning code,becas
been the larger barrier for
some of the projects that
we've seen in the past, like,
five, ten years that have come
in looking to do artificial
turf either for like an
athletic field context or for
again a more residential or
quasi residential use.
one is that rht now,
obviously, we treat artificial
turf as an impervious surface.
one option would be to exclude
those types of materials from
maxim preservous surface
calculations.
there's a couple concerns from
staff on this.
one is partly just allowing
for mor of these types of
surfaces is not necessarily in
line with a lot of our
long-term susinability
goals.
obviouy we mentioned urban
heat island.
if you just kind of roll these
out in a lot of different
areas, we're going to see an
uptick in that kind of heat
retention at the ground level.
the other side is just,
though, from an enforcement
perspective and kind of the
infrastructure surroundingthese.
again, we would need to create
some sort of a permito
facilitate these types of
applications, along with that
there would be inspections and
then long-term compliance,
which is really not something
that our inspectors do today.
secondarily would be to allow
artificial turf as a
replacement for nural
landscaping.
again, there is som argument
for where that could be
allowed as a permitted
obstruction or where it could
be required in those --
permitted in those required
yard areas.
staff has a concern about
wholesale treating this as a
landaping material.
we have had a couple of cases
in the past, I think since
2020, where we now things like
landscape ro to be used in
certain areas, but typically
ere are restrictions there
inerms of requiring
plantings to be so spacend
that, it can't just be
landscape rock or you c't
have it in areas thatould
wash out to youreighbor's
property.
so there's certainly,
essentially, looking at art
tissue turf would probably
also require looking at some
of those other nonnatural,
nonlandscaping materials.
looking at artificial turf.
again I talked about there is
not a regulatory arm for this.
one of the major impacts would
be increased staff needs, in
terms of again our inspectors
are not currently currently
trained to -- we would need to
create a performance standard
for any of these systems that
are going to be deemed as
preservous versus impreservous
surface.
and then how do you maintain
that compliance long term.
so one of the issues we have
right now with permeable
pavers, we don't count those
as preservous surface, even
though if you maintain them
correctly they can function
well.
the bigger issue is
maintenance, right.
how do we know that five
years, ten years down the line
that property owner is still
having that function at the
highest level.
in terms of how other cities
are looking at this, and as I
mentioned, you probably have
heard a lot more about
artificial turf from like
arizona or a california or a
drier climate area, and that
is because there is that kind
of decreased water need.
when we looked at some of our
peer cities in terms of size,
but also in terms of being
kind of more northern in the
united states, there wasn't as
much robust language in those
cities in terms of zoning or
policy.
most tended to treat it
similarly to how we kind of do
today in terms of being I am
preservous surface.
a very recent example that
staff would highlight is the
city of denver, in following
the state of colorado's recent
legislative language is
adopting definitions for
functional landscape area
versus nonfunctional landscape
area.
that is looking at both
artificial r turf and natural
turf from a perspective of
limiting just kind of grass or
green space as a ground cover.
and instead kind of putting
the focus on, we are going to
allow artificial turf where
it's being used for an
athletic field or a functional
purpose.
that could be something that
the city looks at if, again,
there is an appetite to take
up the question of artificial
turf.
but, again, I would say, from
staff's perspective, in
looking at the zoning code,
there probably is some ability
to, ain, add a definition,
daylight a little bit of the
existing provisions, but there
are larger concerns with kind
of opening pandora's box and
allows these across the -- and
allowing these across the
city.
again, I'm happy to stand for
any questions you all may
have.
this is our project team, as
well as I mentioned we did
work with the health
department a little bit and
major shout-out to them for
providing some guidance on the
materials.
and, yeah, we're happy to
answer any questions.
» Colleagues, is there any
questions on this
presentation?
council member warren.
» I don't like plastic grass.
» Thank you.
I mean, I was just going to
quick make a comment myself.
I think there's definitely
something worth looking into
in terms of the types of
artificial turf even allowed
as a functional use that we
should look at as a city in
2024, the e.u. Put a ban on
crumb rubber infill turf due
to concerns around
microplastics, pfas, heavy
metals as laid out by staff,
and there's other alternatives
that are available that are
organic, like cork, sand, or
parts of the outer husk of a
coconut.
in the planning commission
there has been a few different
types of artificial turf
that's come before us.
but I think this is definitely
an interesting starting point
for this conversation that I
do feel like will come back to
us eventually because
artificial turf has had that
type of way of coming back to
bhz, or the planning
commission.
members, is there any other
questions on this
presentation?
» Yeah, just, I remember
debating this while university
of minnesota housing area.
do we have a city policy or
ordinance that really clears
out what's appropriate, what's
not?
yeah, just wanted to know do
we have a city ordinance,
policy that really says, you
know, where to apply and who
can have artificial turf?
» Chair osman, I think
generally we do, right.
so artificial turf is
permitted as a -- similarly to
how we would do other types of
hardscaping.
so it's allowed within the
confines of that.
so as long as it's outside of
the required yard and it
doesn't exceed the
impreservous coverage, but you
can't cover your entire
property with t. Impervious.
so I think from staff's
perspective, our research
really supported the current
policy with maybe the
exception around where it
could be applied in more
practical settings, like
athletic fields or
playgrounds, in those kinds of
environments it might make
sense to be a little bit more
permissive.
but I think staff's
recommendation at this point
is that we would hold with our
current regulations.
» Okay.
thank you so much.
that's it.
just wanted to make that
point.
I think the last item that
came through was whole
discussion about this and the
uniqueness of technology and
how things are changing now
and, you know, places that
they can apply could be a
conversation.
so it's kind of nice to be
clear of what's allowed and
what's not allowed and also at
the same time think about it
if there might be
opportunities to update our
policies based on technologies
that are coming forward each
day.
that's it.
» Yeah.
council member warn.
thank you.
» I'm glad to hear you say
that you can't cover your
entire yard with this
impervious grass, because
you're not even seeing worms
come out the ground anymore
when it rains.
we've had a lot of rain, and I
bet you haven't even seen
worms crawling over the
sidewalk.
you used to have to sweep the
sidewalks to get rid of all
the worms.
what happened to all the
worms?
and I think these impervious
turfs is the reason we don't
have good quality worms
anymore.
this is really sad.
so I'm glad to hear that
people can't cover their
entire whatevers with this,
but we should be very careful
about the things that we're
doing to our environment.
and just grow regular grass.
and do, like, old crotch
et ceteray cantankerous people
used to do when we were kids
back in the early '80s, tell
people to stay offour yard.
the end.
» Thank you, council member.
council member shaffer.
» Yeah, I'll just make a
couple comments.
one, I know crumb rubber is
not used at all in the par
system anymore.
there may be some latent
outliers, but that's not where
they move forward and many of
the soccer fields are
sand-filled, elliot.
and then I would say, I'm not
sure we as a city have
jurisdiction over fields and
playgrounds that would be on
parkland.
so that might be a question
just for further
investigation.
that was my one comment.
thank you.
» We can ask that question
now because now I'm curious if
we have any jurisction.
» Kay.
cped, I don't think we do but
maybe we do.
» Through the chair, council
member shaffer, so the city
does have zing authority
over the parks, which would
include the impervious
coverage and the materials.
» Okay, thank you.
» Okay.
that's very useful.
is there anyone else that
wants to be in queue?
council member chavez.
» I'll be quick.
thank you all so much.
whatever we need to do to make
sure that we're not using
these materials as often as
some folks do, that's what I
would like to do because it
really does have a detrimental
impact on people's health.
so I at least -- and the
worms.
that council member warren
mentioned.
but, yeah, in general, thank
you so much to staff for the
presentation today.
I'd like to know in the
future, based than on this
presentation, which has been
outlined, what we need to do
to make sure that we're not
using these artificial things
that are really impacting
people's health.
so, yeah, just wanted to
mention that.
» Thanks.
ah, I'll just close off by
saying, unless anyone else
gets in queue, I think if we
have preservous pavers that
are considered impervious, I
think that should be
considered the same thing
about artificial tuive grass,
because it's about
maintenances and our
enforcement is very limited
and doing enforcement on turf
grass that is not well
maintained I don't think is a
valuable use of city
resources.
but definitely much to think
abou
seeing no one else in queue,
and no further discussion,
I'll direct the clerk to file
that staff report and
presentation.
and no further businessefore
us and with no objection, I
will declare this meeting
adjourned.