The ANA Land Use Committee met on February 17th, 2009.

29th Ave Streetscape:
Members of the Committee attended a meeting of the several government stakeholders on February 10th. The meeting was coordinated by Councilmember Ostrow. A brief summary of the plan and our talking points for the meeting are attached below.

The City (Public Works and CLIC) does not know how to incorporate a community-driven project into their workflow. Until a new process is forged—which was an aim of our efforts over the past year—our project will not even be considered for scheduling into the City’s capital improvement plan.

As we continue pursuing an eventual full implementation, the LUC has decided to focus on adding bicycle amenities to 29th.

Park Master Plan:
The Park Board’s policy precludes use of our adopted park plan. MPRB requires their own planning process, with an estimated cost of $40,000, which MPRB will not fund. Fundraising for implementation cannot begin without an MPRB-approved plan (they own the land we want to improve).

The LUC would like the ANA Board to approve spending the $40K from NRP2. Although it seems like a wasteful duplication of effort, it is the only way to move forward. The committee is preparing its case to bring to the ANA Board.

Lowry Apartments:
The mixed-use development at the corner of Lowry and Polk was expected to receive approval from the Planning Commission on February 17th.

Johnson Street Facade Grants:
No applications received.

1031 Lowry:
A vacant lot owned by Hennepin County may now be open for development. With Lowry Apartments moving toward groundbreaking, the County expects it will not take any land on the north side of Lowry for eventual improvements to the corridor.

The site had been a considered for a green-technology model house. LUC is contacting the architect and developer to determine their current interest.

The next LUC meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 17th.

—Submitted by Mark Fox, LUC Chair