Finding a Green Way to Govern

Please join me and my Aide tonight at 9pm at the corner of Bryant and Lake to protest the brutal, unconscionable attack against Kristen Boyne one week ago. All of us, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, must come together to send the message that homophobia, hatred and violence have no place in our city. For more information, go here .

In December, the City started a six-month-long test of several new types of parking meters. Our current parking meters will need to be replaced in the next few years, and this will help is determine what kinds of meters we want. I am very interested making sure new meters accept credit cards. Six different types of meters are being tested on six separate blocks around the city. Four test areas include multi-space meters. There are test areas in Stadium Village, Dinkytown, Old St. Anthony, Eliot Park and downtown. Staff will evaluate the performance of the meters and you can help by sharing their feedback with Please direct all questions or concerns to tim.drew@ci.minneapolis.mn.us and fill out a short survey here by clicking on "parking meter testing" then select "filling out a short survey online." Here are the details about the various locations: Warehouse District Single-space parking meters These meters are similar to Minneapolis’ current parking meters, but un...

The University has been updating its master plan for the Twin Cities Campus for several months. Back in 2007 and 2008 they hosted a series of community meetings and many people have been wondering about results. Now the U appears ready to share plans and take input. People close to the campus are especially concerned about future plans to grow or expand the campus and seeing the U identify a border. I just received the following information: "...There will be four open forums to preview the master plan recommendations in the first week of February: • Monday, February 2, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., Cowles Auditorium, HHH Center, 301 - 19th Avenue, on the West Bank. • Tuesday, February 3, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., Mississippi Room, Coffman Union, 300 Washington Avenue SE, East Bank. • Wednesday, February 4, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., Room 33 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, Saint Paul (Falcon Heights) campus • Thursday, February 5, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., Van Cleve Park, 901 - 15th Avenue SE, Minneapolis. Dra...

The Como neighborhood has had a focus on cleaning up pollution and environmental stewardship for years. In the three short years I have been in office they have been pushing themselves, the businesses around them, and the City as a whole to do more to address the environmental issues that affect us all. Most recently they have embarked on a Green Village effort that I am hoping will help inform and inspire the University District Partnership Alliance and, eventually, the City as a whole. For these reasons, and more, I was especially honored and delighted to present the following Resolution to Wendy Menken, president, and Jake Jacobi, Environment Committee Chair, of the Southeast Como Improvement Association this morning at the City Council meeting. I was very glad that Wendy specifically mentioned Environmental Coordinator, Justin Eibenholzl , who has key to these efforts for years. RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS By Gordon, Benson, Colvin Roy, Goodman, Glidden, Hofstede, Hodg...

On Monday, The Health, Energy & Environment Committee will be taking comments on the Resolution Council Member Schiff, Lilligren and I introduced at the last Council Meeting regarding Xcel's Midtown High Voltage Power Line Proposal. January 26, 2009 at about 1:30 p.m. in Room 317 City Hall The resolution recommends that " Xcel Energy delay its routing permit application to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for the Hiawatha Project and provide greater detail regarding the current and future electricity needs that the project is planned to address, as well as a thorough analysis of aggressive alternative methods to abate and/or supply the electricity that is needed" and "that if such an analysis is undertaken and fails to yield a successful alternative approach to the need for high voltage power lines in Midtown; that the preferred route for the new high voltage transmission lines is underground below 28th Street East." Written comments are also alway...

I've written about the exciting new bike sharing system I hope will be installed over the next year or so, using Non-motorized Transportation Project funding. Now you can learn more at one of three public meetings cosponsored by the City and the Nordic Ski Foundation (our consultants on the system): Wednesday February 4, 7pm Calhoun Square Atrium, Lake & Hennepin, Uptown Tuesday February 10, 7pm Coffman Memorial Union, The Whole Music Club (basement level), UofM East Bank Thursday February 12, 5:30pm Central Library, Pohlad Hall, 300 Nicollet Mall You can also find more info here .

After quite some time, the Police Executive Research Fund (PERF) has returned with their audit of the Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit (IAU). Recall that the MPD did not initially want to use PERF - they wanted to enter into a no-bid contract with a law firm they've worked with in the past - but chose them after I convinced my colleagues to require that they go out for a Request for Proposals. After the presentation the Public Safety and Regulatory Services (PS&RS) committee received from PERF and IAU yesterday, I must say I'm impressed with the depth of PERF's analysis and the quality of their 28 recommendations for improving IAU. Some are quite intriguing, such as the recommendation that IAU be physically moved out of City Hall, and not co-housed at any police precinct, to help complainants feel more comfortable in coming forward. The fear with good reports like these is that they will sit on a shelf somewhere, and that the recommendations that might be...

I am thrilled to report that we have won the lawsuit brought by the Minnesota Voters Alliance, challenging Ranked Choice Voting in Minneapolis. The Alliance claimed that the Minneapolis IRV provision violated both the federal and Minnesota constitutions and was preempted by State law. Hennepin County District Court Judge George McGunnigle found for the City on all claims, including the arguments that Ranked Choice Voting is unconstitutional and that the City is preempted by state law. The Judge's opinion was thorough, well-reasoned and well-researched. This is a huge victory for the City and for Ranked Choice Voting, a first step towards putting to bed the arguments about constitutionality and preemption and paving the way for more cities to adopt the voting method. We assume that the Voters Alliance will appeal this ruling. They have 60 days from today to file an appeal. I have heard from the City Attorney that our staff will do everything they can to move this case through the ap...

The City Planning Department has scheduled a meeting to help shape the former Dania Hall site on the West Bank on Tuesday, January 27, 7-8:30pm at 630 Cedar Avenue South. I hope that folks from many different perspectives choose to attend, and give their vision of a successful redevelopment of this critical property.

The last Council meeting was a pretty important one, in terms of the number of major policy decisions - many of which have been discussed for years and years - we finally made. Another example: pedestrian-level street lighting. After years of effort, the Council voted last Friday to finalize this policy, and I’m pretty thrilled with how it ended up. When the City reconstructs a street, the default expectation will be that pedestrian streetlights will be installed. If 51% of residents petition to opt out, the new streetlights will not be installed. In areas that the City has designated as pedestrian zones, 70% of residents will have to opt out. For street renovations in residential areas or other non-reconstruction situations, residents may opt in by a 70% petition. In all cases, the streetlights will be paid for by assessment to property owners. Even more excitingly from an environmental perspective, the new policy states that all new streetlights will be full-cutoff, unless the Counc...

This Wednesday afternoon the City is hosting a presentation about bicycling in Northern Europe. Jane Shey, a PhD student in Leuven, Belgium, has reviewed several studies that identify key municipal policies, which indicate how several cities including Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Groningen, have become the " Gold Standard " in cycling. The presentation includes pictures to show how bike accommodations are structured, including bicycle lanes, paths, and cycle tracks, as well as bike parking facilities at transit stations. It will also include information about the policy changes that were instituted, problems of cyclists (including bicycle theft), attitudes about safety, and funding schemes to improve cycling. Jane is pursuing her PhD in environmental policy in Leuven, Belgium at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. She is a native of the Midwest, and has worked as the Staff Director of former Minnesota Congressman Tim Penny. Everyone is welcome. When: Wednesday, January 14th at ...

The University District Partnership Alliance has announced a new homebuyer assistance program aimed at encouraging owner-occupied homeownership in five University of Minnesota neighborhoods. The University Alliance Home Buyer Assistance program offers loans of $10,000 (forgivable over five years) for people who want to buy and live in homes in the neighborhoods of Cedar-Riverside, Marcy Homes, Prospect Park, SE Como, and University.. All area realtors are invited to a meeting about this on held January 16, 1-3 pm at Van Cleve Park. The program offers loans to new buyers in the Cedar Riverside, Southeast Como and Prospect neighborhoods. For more information contact the Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation Housing Resource Center, at 612-378-7985 or visit here . The University Alliance was formed in 2007, and it received $750,000 in funding support by the Minnesota Legislature to facilitate and manage projects with the University, City of Minneapolis and other public and private enti...

Please join me to discuss priorities and challenges for 2009 on February 11, 6-8pm at Matthews Recreation Center. In this time of economic challenge and likely budget cuts, how can we keep making progress towards our shared goals? Which City programs should be protected from cuts, and which should be on the table? Everyone is welcome.

I'll be attending an event tomorrow organized by TakeAction Minnesota to kick off the campaign to restore voting rights for ex-offenders. It runs from 9am-12pm at New Hope Baptist Church, 712 Burr Street in St. Paul. The goal of this campaign is to change State law to join thirteen other states in allowing ex-felons to vote after they leave prison, rather than having to wait until they are finished with parole (or "off papers"). To learn more, go here .

I strongly supported the Council’s action to apply for up to $1.75 million from the Non-Motorized Transportation Program to establish the first major bike-sharing system in the US. This system will cover Uptown, Midtown and Downtown, all of the University and West Bank neighborhoods and parts of Prospect Park, providing a great people-powered way for folks to get around. The bikes will be sturdy and easy to use, designed especially for this bike sharing system. They'll include lights, chain guards, fenders, at least three speeds and a large basket. The idea is to attract people who might bike now for recreation and exercise, but don't typically ride to get from place to place. Businesspeople on their way to meetings, patrons of downtown bars who don't want to worry about parking, transit-dependent folks who want to get to the train or bus more quickly - we want to broaden the accessibility of biking to include all sorts of folks who aren't out there on bikes today. The ...

Today, the Council passed a resolution I authored taking the somewhat unprecedented action of declaring a property – 1721 Como Ave SE – a “municipal problem.” This issue goes back several years, and centers around a business called Joe Baker Auto. Back in 2003, responding to numerous concerns from Southeast Como residents, City Licensing staff started holding Mr. Baker accountable for some shoddy business practices, which included long-term storage of junk cars on the lot and in the street. After multiple violations, citations, and a mass impounding of a collection of inoperable vehicles, Mr. Baker allowed his business license to expire in 2006. Since a licensed business was no longer involved, Zoning enforcement staff stepped in. From 2007 until the middle of last year, they gave Mr. Baker a number of citations, totaling $5,500, for violating the zoning code’s enclosed building requirement and for operating an illegal parking lot. (The fact that the auto repair license had been allowe...

Despite the vote of the Bicycle Advisory Committee , the City’s only formal outreach to the bicycling community, recommending that the City support Phyllis Kahn’s “functional yield” bill, the Intergovernmental Relations committee voted to oppose the bill earlier this week. I was disappointed in this outcome. This bill is a commonsense set of rules that match the way that safe, conscientious cyclists ride and I think will help us have a much needed discussion on how we can craft bike laws in a way that will promote safety and ridership. Fortunately, the Council overturned IGR's recommendation today on a 7-6 vote, opting instead to take no position on this bill. Joining me in voting against the recommendation to oppose were Council Members Lilligren, Schiff, Glidden, Remington, Benson and Goodman. I remain disappointed that the Council was unable to support this as part of our legislative agenda but think is was helpful for us to begin the discussion and I am gald that at least we re...

As part of the Downtown Transportation Action Plan, today the Council approved final layout for a re-striping project to transform Hennepin Ave and First Ave from one-ways to two-ways through downtown. Just as with the Marquette and Second project that began last year, one of the major questions has been about what to do to accommodate bicyclists on the corridor. Right now, there is a two-way bike facility on Hennepin, between the bus lane and the three travel lanes. Staff’s proposal is to eliminate this bike-only space on Hennepin, creating instead a shared lane for bikes, buses, and right-turning vehicles on every other block. While I think that this will be a good solution for serious, skilled cyclists, I am unconvinced that very many less experienced or “B” level riders will ever use it. However, the proposal also calls for the creation of a new pair of extremely innovative bike lanes on First and Hawthorne Aves, all the way from 2nd Street N to 11th St N. The lanes will have a spe...

I was thrilled to attend the "vine-cutting" for the new Seward Coop at 29th and Riverside this morning. Today was the culmination of years of hard work going back to 2006 on the part of Coop staff, Seward Redesign, Seward Neighborhood Group, the neighborhood volunteer activists who participated in the Riverside Market Task Force and Franklin Avenue Planning process, and my office. My staff and I have helped shepherd this incredibly important redevelopment through City regulatory processes on topics such as the location of the alley, parking on Franklin, and getting the City's matching funds for the Seward-themed bike racks out front. It's extremely gratifying to see everyone's hard work pay off. I'm also excited that such an improved amenity has brought life back to this signficant meeting or two improtant commercial corridors: Riverside Ave. and Franklin Ave. Now be located in the heart of Seward, the Coop has increased its hours from 9am-9pm daily to 8am-10p...

Xcel Energy is proposing to build two new substations in South Minneapolis, one near Hiawatha Avenue and another near I-35W, connected by high voltage transmission lines. They are in the process of receiving information, input, and comments from the community, and have held four open houses in the neighborhood. I attended one of the open houses and there are two upcoming meetings that I wanted to let people know about, including another open house. 1. The Phillips Community Energy Cooperative (PCEC) would like to invite its members and friends to a community meeting about the project on Monday, January 12th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on the 3rd floor of Plaza Verde, 1516 East Lake Street. 2. January 15th: Xcel Energy Open House Meetings 12:00 - 2:00 PM & 5:00 - 7:00 PM, 1516 E. Lake St. (Plaza Verde, 3rd floor). Xcel hosts open house meetings to provide you with information about the proposed Hiawatha Project and to give you an opportunity to share your views. This is also a good palce to...