Finding a Green Way to Govern

This morning, the Council adopted new regulations regarding "dynamic signs," signage that incorporates large LCD TV-style screens. For the most part, I support these new standards. However, the Council also undid some good work from the Zoning and Planning committee. The committee, acting on a motion I made, voted to restrict these new signs from Pedestrian Oriented (or PO) Overlay Districts. This morning, the Council majority voted to strip out those protections on an 8-5 vote. I believe that these dynamic signs are not in keeping with the intent of PO districts. They are clearly aimed at drivers. Tellingly, the only types of businesses that have approached the City looking to install these signs so far are gas stations. This restriction was also in keeping with the existing signage regulations in PO districts. We already prohibit "pole signs, backlit awning and canopy signs and backlit insertable panel projecting signs" in PO districts, because these signs are aim...

This Friday the city council will vote on changing a spacing restriction on liquor stores. Currently, city ordinance requires any new liquor store to be 2,000 feet away from any other liquor store and 300 feet away from a school or place of religious assembly (synagogue, church, mosque, temple etc.). The Minneapolis Code of Ordinances restricts other activities in close proximity to places of religious assembly and schools such as adult entertainment businesses and pawn shops. Liquor stores are currently restricted from locating within 300 feet as measured from the front door to the front door. Council Member Tuthill is proposing to change this measurement to be from property line to property line rather than door to door. For more information there has been some coverage of this in the press : The staff report and first proposed amendment can be found in agenda item 7. here : Before I vote on Friday I would like to hear your opinion. Let me know if you have any questions or need addi...

Last night, the City Planning Commission unanimously sent the Urban Agriculture Topical Plan forward. I look forward to strongly supporting it when it comes before both the Zoning and Planning committee and the full Council. I see this plan as one of the most important steps the City can take in implementing the Homegrown Minneapolis recommendations. The plan recommends, for the first time in any policy document, that the City allow commercial food growing in Minneapolis, along with a great many other important recommendations. Altogether, the plan's recommendations will help make Minneapolis a leader in the local food movement, improving the health, sustainability and economy of our city.

Today, the Council’s Regulatory, Energy and Environment committee received a report from staff on an ordinance change that would dramatically improve our ordinances in terms of making rental property safer, healthier, more economical and more environmentally sustainable. If adopted, these changes would require that landlords protect their tenants in the following ways: All landlords would be required to do a furnace/boiler safety test by a licensed mechanical or gas contractor every two years, unless the furnace or boiler is under 10 years old. All owners of single family rentals would be required to get an energy audit with a blower test and thermal scan by a certified auditor. If property fails the initial blower door standard, air sealing must occur resulting in at least a 20% improvement on the initial blower door test or attic bypasses and major air leaks discovered by the thermal scan must be sealed. It should be noted that energy audits are heavily subsidized by Centerpoint and ...

I was proud to present a resolution honoring Interim Elections Director Ginny Gelms at the last Council meeting. The text is below. I want to just add that it has been a pleasure working with Ginny, and I wish her all the best. Resolution of the City of Minneapolis By Gordon, Reich, Hofstede, Johnson, Samuels, Lilligren, Goodman, Glidden, Schiff, Tuthill, Quincy, Colvin Roy and Hodges Honoring Ginny Gelms, Interim Assistant Clerk and Director of Elections, for her service to the people of Minneapolis Whereas, Ginny Gelms started with the City of Minneapolis in March of 2008 as an Elections Technician and became Interim Elections Director in March of 2010; and, Whereas, as Interim Elections Director, Ginny managed a 1.2 million dollar budget, the City Hall Elections Office and the elections warehouse and training facility, a permanent staff of four, a seasonal administrative staff of twenty, and over two thousand election judges serving 233,079 Minneapolis registered voters; and, Wher...

This morning, the Council adopted new definitions and protections for solar energy systems. The new ordinance provides much greater clarity for dealing with solar energy systems. It defines and sets standards for building mounted and freestanding solar systems and makes clear that solar access easements may be purchased by property owners. For the first time, it provides specific guidance to the Planning Commission that existing solar energy systems should be given special consideration if and when a proposed development would shadow them. When this proposal came before committee, I moved to postpone it for two weeks so that we could get more input on the specifics and potentially make some tweaks to make it better. And sure enough, I believe we did. At committee this cycle, Council Member Lisa Goodman moved to raise the percentage of a residential lot that could be covered by a freestanding system from 3% to 5%. This means that for a standard 5,000 square foot city lot, the maxi...

For the first time ever this morning, the Council has directly appointed a group of residents to the Bicycle Advisory Committee (or BAC). They also appointed me to be the Council staff member of the group. I appreciate this opportunity; I've been a regular participant on the BAC since 2006, and look forward to being part of its work as a formal member. The City's work on bicycling has long been an interest and focus of mine, and I take this new responsibility very seriously. The new BAC met in early February as an informal body, and I'm excited about the incredible people who make up the new committee. We've got much better age, race, gender, geographical, and rider-type diversity than the old group had. The group includes folks who ride in all weather and folks who just ride when it's warm, a bike-related business, long-term BAC participants and new perspectives. I'm impressed with how well-balanced the new group is, and by the caliber of all of the folks...

St. Paul has joined Minneapolis in adopting a Ranked Choice Voting ordinance. I've had the chance to check it out, and it looks good; similar to the Minneapolis ordinance, though not exactly the same. I want to specifically congratulate St. Paul Council Member Russ Stark for the culmination of his great work on this issue.

At my urging, the Council's Intergovernmental Relations committee has unanimously approved an amendment to our state legislative agenda opposing the pro-gun, pro-violence agenda of the Republicans in the state legislature. Here's the language: "Minneapolis opposes efforts to weaken Minnesota's gun laws and regulations such as legislation undermining local background checks, shoot-first legislation, legislation prohibiting State Colleges and Universities from banning guns on campus, and a constitutional amendment on the right to keep, bear and use arms." I thank my colleagues for joining me in getting the City on record formally opposing these terrible ideas.

I applaud Police Chief Tim Dolan for today's op-ed in the Star Tribune entitled " More Guns? That's preposterous ." It's great to see him taking a principled, passionate stand for the safety of Minneapolis communities and common-sense limitations on guns. He backs up his arguments with an impressive array of facts that prove that people with guns are less safe, and that societies with fewer guns are significantly safer. Thank you, Chief.

I've received some very interesting information detailing the great work that the Community Planning and Economic Development department is doing to strengthen the economy in Minneapolis, and more specifically in the Second Ward. The Great Streets program has led to significant investments in Second Ward small businesses. Since 2007, Great Streets funding of business district support all over the Ward (Seward, the West Bank, Southeast and Stadium Village), façade improvement grants and real estate development loans totaling $1.4 million has leveraged more than $11.7 million in private investment. That's a leverage rate of more than 8 to 1 . And those investments mean jobs: an estimated 79 jobs were created and 92 were retained due to this program, the large majority of them at the highly successful Seward Coop expansion. Since 2006, CPED has made 60 small business finance loans available to Second Ward businesses, totaling over $3 million. But partly due to that City financi...

The City received what I consider to be very good news today: Democratic officials have decided to hold the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, rather than Minneapolis. In a time when we are cutting vital services like neighborhood organizations, I'm glad to see that we won't be on the hook for the sorts of costs and risks that come with a major party convention in 2012. I'm also relieved that we won't be the epicenter for the sort of police-state actions that seem to occur at every convention for both major parties, with little or no local control over those actions. I consider this "loss" a great win for Minneapolis.