Finding a Green Way to Govern

This morning, the Council unanimously passed the resolution I authored calling for the state and federal governments to phase out triclosan in consumer products, and urging all Minneapolis residents, businesses, and public agencies to stop buying products containing triclosan. Here's the City's news release: Feb. 21, 2014 (MINNEAPOLIS) The Minneapolis City Council today approved a resolution that supports phasing out the antibacterial chemical triclosan from consumer products in Minnesota. Triclosan in consumer products causes known problems without having demonstrated benefits. The chemical appears in a wide range of consumer products – including soap, mouthwash, detergent, deodorant and even packaging – even though in these products it has not been proven to protect health. Triclosan has been shown to break down in lakes and rivers into potent, cancer-causing agents that accumulate in the food chain. Triclosan has been shown to disrupt healthy hormone production and...

On February 12 th  at the Executive Committee meeting I voted against the reappointment of Susan Segal to the positions of City Attorney.  I also intend to oppose her reappointment when it will likely come before the full council next month following a public hearing that will be held on Monday, March 3 rd at 1:30 before the Ways and Means committee.                                 As much as I admire the skills, knowledge and commitment that the City Attorney has, I do not support her reappointment for two main reasons: her handling of the stadium decision and her approach to prosecuting peaceful protesters.  Let me explain, below the fold.

I’m working on an ordinance that would allow areas in Minneapolis to form conservation districts.  For an overview of the ordinance’s intent – and a response to some of the supporters who feel my ordinance isn’t going far enough – go here . The point of this post is to respond to some of the concerns from people who aren’t sure they support the idea of allowing conservation districts at all.   Most of these folks seem to be under the impression that the purpose of conservation districts is to limit growth and density.   As the author of the ordinance, I can tell you that’s not the intent, and I don’t think it’s the correct interpretation.

For months now, I have been working with Planning staff and interested stakeholders on an ordinance that would open up the opportunity for communities to create “conservation districts.”   A conservation district is a tool that a given area could use to, as the ordinance says, “perpetuate and proliferate” its notable visual character. My work on this has been driven by the experience of the Prospect Park neighborhood with the existing process for designating historic districts.   There was substantial interest in Prospect Park in creating a local historic district, but it turned out that the regulations such a district would have placed on individual property owners were more stringent than most people in the neighborhood were willing to accept.   More importantly, there was little flexibility in crafting guidelines for this local district that would meet the needs of the community while not placing onerous requirements on property owners. My hope is that ...

Much of the most recent discourse about the proposed Conservation District ordinance I am bringing forward has turned into a pro-density vs. anti-density debate. While I can see why and how this has happened, and how in some instances a Conservation District could be used to protect a less dense area, it doesn’t reflect my intentions. I am a strong advocate of smart growth and increasing density in the urban core especially where there are walkable communities, connections to the cultural, commercial, recreational and natural amenities people appreciate and when it is located on, or near, transit corridors. It is, in large part, because I am convinced that having the Conservation District tool available will help ensure the harmonious, efficient and successful growth of greater density in our city that I am bringing it forward and have been working on it for over a year. Because of the recent discourse and because I want people to better understand and carefully consider ways ...