LRT Station Area Rezoning Study
NENA's Suggested Revisions (pdf)
NENA's "What the Plan Says" Summary (pdf)
Area character photos, "snaps"

Nokomis East Station Area Plan Finalized
(Jan 13, 2007)

On January 12, 2007, the full City Council unanimously approved the Nokomis East Station Area Plan (NESAP), putting closure on over two years of planning and public discussion.

While acknowledging many of the unique difficulties the process faced, 12th Ward Council Member Sandy Colvin Roy praised the final plan for its balance of City goals and neighborhood interests. She also thanked the many individuals and groups who have put so much effort into the process.

Certainly, not everyone will applaud the final product. Balancing expected growth and diverse housing needs with existing neighborhood character and history is always difficult. Time will tell how successful this effort is, but Nokomis East residents now have a strong foundation for guiding the future direction of their neighborhood over the next decade or so.

The full plan will be published here and on the City's NESAP pages when the City has finished revisions reflecting changes and modifications since the October draft was published.

Previous Updates:

Amended Plan passed Zoning and Planning on 1/4/07

On Thursday January 4th, the City Council's Zoning and Planning Committee adopted the Nokomis East Light Rail Transit Station Area Plan (NESAP), subject to several amendments brought forward by Ward 12 Council Member Sandy Colvin Roy.

Previously, the City's Planning Commission had approved the Plan with a series of changes recommended by the city's Community Planning and Economic Development Department (CPED) as outlined in a separate document.  For the most part, those changes reflected a good balance between the City's goals for higher density and what residents had requested. Still, there were three areas that NENA felt were important enough to warrant further discussion. The amendments proposed below by Council Member Colvin Roy were a result of subsequent discussions.

The Plan was approved unanimously with the following revisions:

1. Section 1.2.1: Replace “3-4 Storey Mixed Use” designation with “2-3 Storey Mixed Use.” Staff is directed to amend the remainder of the plan to reflect this change.

Comment: This limits building heights at 50th and Hiawatha to 3 storeys instead of the 4 storeys CPED had requested.

2. Section 2.10.2: “In its consideration of future development in the Yardville precinct, the City may should develop more explicit guidelines for the potential transfer of the Mn/DOT property and Yardville ROW which preserve the spirit of the historic “Yardville” name and shared nature of the open space.”

Comment: The wording change helps protect the Yardville right-of-way (ROW) as an open space set-aside in the Hiawatha Lane/Riverview Road area.   It was NENA's position that the ROW is a stand-alone, historic asset to the neighborhood and as the only open space articulated in the entire plan, should not be sacrificed to create a larger site plans as requested by CPED or used to credit the open space requirements of any future development.

3. Section 2.10.8: “Given that Yardville [area] is within close proximity to the VA LRT station, higher density residential housing can be supported in this area. The type of residential development could range from detached single family to multi-family, and include a mix of owner-occupied and rental units. Given the amount of publicly owned land within the precinct, the sale of this property will be the first market opportunity. The subsequent development opportunities on this property will be determined partly by the purchaser. This is an opportunity for a public/private partnership which would involve a blend of market rate and affordable housing types.”

Comment: The amended language returns owner-occupied and market rate housing to the possible building uses and types. CPED had previously eliminated references to owner-occupied and market rate housing and had added language that supported specific building outcomes. It is NENA's position that language pointing to a specific type of development was intentionally not part of the planning process and as such is not appropriate for the final plan.  The previous language also pointed to higher density than the plan suggests elsewhere for Yardville, and ran counter to people’s preferences for a smaller-scale infill approach.

The amended Plan goes in front of the City Council on January 12 for final approval and subsequent incorporation into the City's Comprehensive Plan.

NENA would like to thank Council Member Colvin Roy for her willingness to listen to, and value, the opinions of Nokomis East residents on this difficult and complex issue.

(January 5, 2007)

Final Plan to go before Planning Commission on Nov 27.
NENA sends City Planner list of suggested revisions

We are encouraging interested residents and property owners to attend the Plan’s public hearing with the Planning Commission this coming Monday, November 27. The meeting starts at 4:30 in the Council Chambers (Room 317) at City Hall.

In early October, NENA received the first look at the Nokomis East Station Area Plan since the City last presented a very rough draft to Steering Committee members on July 26.  At that time, the City asked that we not release the plan in whole as it wasn't ready for prime-time.  (On August 3, NENA held an open house and presented the Land Use sections of the plan for the purpose of gathering comments.)  During that period, the City's consulting contract with Hay Dobbs expired

That was the last anyone saw of the plan until printed copies were mailed to NENA's office and to Steering Committee members on October 6.  That marked the beginning of a final 45-day comment period before the finished Plan goes before the Minneapolis Planning Commission on November 27.

In the interim, City Planner Mike Larson has done a lot of work to reflect public input and complete missing sections. The City has indicated that it considers the Plan a finished work at this point.  This much improved release is far more complete and robust than any previous version.  Still, we consider this version more a "final draft,"  and there is more work that could, and should, be done.

Gathering Input

With that in mind, NENA held an Open House on November 2nd to allow neighborhood residents another chance to review and discuss highlights of the Plan.  NENA displayed enlarged versions of key illustrations and text passages from the plan and handed out an Executive Summary along with Plan Highlights fact sheets with associated questions. Rather than breaking out into groups based on geographical "precincts" as was done in previous meetings, the subject matter was broken into topics: 1) Land Use, 2) Urban Design, 3) Economics and Feasibility, and 4) Traffic and Access.  Participants were asked to make written comments and suggestions specific to each area.

A follow up group discussion narrowed the issues to key elements of the plan, including density levels, heights allowed for new buildings, pedestrian-friendly improvements, traffic and circulation, commercial development, and priorities for public investment.  

NENA has since used those oral and written comments to formulate our requests for revisions to the plan before it is presented to the Planning Commission.  Download NENA's Suggested Revisions document here. (205 KB, Adobe PDF )

The Changes

Essentially, we asked for somewhat lower height recommendations, capped at four storeys on new buildings at 54th Street and along Minnehaha Avenue and three storeys at 50th Street and Hiawatha. 

We asked that consideration be given to creating a larger setback requirement for alleys along Minnehaha so that they may be widened or modified if future development necessitates it, and that the policy of no new curb cuts on Minnehaha Avenue be reconsidered to allow forced right-in and right-out only turns.

We also requested the proposed pedestrian and bicycle “promenade” along Old Hiawatha from 52nd Street to 50th Street be extended north of 50th Street to create a connection to Minnehaha Creek, and that pedestrian lighting be added to the suggested implementation as a priority.

Why?

The most often mentioned concern of residents was excessive building height relative to existing structures.  By requesting a four-storey cap, we are attempting to strike a balance between the preservation of our neighborhood's residential character and the City's desire for more housing density, especially along major public transit routes.

Unlike the industrial and commercial areas that parallel the upper Hiawatha Corridor, the section south of Minnehaha Creek has historically remained a low-rise, single-family residential district with the vast majority of buildings being single-storey homes and a few two-storey fourplexes. With the exception of the two new condo developments on Minnehaha, there are only handful of two to two and a half-storey homes and apartments, and two 3-storey multi-family units in the planning area.  There has never been much in the way of commercial, and virtually no industrial use in the Plan's area.

Even with the revisions, the Plan would still support the City's goal of higher density. The revisions to the plan would allow a tripling of height in most of its area.  At 50th Street and along Minnehaha Ave, the plan allows for 4 times the existing storeys on most properties.

And, of course the density would rise accordingly. Using a single development for example, the new four-storey, 40-unit Olin Crossings building occupies a space once occupied by a small motel and two homes, an area roughly equivalent to five single-family lots. That one project--had it replaced all single-family homes--would have created an equivalent increase of 800% in housing unit density. As it was, the motel had a manager's apartment, so the actual increase was from 3 dwelling units to 40, or a 1300% increase in unit density.

The Upcoming Planning Commission Meeting

We are encouraging interested residents and property owners to attend the Plan’s public hearing with the Planning Commission on Monday, November 27. The meeting starts at 4:30 in the Council Chambers (Room 317) at City Hall. After the Planning Commission, the plan goes to City Council committees and the full Council for adoption.

We expect the approval process to move fairly quickly.

This plan will guide future development along the light rail line and areas between and around the 50th Street and VA Medical Center LRT stations for the next 20 to 30 years.  NENA has been working on the public planning process for over a year, and for nearly a year before that on background research, issues and other preparations.

We are confident that we will see a vision and plan adopted that balances neighborhood desires for maintaining the unique character of our residential area with the very real need to develop new housing and commercial space that both enhances that character and prepares for the expected growth in our future.

November 15, 2006

Property Database Update

We plan to restart our project to build a database of property information and photographs for most of the residential and commercial properties in both station areas. The individual records are intended to show what exists in the neighborhood at this time, and to help put a face on any properties being discussed. The work has been put on hold during the Station Area Planning process, and is expected to continue next spring.

Four interns from the University of Minnesota spent many hours in the fall of 2005 and early winter of 2006 helping to photograph and research hundreds of properties.  The data records, all collected from Hennepin County's publicly available taxpayer's parcel information, is being assembled into block-by-block groups. Ultimately, we will produce a "book of properties" for use in the NENA office and at meetings.

Out of concern for privacy, none of the individual residential property records--although comprised of readily available public data--will be published to our website. Photos of commercial properties, landscape shots (block faces, streetscapes, etc. ) and a few select single-family homes may be highlighted in displays and online, but without any property information.

NENA would like to thank interns Malia Lee, Josh Dye, Matthew Tabaka, and Eric Weisse for the valuable work they did for us.

March, 2006

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