The Venue at Dinkytown - (14th Avenue SE & 5th Street SE)

[mattaudio]

I'm assuming the Daily got this wrong and the architecture student was speaking of the UTEC development across the street.

[twincitizen]

Hello all: long time follower, first time poster.

TC Daily Planet has an online poll up about the project; I'm sure you'll want to sway this particular unscientific poll.

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/poll/whats ... evelopment

I understand how petty/pointless winning this poll is, but "our side" is still winning, just FYI.

Less than 48 hours to contact those councilmembers folks!

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/council/index.htm

[mattaudio]

https://streets.mn/2013/07/31/city-coun ... dinkytown/
Good article from Bill.

[lordmoke]

^That is easily one of, if not the, best things I have seen written about this whole ordeal. Bravo.

[kellonathan]

From the "Save Dinkytown" website...

The City Council meets Friday, August 2nd, at 9:30 a.m.

Please try to be there to show your support for Save Dinkytown. The meeting is in the City Council Chamber, Room 317 City Hall. We’ll make some signs but feel free to make and bring your own. There likely won’t be public comment time so a physical presence in the room is crucial.

Now I am seriously considering making some signs like "A parking lot is not a museum" and show up at the meeting this Friday. This whole thing is making me grit my teeth now.

[FISHMANPET]

I'm irked that Gary allowed public comment at the last meeting.

[twincitizen]

[email protected]
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[email protected] (EDIT: correct email address now listed)

Most of the above I guessed on and did not get bounceback notifications, so I assume they are correct. Going through the City's website to contact your councilmember makes you fill out one of those stupid forms, and nobody likes doing that, so I figured this would be helpful.

Don't be afraid to send a mass email to all of them. I did. BCC if you want, whatever, just get it done. It will take you 10 minutes tops!

We need 7 total yes votes. Schiff and Reich were supportive in committee.

Specifically, we need to convince 5 of the following 7 councilmembers: Johnson, Lilligren, Samuels, Glidden, Quincy, Hodges, Colvin Roy.
Not having any insight to their leanings, let's assume they're all in play and all "maybes" at this point.
Go get 'em boys and girls.

EDIT: I just heard from a friend who knows these sorts of things, it doesn't hurt to call them either. That could easily be more effective than a throwaway email.

[minnyapple]

^^^^I sent an email in support of the OPUS development to all you listed. Thanks for taking the time to look up the email addresses. Is Anyone on here going to attend the meeting Friday morning? I sadly can't.

[exiled_antipodean]

Can't make the Friday meeting, but emailed all the council members. Worth emailing Rybak as well, bully pulpit and all.

I went and looked up how many people used to live on this block historically before the 1960s zoning code required all that off-street parking. In 1930 and 1940 censuses there were nearly 100 people living on the block.

I put in my letter that Opus' proposal would restore the block as it used to be historically by bringing residents back.

[mullen]

hey legislator for life and nicollet island denizen phyllis kahn said something. cuz u know this is a state issue.
http://www.minnpost.com/community-voice ... -dinkytown

[Snelbian]

"Al's could be next..."

DRINK!

[Silk2]

I plan to attend with some of my colleagues tomorrow at 9:00 to show my support. Yes, we will bring signs because apparently shrillness is more effective than reason. I encourage all of you who support this project to attend. Come early because I suspect the Save Dinkytown people will come early and come in droves. It should be interesting. Hope to see many of you there.

[min-chi-cbus]

Can't make the Friday meeting, but emailed all the council members. Worth emailing Rybak as well, bully pulpit and all.

I went and looked up how many people used to live on this block historically before the 1960s zoning code required all that off-street parking. In 1930 and 1940 censuses there were nearly 100 people living on the block.

I put in my letter that Opus' proposal would restore the block as it used to be historically by bringing residents back.

Nice! You could bring a sign that says "let's keep this block in its historical form.....urban and densely populated".

[FISHMANPET]

I don't know why I waited until now (it's so late it probably won't matter anyway) but I emailed everybody on the council. Other than changing the intro for Cam (my current CM) and Robert (my future CM), this is the letter I sent:

I am writing you not as a resident of your Ward, but as a resident of this wonderful city.

I am hoping that you will vote to approve the rezoning in Dinkytown so that the Opus development may go forward as currently planned.

I could make an emotional plea using my connection to Dinkytown (which I have), but I'd prefer to make a logical argument, as I think this development should be approved on its merits, not voted down based on emotional appeals. But for full disclosure, I'm a University of Minnesota graduate who currently works at the University of Minnesota.

First and foremost, the properties to be developed are 70% surface parking lots. There is nothing historic about surface parking, nor does it add to the character of the area. It also doesn't produce nearly as much property tax revenue as a six story building would on this site.

As to businesses being displaced, The Book House and The Podium have already relocated. Duffy's has made a promise to reopen in the new space. And most importantly, House of Hanson is closing no matter what. It has nothing to do with rent in the new building, as many seem to think, and everything to do with increased competition from CVS and the upcoming grocery store across the street in the UTEC development.

If the rezoning is not approved, these buildings will all become vacant. Vacant storefronts do not add to the character of the neighborhood.

The building that House of Hanson currently occupies is in no way historic, it is a generic 1 story brick building. Any character it has is related to the businesses it contains, which have either relocated, or have been closed because of other pressures unrelated to this development.

Dinkytown's supposed parking problem is also a myth. This redevelopment will replace the current public parking spaces. However, as was stated during testimony to the planning commission (which unanimously voted to approve the rezoning, by the way), the current owner of the lot said that it is currently not profitable. Furthermore, many of the businesses that are complaining about parking problems in Dinkytown no longer work with the lot owners to provide parking validation for their businesses.

Finally, and most importantly, Dinkytown is a place of change. The Dinkytown of today is different of the various iterations of DInkytown of the past. I see no reason why we should be the people to decide that Dinkytown has accumulated enough character that we can now freeze it in place. Why didn't we freeze it in the 40s before Dayton's closed? Or in the 70s after Bob Dylan moved out of his room above the drug store (freezing at this point would have prevented Loring Pasta Bar from ever existing). Or we could freeze it in the 90s before a change in liquor licensing allowed more bars to open in the neighborhood. I would say that part of the charm of Dinkytown is that it is always evolving, and has something new to offer to every generation that has the pleasure of visiting it.

I hope that you will take into account all of the facts surrounding this and vote to approve the rezoning.

Thank you,
Peter Bajurny
<My Address>

[Silophant]

I sent them all one last email as well. I figure (hope) that at least they'll each have a staffer scan through them tomorrow morning and give them a summary of how many emails they got in support and against.

[Silophant]

I got a response from Elizabeth Glidden early this morning. Just says "Thanks for taking the time to write this to me" but the signature has both the E and the L in ELizabeth capitalized, so it was at least written by a person, not a script.

Is anyone going to the meeting?

[mattaudio]

I sent an email as well. Planning to be at the meeting. UrbanMSP meet up somewhere at 9:15? Anyone have an extra sign I could use?

[Silophant]

I won't be able to make it, I'm just hoping someone there will occasionally post updates for the rest of us, like twincitizen did last time.

[mplsjaromir]

Goodman said she was against rezoning in an email to me.

[TheUrbanGopher]

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/tv/79

Charter chat is running a little long.