Community questions whether zoning geared towards pedestrians is right for area
by Tesha M. Christensen, Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger
Cedar Towing & Auction will be moving to the Longfellow neighborhood once the company complies with various landscaping and site conditions. Company representatives hope to move into the Snelling Avenue location sometime in October, according to Minneapolis Senior City Planner Becca Farrar.
The proposal by this one business has widened into a larger discussion of whether the pedestrian-oriented overlay district in the area should be removed.
Cedar Towing is presently located at 359 Hoover Street in Minneapolis on property owned by Fulford Hoover Investments, LLC. It will be moving to 3516 and 3534 Snelling Ave., the property that formerly housed John’s Welding Service. This land is owned by Martin Kemp.
To facilitate the move to Snelling Ave., Cedar Towing asked the city to remove the pedestrian-oriented overlay on the property, which prohibited a towing company. It also asked for a conditional use permit and a variance of the off-street parking requirement. Instead of 16 off-street parking spaces, Cedar will provide four. The additional parking spaces were deemed unnecessary by the planning commission because of the short-term nature of Cedar Towing’s customers.
The city’s planning division recommended that the city deny Cedar Towing’s request as it does not match the city’s comprehensive plan. However, Planning Commission members approved it at the Aug. 29, 2011 meeting and it was subsequently approved by the City Council at its Sept. 2 meeting.
Council member and planning commissioner Gary Schiff explained, “The Planning Commission approved the site plan unanimously because in this economy, we need jobs more than we need vacant industrial buildings.”
He added, “The property is zoned industrial and the business meets the industrial zoning requirements. The Pedestrian Overlay district on this block was a mistake, and never should have been placed. Ten years ago, when light rail opened, city planners had dreams of residential high-rise living popping up all along Hiawatha Avenue and pushing out all the industrial uses. Ten years after light rail opened, we can see that not only have developers not built hi-rises, but the pedestrian overlay district has harmed small businesses.”
Dan Swenson owns Alexander’s Import Auto, which is located one block away from the Cedar Towing site and is the type of business prohibited in the pedestrian overlay district. But because of his work with Minnehaha-Hiawatha Community Works, Swenson finds himself on both sides of this issue. It’s further complicated by his desire to have a good relationship with his new neighbor. “It’s bigger than me just sitting in my chair every day,” he acknowledged.
He understands the intended goals behind the pedestrian overlay (PO) districts, which encompasses a half-mile circle around each light rail station. A pedestrian overlay supports businesses that are friendly to people biking or walking, Swenson noted, but do not include businesses geared towards motorists.
“The intentions of a PO are well intended, but don’t fit in this area,” he said, largely because of the existing grain elevators and industrial traffic on a narrow Dight Ave. coupled with the lack of sidewalks and streetlights. “The grain elevators are going nowhere,” he said, “so we have to work around them.”
He supports a move to change the pedestrian overlay, in part because he would like to expand his own business. However, he also questions why the city didn't bend its rules in the past for other businesses that have been in the area for a long time, such as his own. When he met with city staff about expanding his business because the property next to his came up for sale, he was told that his request wouldn't be approved because of the pedestrian overlay and the broader goals for the area.
The Minneapolis Planning Department intends to review the zoning in the Hiawatha Corridor in the next 18 months, noted Schiff. Community meetings will be part of the planning process, but no specific dates have been set yet.
Neighborhood concerns
A neighborhood meeting about Cedar Towing’s proposal was held on Aug. 25 at St. James A.M.E. Church. Citizens asked questions and gave some input on conditions they wanted to see attached to the conditional use permit and variance. “Neighbors had great suggestions for improving the property that became requirements for the business,” said Schiff.
Community members expressed concerns about whether the impound lot would generate crime, lower property values and increase noise and traffic.
Swenson pointed out there was a two-day notice for the meeting and only about seven community members attended. “I don’t think the community had a good chance for input,” he remarked.
According to Judy Nelson, who lives about four blocks from the Snelling site, the neighborhood meeting was useful “because it gave a chance for the Cedar Towing owner to demonstrate his family connection to the property and for the neighbors to get to know the owner and more about the business impact on the neighborhood.” She added that Cedar Towing “will be more likely to survive in these down times by moving to this property, which is already owned by a family member.”
Also, because of the meeting, landmark sculptures (such as the broken heart) will be preserved, Nelson observed. The sculptures on the site will be refurbished, if possible, as part of an overall project to improve the landscaping at the Snelling Avenue sight. A new fence will be installed and trees planted at various locations, including along Dight Ave. The giant crane on site will be dismantled.
“The decision by Cedar Towing to only use Dight Avenue for bringing cars onto the site seemed to allay most concerns by neighbors who attended the meeting,” observed Schiff, who organized the neighborhood meeting.
Cedar Towing will also work to change the official address of the property from Snelling to Dight, and remodel the building to include a front entry and parking area on Dight, according to Farrar.
Cedar Towing’s business operations include service tows, motor club towing/services, impound towing, jump starts, lock-outs, winching, tire changes and gas fills. Cedar Towing also provides snow plowing services, lot sweeping and a striping service. The business holds an Auto Lien Auction most Tuesdays at 11 a.m.
Cedar Towing declined to be interviewed for this story.
What is a Pedestrian-Oriented Overlay District?
The PO district is intended to preserve and encourage the pedestrian character of commercial areas and to promote street life and activity by regulating building orientation and by prohibiting certain high impact and automobile-oriented uses. To enhance the pedestrian experience, the ordinance requires building to provide amenities such as tables, seating and landscaping in the area between the building and the lot line.
The following uses are prohibited in the PO Overlay District:
• Drive-through facilities
• Automobile services uses
• Transportation uses
• Self service storage
• Commercial parking lots, including the expansion of any existing commercial parking lot
• Conversion of any accessory parking lot to a commercial parking lot
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