Funny How Time Slips Away

Summer's slipping away and I haven't blogged much at all.  Maybe a couple of times. Well, summer is almost gone--it's September next week (aack!) and it's time to get back in the habit of blogging on a regular basis.

I like blogging because it gives me a way of sharing my opinion (everybody's got one), highlighting the good things happening in the city (I see lots of great things), or venting on bad things that are happening in the city (no shortage there either, unfortunately). I know, facebook gives you that outlet too and I admit, FB is part of the reason I haven't blogged. FB is quick and short and mindless. It kind of sucks you in and -poof- the whole night is gone. Blogging takes more thought and maybe even a bit of work--research, developing your narrative, writing complete sentences. You know, thinking.

Another reason to start posting again is because I am running for city council. I hope that my blog posts will help the people of Ward 4 get to know me and my ideas on city issues.

Getting ready for door knocking. My candidate pin.

But my ultimate reason for blogging is to get more local government information out to city residents, try to help make sense of it and encourage civic participation.

For example, did you know that there is a city newsletter posted on the city's webpage every week? Here's the link to archived newsletters.
Did you know that there are city volunteer openings on two commissions? City Charter Commission and Joint Planning Commission (JPC). These volunteer positions have been open for quite a while.

You'd think that citizens would be anxious for opportunities to have a voice in the city's affairs, but the city has had a difficult time keeping their six spots filled on the JPC, even though it's a paid volunteer position ($50 per meeting). Personally, I think the JPC is too large (12 members, 6 township and 6 city reps.). I think that reducing the membership to 8 would encourage better attendance (there is rarely full attendance) and tighten up meetings.  Having 12 members just seems to allow members the ability to be free-riders. I imagine members thinking:

"If the other 11 members prepare, I really don't have to. I don't have to read the whole packet, I can skim  it. Who would notice if I'm not  prepared for the meetings? Everybody can't talk, there are 12 of us, for crying out loud!"

Don't get me wrong. I believe the JPC members take their roles seriously and work hard, but  I watched the JPC tonight. There were only nine in attendance. I think it needs to be smaller.

It's good to be back writing a blog. I hope you'll return again. In the mean time, "gee ain't it funny, how time slips away" (courtesy of Willie Nelson).

Civic Engagement Rewind

Crowds are not beating down the doors of city hall to sign up for the volunteer spots available with the city.  There are still two volunteer commission spots open: one on the Charter Commission, and most recently, a spot on the Joint Planning Commission (JPC) came open. I blogged about volunteer opportunities last month. On Monday, the council will approve an appointment to the HPC. And now a city appointee to the JPC has resigned, leaving a new opening.

 [2009 RDG Downtown Plan]

The JPC is a twelve-member commission that advises the Joint Planning Board on planning and zoning applications.  They meet monthly on the fourth Thursday of the month and occasionally for special meetings. This is the only city commission that is paid--$50 per meeting--and has interesting work to do. The application process is online here.

Let's Make a Deal, Round 3: South Shore Application on JPB Agenda

The Edgewater Group representative, Rich Siegert will make his case for an amendment to the South Shore Planned Unit Development to the Greater Bemidji Area Joint Planning Board when they meet on Wednesday, March 10.  The meeting is at 6:00pm at City Hall.  This is Siegert's third appearance before the JPB, after having presented twice in February.

His application would allow him to build a new hotel attached to the Green Mill. (Read my original post on the project.)  The muddle has been caused by local MN DNR opposition to shoreland setbacks requested in his proposal.  After Siegert's last appearance before the JPB, and under threat of legal action against the JPB by the DNR, he was instructed to meet with the DNR to find a workable solution that both sides could support. He met with DNR officials, the planning administrator and the JPB legal council for more than two hours last week. 

The state has given the DNR responsibility to develop shoreland guidelines through model ordinances, but has assigned responsibility to local governments for ordinance adoption, administration and enforcement.  The variance process is an administrative/enforcement issue and should be left to the local governing body (LGU), the Joint Planning Board. while finding a compromise makes sense, the DNR should let the LGU decide the issue. A recent Supreme Court ruling on a similar issue on the St. Croix River affirmed the enforcement role of the LGU and the attorneys in the case explained it in an editorial in today's Star Tribune.

It will be interesting to see if an agreement has been struck and how the JPB handles the issue. You can tune in to see the outcome; the meeting is televised on Channel 2.

Also on the agenda, a public hearing for the semi-annual Ordinance update, which can be found here; and changes to the fee schedule.  Here is the old (2009) fee schedule. (I can't find the proposed fee schedule changes online; one can only assume that some fees are going up!)

DNR Influence in Local Decision-making: Could MN Supreme Court Ruling Have Local Impact?

While most readers were focused on the Governor's State of the State address in last Friday's (2/12/10) Star Tribune, I was interested in another story that addressed development along the St. Croix River.

The Minnesota supreme Court sided with the City of Lakeland and the property owner in a variance request that had been approved by the city. The MN DNR had opposed the variance request. The court ruled that " the state agency (MN DNR) had no authority to deny Lakeland's approval of a "setback variance" governing how (Ron) Hubbard would build his house."

"We've pushed this because we've seen so many people bullied up and down the river by the DNR," Hubbard said. "Most people can't afford to fight them."

The DNR has weighed in on a similar issue in Bemidji. The Edgewater Group has requested an amendment to the South Shore Planned Unit Development (PUD). It includes a variance to the setback on the Group's property. The amendment is needed because the development proposes buildings that connect across property lines that are outside the PUD. The amendment will bring all the properties into the PUD. (The entire South Shore Development Plan and Guidelines can be downloaded by section here.)

The Planning Commission recommended approval of the change in January; it was sent to the Joint Planning Board and heard at their February 10th meeting. In between the two meetings, the local DNR sent a letter opposing the change and threatened legal action against the JPB if they approve the variance. The Board postponed their decision to February 25th so their legal council could respond.

The proposal for the PUD amendment was worked out jointly among the developer, JPB staff and City staff after consultation with both the city's and JPB's legal advisers. It represents a reasonable and responsible approach to the proposed development that respects the spirit and intent of the current PUD.

No one can envision all of the potential scenarios that might occur during development and the current dilemma could not have been predicted. But that is why the zoning ordinance, unlike the rest of our laws, has a built-in process for change. Namely, the variance and amendment processes.

State enabling law vests local jurisdictions with the ability to create and administer local zoning regulations. The DNR has jurisdiction over public waters that extends to the shoreland through the state shoreland regulations. However, local staff, planning commission members and policy-makers--the JPB, in this case--should have the ability to thoughtfully assess the merits of local projects and "vary" the rules without the heavy-handed intrusion of the DNR. Apparently, the MN Supreme Court thinks so too.

Don’t Look Back. Look What’s Ahead in Twenty-Ten

This is the time of year when the Mayor gives the state of the city address (The Pioneer recap) and “looking back” stories appear in newspapers and blogs; But I’d rather look forward to 2010.

Is 2010 the year that this statue in Library Park is replaced?  A committee has been working on it.

Five more things to watch in 2010.

1.    Annexation—a done deal? The City council has voted to move forward with annexation, but there’s a fly in the ointment. Some Birchmont Drive residents filed a lawsuit against Northern Township to protest their assessments for the city utilities that were extended a year ago, including eight property owners that are in the annexation area.  The lawsuit against Northern Township concluded that new appraisals must be done, but they won’t be completed until summer.  Both the city and township are reluctant to move forward with annexation of these properties until the issue is resolved.  The sooner, the better. The city would like to complete the annexation prior to the April 1 Census in order to count 900 new residents in the city. There is also the matter of notifying new residents of their polling place for the November elections.

2.    Joint Planning—expanding role? Understanding the joint planning agreement is like peeling and onion: there are a lot of layers. I’m pretty sure the elected officials that signed the agreement didn’t understand all of the implications at the time, including one that came to light last week. The council discussed the potential for annexing a portion of Eckles Township during a council goal setting meeting. Oops! Can’t do that. The city has no planner and no zoning code, both having been replaced by a third party.

The city’s influence over planning—both staff’s and council’s—has been diluted by the agreement; and the city’s ability to unilaterally make any planning decisions, including annexation decisions, has been surrendered. Meanwhile, the joint planning board says they want an expanded role for planning--more than just code administration and enforcement.

3.    PEG access—has its time arrived? Could 2010 be the year that the Public, Educational, and Government use channels become reality? A definition:

P.E.G. Access: Cable channels that are given to communities as compensation by cable providers who lay cables under public rights-of-way (streets, sidewalks, etc.) These facilities, sometimes called community media centers, exist primarily to give local residents access to television equipment, training and noncommercial time on designated cable channels.

Fees to support PEG access are accumulating, but so far community members have been unsuccessful in their efforts to get traction on setting up the channels.  Local supporters have been at many council meetings and at least two committee meetings with council members. Volunteers are requesting action on the process that will give life to community media access. Players that need to come together include the council, the city attorney (rules, you know), and the two cable companies: Midcontinent and Paul Bunyan Television. Here is a concise Q and A explaining PEG access.

4.    Development continues—what recession? It appears that development in the city, lead by Menards, will continue at a brisk pace in 2010.  Here’s a recap of projects expected to get underway this year:

• Menards construction
• Headwaters Housing Development Corporation 20-unit Supportive Housing development north of Bi-CAP
• House of Hospitality facility construction
• Doubletree Hotel construction adjacent to the Green Mill
• Bowling Alley construction in Bardwell Park
• Airport Terminal expansion
• Paul Bunyan Transit Terminal expansion
• 12-unit Multi-family Residential building on 26th St. (Whelan)

Some other development “Maybes”

• 32-unit Multi-family Residential development north of Bi-CAP (Kuepers)
• O’Reilly Auto Parts? They are actively seeking a location on PB Dr. NW
• CVS Pharmacy? They generally follow Walgreens into a community and are actively expanding in the state
• Culvers Restaurant on one of the Menards outlots? They have a symbiotic relationship
• Convention hotel? A development team out of Duluth is expected to make a proposal in early 2010 for a hotel connected to the convention center.

5.    November elections—a brand new council? The majority of the current council—Wards 2, 4, At-large and Mayor—are up for (re)election in 2010, meaning that a majority of the council could turnover.  With interest in this election already heating up, there will likely be no shortage of candidates for any of the Mayor and three council seats when filing opens in June. One more wrinkle in the local races: because of the Census and annexation, redistricting in 2012 will alter the lines of Wards 1, 2, and 3. Current W-3 council member Johnson will likely be redistricted out of his Ward in 2012—the year he is up for re-election. Will he avoid that prospect by running for the At-large council seat this year?

What do you think we should watch in 2010?