PUBLIC HEARING TO DISCUSS EXPANDING TIF DISTRICT PROJECT AREA TO INCLUDE PART OF MORNINGSIDE

The City Council has called a public hearing for February 21, 2012 to discuss a proposal to expand the Centennial Lakes TIF redevelopment district project area. The currently proposed expanded project area includes an area of Morningside (see map here). The MNA steering committee met with City Manager Scott Neal to discuss the proposal. After the meeting, the Steering Committee sent the following email to Manager Neal:

The proposed expansion would encompass a large part of the Morningside neighborhood. It would include an unspecified number of R-1 [single family residential, park, church, and school] parcels not noted as potential areas of change in the Comprehensive Plan. The proposed expansion would also encompass the neighborhood commercial area at 44th & France/Sunnyside & France. This commercial area is noted as a potential area of change in the Comprehensive Plan (p. 4-31). 

After consideration of the information presented, the steering committee voted to support two recommendations. If the project area is expanded, the steering committee recommends that:

·      The project area boundaries be drawn to exclude all currently zoned R-1 parcels in Morningside.

·      The expansion be conditioned on or include a guarantee of a public process to complete a small area plan for the neighborhood commercial area at 44^th & France/Sunnyside & France.

The steering committee will notify the neighborhood through our email distribution list of the upcoming public hearing and include links to information available on the City's website and an explanation of our recommendations. Please know the steering committee does not speak for the neighborhood. Residents will be encouraged to become informed and weigh in as they choose. 

A small area plan (SAP) is a conceptual framework for future development/redevelopment in a specific area. Small area plans, along with related ordinances, are used to guide development decisions when a project requires special permission, such as a variance, zoning change, or conditional use permit. A small area plan was developed for the neighborhood commercial area at 44th & France/Sunnyside & France in 1990. This plan was later incorporated by reference in the 1998 City of Edina Comprehensive Plan. 

In 2004, the neighborhood association requested a resident-inclusive process to update the SAP for the neighborhood commercial area at 44th & France/Sunnyside & France. We were told the SAP would be updated along with the Comprehensive Plan in 2008. 

In 2008, during the Comprehensive Plan update, Morningside residents requested a process to develop a new SAP for the neighborhood commercial area at 44^th & France/Sunnyside & France and were told this process would happen at a later date.

There is currently no SAP to guide development/redevelopment in the neighborhood commercial area at 44th & France/Sunnyside & France (however, heights and densities are generally defined for neighborhood commercial areas in the Comprehensive Plan and uses are defined by zoning code). 

In a later email, Manager Neal shared that he is preparing alternative maps for the Council also to consider at the public hearing. These alternative maps would exclude all of Morningside and the 44th & France/Sunnyside & France commercial area.

The public hearing will be held during the regular City Council and Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) meetings on February, 21, 2012, in Council Chambers at City Hall. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. The agenda and materials will be posted (most likely) the Friday before the meeting at the following link: http://www.ci.edina.mn.us/departments/WatchaMeeting.htm

Background:

 

Funds generated by the Centennial Lakes TIF (Tax Increment Financing) District can only be spent for public improvements in connection with development/redevelopment within the defined project area. By expanding the project area, the City expands the area in which these funds can be spent. The Centennial Lakes TIF District is anticipated to have about $16.8 million in funds available when the district decertifies in 2014. These funds must have been spent or be committed ("programmed") to projects at that time. 

The Council and HRA programs funds for projects through the Capital Improvement Plan. This 5-year plan is updated every year. Currently, all (or nearly all) of the funds anticipated to be available in 2014 are committed to transportation-related public improvements in the greater Southdale area. Other recently proposed uses for some of these funds include a loan to Simon Properties (owners of Southdale mall) and funds to help complete the Small Area Plan at GrandView. 

We have been told there are currently no proposals for redevelopment at 44th & France/Sunnyside & France for which TIF funds could be spent for related public improvements. If the Council approves an expanded project area that excludes 44th & France/Sunnyside & France and a proposal for redevelopment comes forward in the future, the Council could decide at that time to expand the project area further. 

The steering committee also asked whether the City would have expanded powers to condemn properties for public or private redevelopment in the expanded project area. This was a concern to many in the neighborhood in 2004 (at that time, the commercial area and some residential properties at 44th & France/Sunnyside & France were in a development district, which gave the City the power to use eminent domain for private redevelopment). The following answer was provided in an email to Manager Neal from TIF consultant Jessica Cook of Ehlers and Associates:

The purpose of this e-mail is to address your question about whether the City or HRA  can condemn property if that property is included  in a Redevelopment Project Area.  The answer is no.  Cities and HRA’s do not have the power to condemn property for economic development or redevelopment purposes. Property acquired for economic development or redevelopment may only be acquired from voluntary sellers at a negotiated price.

Similarly, the HRA and City must follow all of its normal planning and approval processes prior to approving a development, regardless of whether the development is located within the Redevelopment Project Area.  The  only purpose of including property in a Redevelopment Project Area is to provide a future funding source for development or redevelopment that would be otherwise approved. 

To learn more:

Edina Planning Commission meeting, January 25, 2012: http://www.ci.edina.mn.us/departments/WatchaMeeting.htm

DRAFT Centennial Lakes TIF Modification Plan (from January 25, 2012 Planning Commission meeting)

Proposed Expanded Project Area map

Edina Zoning Map that shows 44th & France/Sunnyside & France Commercial area

Please contact the steering committee at edina.morningside@gmail.com with any questions. To email Manager Neal or the City Council, please send to: edinamail@ci.edina.mn.us.

Email list update

If you are currently on the email list, please let us know if you have moved out of the Morningside Neighborhood or have a different preferred email address. If you are a Morningside resident or property owner and would like to be added to the email list to receive notices from the neighborhood association, please email edina.morningside@gmail.com.

Learn about Living Streets on February 14

Learn about Living Streets at a special presentation 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, in Room 350 of the Edina Community Center, 5701 Normandale Road.

In May 2011, the Edina City Council authorized the Edina Transportation Commission to draft a Living Streets Policy and implementation plan. Over the next few months, the Commission will work with the community to develop such a policy and plan.

 

Living Streets balance the needs of motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders in a way that promotes safety and convenience and enhances community identity, economic vitality and opportunities for active living, better health and environmental sustainability.

 

National urban planning expert Ryan Snyder, who coordinated the recently published “Los Angeles County Living Streets Model Street Design Manual,” will be the featured presenter at the Feb. 14 session. Snyder is an instructor with the Federal Highways Administration Pedestrian Safety Design, a certified National Safe Routes to School instructor and teaches a class on Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning to graduate students in the UCLA Urban Planning Department. He is also the former Vice President of the Los Angeles Board of Transportation Commissioners.

 

This event is sponsored by City of Edina and supported by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) as part of a new initiative called do.town. do.town is a collaborative initiative of the cities of Bloomington, Edina and Richfield and Blue Cross to improve the health of each community by making sustainable changes that support healthy eating and active living choices. Living Streets is an example of how cities can be designed and built to help support the environment, provide economic value and improve people’s health by making the healthy choice the easy choice.

 

The presentation is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required. For more 

information, contact Edina Transportation Commissioner Katherine Bass, 651-662-9326.