There was substantial public comment at Tuesday’s City Council meeting regarding the Fourth Street reconstruction project plan to replace the vulnerable ash trees between Washington and Division with hanging baskets and planters, rather than with new trees. (You can watch the comments and discussion of the issue at the City Council meeting beginning at time marker 01:19:02 on the KYMN video of the meeting.)
At Tuesday’s meeting, the Council directed City staff to “have staff put trees back in the sidewalk area”, “as much, as many as possible”. Several times the issue of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was brought up as the reason why sidewalk trees were not possible. No one at the meeting, including City Attorney Chris Hood, seemed to know for sure what those regulations actually are.
Another objection to sidewalk trees is that they would apparently make it impossible to have the same sort of treatment/pavers as were used in the Fifth Street project last summer due to the difference in the sidewalk widths. (I’ll bet most residents, if given the choice, would prefer trees and different sidewalk treatment over no trees but with uniformity of pavers.)
Of course, there’s a discussion of this issue on Locally Grown.
As this year’s Keeper of the Keys to the Comprehensive Plan, I thought it would be appropriate for me to post some of the mentions of street trees in the Comp Plan, just to keep Northfield’s guiding document in people’s minds as it relates to this issue.
Street/sidewalk/boulevard trees are referred to in several different areas of the Comprehensive Plan. They’re mentioned as a part of community identity; as part of land use policy; and also in the environmental resources chapter, to name a few. For example:
CI (Community Identity) 4.4: Require new neighborhoods to create neighborhood scaled streets, with street trees and sidewalks (see Figure 4.4).
LU (Land Use) 4.4: Create regulations that require high-quality pedestrian streets with sidewalks, street trees, and adequate lighting, where appropriate.
ER (Environmental Resources) 9.1: The City will develop an urban forest management policy that addresses protection or replacement of significant trees on developed property and all land scheduled for development. This management policy will also establish standards for tree species and location within and near public right-of-way and easements.
ER (Environmental Resources) 10.2: Develop land use policies to manage and reduce urban heat island effects, including promoting shading of streets and parking lots with more trees.
Some of the benefits of street trees were stated in the 2006 Streetscape Framework Plan:
Overstory street trees increase the desirability of pedestrian activity, enhance the civic status of the street, and increase adjacent property values. Along with the overall width of the street, trees are a primary element in providing a sense of safe separation from traffic.
You can see from the examples above that street trees in Northfield are not just a nice amenity; they also represent our history, our values, and our identity as an historic town with an eye toward a sustainable future.
I’m very glad that the City Council took the action it did on Tuesday. It’s not a trivial issue, or one of micromanagement, for the Council to get involved when a plan is brought forward which does not give adequate weight to existing plans, recommendations, studies, governing documents, and long-term expression of citizen preference.
Earlier in the week, Griff Wigley, Ross Currier, and I had Councillor Erica Zweifel as our guest on the LocallyGrown audio show. (Earlier in the month Councillor Betsey Buckheit and Councillor Rhonda Pownell were also on the show; Locally Grown is doing a series, trying to have each councillor as a guest for a review of the past year, and looking forward in 2010.)
After the show I talked a bit with Tim Freeland of KYMN Radio about their ability to stream and store City meetings in the Council Chambers, and asked about doing the same for the Planning Commission (and possibly the EDA). Tim said that technologically there is no obstacle, that everything is set to go, but that there may be some City Hall bureaucracy to work around regarding security and access to Mission Control behind the door in the Council chambers. Erica heard some of this discussion, and I hope will bring it forward to staff/Council for a solution.
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On Monday I met with Joel Walinski, Brian O’Connell, Dan Olson, and Betsey Buckheit in advance of the City Council work session on Tuesday, 1/12. Both Betsey and I had expressed concerns about the original staff report provided to the Council for the work session, so the meeting was held to clarify everyone’s understanding of what would be discussed.
At the 1/12 City Council work session, input and direction on the LDC review process was given to the Planning Commission by the Council. From the Northfield League of Women Voters Observer Report of the meeting:
The Planning Commission has been working for over a year on the ordinance creating regulations to implement the comprehensive plan. According to Councilor Betsey Buckheit, who has been the commission’s council liaison, the planning commission felt that the version of the ordinance which the consultant provided was not aligned with the comprehensive plan. This work has been difficult and time-consuming for both staff and commissioners who have met weekly for a year to work on this.
Buckheit, Planning Commission Chair Tracy Davis, and city staff met yesterday and agreed on a new way of approaching the requirements for commercial and residential zones. Zones will be considered in “chunks” rather than in more global form. At issue is how much mixture of land use is acceptable in an area and where the city wants to have in each zone. Buckheit believes the new approach will not only make the work more efficient, but will result in better regulations. It should also improve communication between the staff and commissioners. At each stage of the process, the commission will ask for council review to assure that the regulations are consistent with the comprehensive plan. Before the final adoption by the city, the regulations will be brought to the public for information and response. The commission will take up the new approach at the Thursday meeting.
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A couple of our recent posts and comment threads have alluded to walkability, pedestrian-friendliness and multi-modal transportation in Northfield. I just found a nifty new site that utilizes the power of Google to rate how walkable different cities (and neighborhoods) are. It’s a cool example of the kind of mutation that can happen when cross planning geeks with web developers and cross-pollinate with a few eco-Nazis. I like it.
According to the authors, some features that make an area walkable are: … [read more]
I’m experimenting with my newest gadget. Since my preferred learning modality is so overwhelmingly visual, it’s taken me awhile to get into this audio thing; but having purchased a digital audio recorder for other, non-blogging reasons, I thought I’d take it with me to yesterday’s Planning Commission meeting with the consultants from ACP to test it out. In addition to being a relatively successful test of the recorder’s technical abilities in being able to pick up a roomful of discussion, I’m able to share some interesting material which was presented at the meeting.
As a teaser, here’s a two-minute clip of consultant Randy Gross of Randall Gross/Development Economics talking about some of his findings related to the housing market in the Northfield area. This got my attention because it was an economic development argument I hadn’t really considered before.
Our Nielson ratings indicate that the Planning Commission meetings on NTV have quite a following, but I like having options, and some may prefer the ability to listen to the meetings while doing something else that’s actually productive at the same time. If you’re a masochist, you can download and listen to the whole darned almost-three-hour thing here.
Made you look. 
The Planning Commission and City staff have a big week ahead of us. The consultants from ACP Visioning and Planning will be in town most of the week, and some of us are involved in meetings Monday night, Tuesday morning, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday morning (whew!). Check out the official schedule on NorthfieldPlan.org.
Note: The photo above is of planning commissioner Alice Thomas, taken today in Oman. She may be jet-lagged for next week’s series of meetings, but she appears to have a good shot at being relaxed and happy.
My posts to different blogs (here, LocallyGrown.org, NorthfieldPlan.org) are scattering me all over the web, and I may have to strategize about exactly what I post where in order to retain some consistency. But, in conjunction with my belief that it’s not possible to overcommunicate about local government issues, I’m posting the timeline for the Comprehensive Plan review and revision process put out by our consultants, ACP Visioning and Planning, even though the timeline is also posted on the NorthfieldPlan.org site. Please post any questions or comments to NorthfieldPlan.org.
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There’s been discussion on the ISSUES list recently about balancing development and farm preservation. Obviously, like any complex issue, there are many angles from which this may be approached, and it’s particularly relevant to Northfield, with its strong agricultural base and its history as an essentially rural community.
The summer issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal had an interesting article about the growing interest in farmland protection, and the steps some municipalities have taken to create a solution that balances competing needs and tries to accommodate as many as possible. It isn’t too early for us to be pondering what we citizens want our community to be, and to look like, as far as the surrounding greenbelt is concerned. If we want to keep it as a resource and a part of our community identity, steps need to be taken and plans laid.
If we don’t want to preserve this resource, or we simply don’t care one way or another, the good news is: we don’t have to do a thing! The mindless “free market” will make all the decisions for us.
And I’m sure the free market has our best interest at heart.
As you may or may not be aware, the City Council voted last night to re-zone 22 acres of land from LI (“light industrial”) to C-3 (“gateway commercial”, a/k/a sprawl). A lot of the hoopla was due to the fact that the current landowner is negotiating with a developer who’s interested in putting a multiplex cinema on the site, and the discussion of whether and where to build a theater is obscuring what, to me, is the real issue:
Our zoning ordinances suck.
This is very relevant to the property in question, because while the LI designation is nothing to write home about, C-3 is worse. The land development regulations governing the C-3 designation have precious little in the way of either urban design or architectural design standards, which means that C-3 property owners are pretty much free to build whatever crap they want on the land and cover the rest with impermeable surfaces, regardless of the long-term cost and consequences to the community as a whole.
Try this little exercise. First, close your eyes and picture the ugliest buildings and land use in Northfield. Then locate those areas on our current zoning map. I’ll give you a hint: They’re in the red areas, designated “C-1 gateway commercial”. Coincidence?
Northfield is incredibly passive about this kind of thing. For a community that prides itself on creativity and intellect, it’s ridiculous that we ask nothing of developers beyond money and a willingness to build stuff. Somehow we think that theater complexes and shopping malls are “economic development”. No, they’re a consumer convenience, but that’s not the same thing.
I’d like to take a page from the books of more progressive areas of the country that have adopted and implemented strategies of “Community Preservation”, which Northfield desperately needs. Massachusetts describes this approach in part by saying,
“Most communities often find themselves in a corner; they desire economic development, but are also concerned that the financial, environmental and social costs of sprawl will outweigh the benefits of that growth. With careful planning, however, economic growth can flourish while preserving the character of our communities. Community Preservation is not a “no growth” policy. Instead, Community Preservation promotes pro-active and careful decision-making to direct future development to the most suitable locations. The goal of Community Preservation is to empower communities to develop a unique vision and plan for a future that compliments rather than conflicts with their environment, history culture and quality of life.”
The whole point of PLANNING recognizes that self-interest and market incentives alone do not a good community make. We have a good Comprehensive Plan for Northfield; what we don’t have is land use regulations that support it. And until we do, we’re going to keep getting proposals for generic development by people who simply don’t know how to do anything else. Needless to say, I’m disappointed that the Council ignored the recommendation of the City’s own Planning Commission and City staff in proceeding with this rezoning. But even more, I’m dismayed that this community apparently just doesn’t have the balls to articulate a vision–and stick to it. If that continues to be the case, then the future will probably look a lot like the photo above, because it’s the path of least resistance.
Doesn’t that just make you proud to be a Northfielder?
This week, the Planning Commission is reviewing the Transportation chapter of Northfield’s Comprehensive Plan. In addition to revising the language to include more references to multiple means of mobility (not just automobiles), we need to consider exactly how bike and pedestrian trails fit into the picture. Dundas Planning Commission chair Bruce Morlan had a piece in the StarTribune last week in response to the Strib’s nice but rather uninsightful article about Dundas development on May 16.
In our upcoming Locally Grown audio show, we’ve invited former City councilwoman Peg Prowe to talk about the MIll Towns Trail project, which just received $1M from the State. We’ll be doing our recording session downtown in the new James Gang Hideaway at 421 Division Street, Friday at 2:30 PM, in case anyone wants to be in the “studio audience.” We might even take questions/comments “live”. Please join us!
