[Mpls] City kills affordable housing deal, says CP

[Greg Abbott]

This is a recurring problem with projects of this kind.  People who  
raise objections in good faith are lumped in with the NIMBY types,  
and real problems with the proposal are dismissed out of hand.   
Layered on top of this, of course, are developers whose vested  
interests colors their opinion about the how thorough neighborhood  
outreach has been, among other things.

Yes, more of these type of units need to be built.  But they need to  
be built right, which sometimes means having the courage to walk away  
from the particular developer or proposal in front of you, and  
looking for new proposals.

At a glance (and I know nothing of this, other than what's appeared  
on the list), it looks as if CM Colvin Roy has done precisely that.

Greg Abbott
Linden Hills
13th Ward

On May 26, 2005, at 1:49 PM, ken bradley wrote:

> Barb,
>
> Thanks for your very informative response. I hope you are right,  
> and it is more an issue about creating a reliable funding structure  
> that the city will not have to bail out, then actually oposition to  
> having affordable housing built in the 12th Ward.
>
> I am only afraid that it was pressure from people that don't want  
> "those kinds of people" moving into our neighborhood that had an  
> impact on the decision. I have often been surprised that people  
> that would appear to me to be reasonable, even liberal, have great  
> anxiety about helping the poor when it involves "their  
> neighborhood". I was one of "those kids" growing up in a upper  
> middle class neighborhood, and benefited greatly from that experience.
>
> Ken Bradley
>
> Sandy has been on the council when the "bills" to
> stabilize the cooperatives in my neighborhood have
> been presented to the council on many occasions.
> Perhaps it is from seeing those expenses that she is
> raising the questions and asking the developer to
> rethink how they are structuring this development.
>
> Barb Lickness
> Whittier
>