Plans could go forward for a 60-unit apartment building on the 4500 block of France Avenue South, despite opposition from the Minneapolis neighborhood and its City Council member, Betsy Hodges.
The developer is seeking a waiver to a moratorium on development in the Linden Hills neighborhood that was approved in March. The year-long moratorium was passed to give residents time to agree on a Small Area Development Plan.
“The merit of this project is not the point,” said Hodges. “Our opinion about this project is not relevant.”
The Linden Hills neighborhood successfully fought a development at 43rd and Upton this spring that inspired residents to seek the development moratorium.
The developer originally sought approval for a five-story building, which would have included ground-floor commercial space. That plan was rejected by the Planning Commission. The developer, Scott Carlston of Eden Prairie, then came back with a revised plan that also met with objections from the commission.
Rather than re-work the second plan or appeal the decision, the developer dropped the project and decided to start over. By that time, the moratorium was in place.
“What is in front of you today is the waiver,” said consultant James Erickson, who asked the council’s Zoning and Planning Committee to “grandfather” in the project and allow the developer to try a third plan.
Erickson also made a case for the hardship imposed on the developer who has incurred substantial cost to acquire land for the project. Without the waiver, the project could not go forward until the moratorium expires at the end of March.
“Whatever gets built here will last beyond the lifetime of everyone here,” said Larry LaVercombe of the Linden Hills Neighborhood Council. “The time we’re asking for a wise decision is not that great,” he added.
“We do not use moratoriums to target developers,” said Council Member Gary Schiff, adding that the project was “already in play” when the moratorium was imposed. “It’s a clear matter of fairness.”
“The moratorium was already in place when the applicant chose to withdraw,” said Hodges, adding that the developer knew when the project was dropped that he could appeal the decision and be allowed to continue despite the moratorium.
“They made a voluntary decision to withdraw with full knowledge of the moratorium,” she said.
“This set of rules was not created by the developer,” said Schiff. “We should allow this project to come forward.”
Committee members agreed, voting to grant the waiver. The full council is scheduled to consider the matter Aug. 31.