New Rules for Tax-Forfeited Properties

 

Post and stock photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

In many ways, this is public discourse and public service at its finest.

Several weeks ago, I and other northside housing activists noticed that quite a few tax-forfeited properties were winding up in the hands of slumlords.  The more we looked at the issue, the more we realized that the system was essentially set up to enable those property owners and shut out good ones.  It only took one blog post (and some discussion on North Talk) before County Commissioner Linda Higgins and Minneapolis Council President Barb Johnson responded and set up a meeting.  I used a second post to lay out some potential solutions prior to that discussion.

Higgins and Johnson came prepared, however.  At that meeting they and city and county employees laid out a series of proposals for how to limit such problematic acquisitions.  I believe we all left that meeting energized about changing our community for the better.  At least as a citizen, I am tremendously excited when there is swift constituent response, especially when that response comes with solid proposals that our elected officials come up with.

Much of those are already being put into action, as Commissioner Higgins' most recent newsletter indicates.  In case the link goes dead after a while, the pertinent items are:

Surface Parking Denied, MPS to Bring Appeal to Full Council

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, image is a screen grab from video of Zoning & Planning.

On Tuesday, December 4, the Zoning and Planning Committee denied the Minneapolis Public Schools ongoing request to pave over yet more land along West Broadway.  CM Goodman led the charge, asking why land was taken off the tax rolls and yet the Public School system was still asking for more.  She was later corrected about her understanding of how that acquisition happened, as the MPS had ownership of the parcels in question for some time.

Which brings me to a side point.  The back half of the existing parking lot had some absolutely gorgeous houses on them.  I remember gazing wistfully upon those homes, knowing they would be demolished, and wishing there was an alternative.  Little did I know that an alternative to demolition did in fact exist.  MPS could have put in half a block of parking behind their building, half a block on the site proposed now, and left between five and ten historic structures standing.  (And, I might add, still on the tax rolls)

I'm not the only one who didn't have the whole story.  For instance, the MPS representatives didn't even know...

Political Speeches at Lowry Bridge Opening

Post and videos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Every so often, I find myself turning into the north Minneapolis version of C-SPAN.  We have these great events, like the opening of the Lowry Bridge, and of course a parade of politicians have to have their say.  Most of the time, what's said is predictable (thanks to the community and the workers and the fellow politicians and the businesses and the children, etc.), although even in this set of speeches we have a few surprises.

In any case, these are our community leaders, and what they have to say at an event like this should be recorded and readily available.  That's where this blog comes in.

Several of our speakers touted the new bike lanes, and there was that surprise...