The comment deadline for the first draft of the Minneapolis Comprehensive Plan is July 22nd. During this process, the city has held more than a hundred public meetings, in addition to many other events, to collect feedback from Minneapolis residents. Neighbors for More Neighbors has been doing our part by hosting comment parties, writing blog posts to discuss and distill policy specifics and ask for improvement. And by popular demand, we now have Neighbors for More Neighbors lawn signs!
We still need your help. If you prefer to work on your own, you can consult some of the posts collected below, and submit comments to minneapolis2040.com. If you’d rather come to a fun event, Our Streets Mpls is hosting a comment party on Sunday, at Open Streets Lake/Hiawatha. 4:30PM at Moon Palace Books!
If you have 5 minutes, submit a comment (at the bottom of this page) about the Built Form Interior 1 designation, and recommend Interior 2 and 3 as the minimum. One central theme that came up at our events is that this designation is clearly not applied evenly. In certain neighborhoods, it continues a long history of housing restrictions applied to those neighborhoods by redlining and racially restrictive covenants. The city has made its #1 goal reversing disparities created by these types of restrictions. The application of Interior 1 is not in line with these goals. This is especially obvious because neighborhoods east of Hennepin and parts of Seward are very near to city job centers, yet their proposed built form designation doesn’t match this need. The pattern also shows up beyond a mere visual inspection of these maps.
If you have more than 5 minutes, consult the blog posts below and use them to help write your comments. Send in a comment before midnight on Sunday!
After the comment period ends, city staff will integrate public feedback into a new draft to be published at the end of summer, with another comment period and eventually the final vote before city council.
Helpful writing:
N4MN:
- N4MN: What is the Comp Plan?
- N4MN: Review — Access to Housing
- N4MN: Review — Tenant Protections
- N4MN: Review — Housing & Development Near Transit
- N4MN: Review — Expanding Ownership
- N4MN: Review — Housing Displacement
The 2040 Comp Plan: Completing Minneapolis’ Neighborhoods
Our Streets Mpls: Our priorities for Minneapolis 2040
PPNA — Minneapolis 2040 and Climate Change
Streets.mn posts of interest:
- Low Density Zoning Threatens Neighborhood Character.
- Random List of Things I Learned Reading 2040 Comp Plans
- Downzoning Does a Disservice to Minneapolitans of All Ages
- Dense Development Belongs in Neighborhood Interiors Too
- The Progressive Case for Upzoning Minneapolis
- How Many Homes Does Minneapolis Need?
