At the SARPA meeting on Monday night, board members indicated concern with recent new construction issues in Macalester-Groveland. In particular, we were worried about historic homes being demolished, with less appropriate (0and often much larger) homes being built in their place. We indicated out concern to Councilmember Tolbert, and were pleased with his response, as copied below:
On behalf of Councilmember Tolbert, thank you for your email and your input on this important issue. We do currently have multiple proposals to address the issues we've see with new residential construction in the neighborhood.
Through the comments that we've received we have learned that this is really a two-pronged issue. First, with the new construction has come a slew "bad neighbor" contractors who poorly maintain their worksites/properties and cause headaches for surrounding neighbors. Councilmember Tolbert is committed to cracking down on these bad actors through new ordinances including a Construction Management Agreement that contractors will be required to sign prior to construction. This agreement will also be mailed to neighbors surrounding the property in question to ensure that they also know the rules and know who to call if they are being broken. In addition to the Construction Management Agreement Councilmember Tolbert is introducing ordinances that tighten up dumpster regulations. The legislation will license dumpster haulers, add a sliding scale to dumpster permit fees (the longer they sit on the street the more the contractor will need to pay per day), and create new safety signage for dumpsters. To hear more about these new ordinances and to testify on the topic of construction management please join us at the Saint Paul City Council Public Hearing on August 20th, 2014 at 5:30PM. Hearings are held in the Council Chambers on the 3rd floor of City Hall which is located at 15 Kellogg Blvd. W. in Saint Paul. I hope you can join us.
The second issue is the homes that are being built. Councilmember Tolbert has asked that the city's Planning and Economic Development (PED) Department to study the heights of these new homes so that we can better understand what effect possible zoning code changes would have. Because at this point the Councilmember is asking the PED Department to do a study, he just needs to pass a resolution directing them to do the work. Resolutions do not have Public Hearings, so we will not be taking testimony on this at this time. However, after the study is completed the results will come before both the Planning Commission and the City Council and both will hold Public Hearings. Want to hear more and talk about this issue sooner than that? Join the Macalester Groveland Community Council for their July Housing and Land Use Forum Wednesday, July 23rd at 6:30PM at the Weyerhaeuser Board Room at 62 Macalester St. in Saint Paul. City Planner Josh Williams will be presenting on "Why Zoning Matters to You" and I will be there to answer questions on the study and the construction management ordinances. Attached is a flyer with information about this forum and their others.
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