The City Commission approved at last night's meeting the creation of a tax increment district to fund a housing development in the southeast part of town. The agenda packet shows a map of the affected area (p. 64). Basically, it's a stretch of mostly undeveloped land out back of the Schaefer Plaza on Washington Avenue, angling east to include a lot on Grant Avenue.
The development plan (agenda packet, page 65) appears to propose creating a cul-de-sac. That's a French euphemism for dead end street. Today's urban planning note: cul-de-sacs are bad design, cutting off neighborhoods and making it hard to get around. That's why Austin, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Portland, Oregon; and Northfield, Minnesota have pretty much banned them. Maybe developer Randy Schaefer can take a look at this New York Times article [Carla Baranauckas, "Why Some Towns Place Roadblocks on Cul-de-Sacs," New York Times, 2006.08.27] and consider some modifications to the building plan.
More to come on the principle of Tax Increment Districts to fund a private development for middle-income housing ($110K-$150K, reports one source)... but first, I've got to read up on TIDs and figure out just how they work!
I almost laughed out loud when I read that Northfield was on the list of crusaders against cul-de-sacs. As a resident of the fine Minnesota community (or at least of one of its two fine private liberal arts colleges), I have frequently cursed the frequency of cul-de-sacs and other crazily laid-out non-through street designs. Take a look at a map of Northfield and try to find a street in the southern or northern third of town that ISN'T some sort of cul-de-sac or tentacled through-street with cul-de-sac arms. Every time I try to visit a new person in the "President Streets" -- the southwest corner of town between Highways 3 and 246 -- I feel like I should pack a couple granola bars and bottled water just in case I get lost.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested to learn when the ordinance was passed (the city code online doesn't make it completely clear, though perhaps added via ordinance on 6-5-2000) to learn if the ordinance was a reaction to the mass proliferation of dead-end streets and confusing city design or if developers are simply finding ways to broadly define "necessitate."
One interesting thing the Northfield code does provide is evidence of proper pluralization of cul-de-sac to culs-de-sac. There's some Americanized French grammar for ya!
You may find it interesting that LAIC purchased the very same home that Randy Schaefer says he has an option to purchase at 533 South Grant (Daily Leader had it wrong). LAIC purchase this home in late June of 2007 for about $40,000. Any reason why LAIC would be interested in or have a need to purchase a run-down home in a residential neighborhood? Or why they are using the money they raised for industrial development to bankroll this private for-profit project? New factory going in there? I doubt it. This is a good old boys deal that LAIC is knee-deep involved, in which we're giving welfare to the wealthy. Randy Schaefer is getting a $293,000 gift from the taxpayers of Madison and he gets to keep all the money from the lots he sells after the City develops them...For FREE! Why are we creating a millionaire on the backs of our taxpayers? Talk to your City Commissioners soon, before they sign the paperwork. This smells like shady snake oil.
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