Bryn Mawr NRP Phase II Planning

School, Parks, Recreation, and Community Focus Group

Monday, March 21, 7-8:30 PM

In addition to Kathy Solomon, facilitator, and Greg Lecker, note taker (and participant); attendees included: Paul Ragozzino, Dick Adair, Kevina Munnich, and Arlene Fried. Formatting note: the number of “/” following a comment indicates the level consensus of respondents – the number of similar comments.

Neighborhood strengths:

- Location

- Reasonable amount of diversity of residents

- Parks, access to parks and trails, surrounded by parks

- Not a lot of through-traffic on streets – not many streets go through neighborhood

- People take care of their homes and property

- Bicycle trails heading N, S, E & W – people don’t need to use their cars if they don’t want to

- Marvelous to walk through neighborhood because of the parks and natural areas

- Neighborhood cohesiveness. The neighborhood is cohesive, but not because it is homogeneous. Rather, people value the quirkiness and diversity of our residents who choose to be independent minded.

- That we have community schools in the neighborhood. There is a critical mass of involved parents who are active in our schools.

- There are children as well as seniors living in the neighborhood

- Summer Sports/Arts program

- Community education programs – even the little amount that remains due to changes in community education coordinators over the years

Neighborhood weaknesses:

- I-394 divides the neighborhood though it does provide us with good access. The freeway, I-394, is used by various agencies as a dividing line when, in fact, it is not a geographic feature.

- Maintaining our identity is a challenge

- Housing values are rising so fast that some folks are prohibited from buying in the neighborhood, if not actually forced out by rising property taxes. Bryn Mawr is in danger of becoming very exclusive and losing the strength of its diversity.

- With the rapid increase in market value, comes the threat of housing “tear downs” and build-outs to the maximum extent of the lot – loss of open, green space surrounding the homes. The land prices are rising so much as to make a small house obsolete, only to be replaced with a McMansion

- The neighborhood, which was more blue collar 15 years ago, is being gentrified to a bedroom community. And yet, the neighborhood character hasn’t yet changed that much. We are concerned about the loss of the friendly personality of the neighborhood as the average sale price begins to exceed $250,000.

- Lack of a restaurant/bar

- Volunteer burnout; people are not inclined to become involved unless there is a crisis – such as crime or development

- “NIMBY”-ism – not in my backyard: People are not open to development, though they are concerned about home price escalation. People don’t want buses on their street, yet they don’t want to lose the bus service either. People don’t want traffic on their street, yet they like the accessibility.

What issues are important or will be important in the future?

- Park Board development of park land threatens the open space that we hold dear. Risk of unnecessary change to park at Bryn Mawr Meadows. Proposed upgrades of the Bryn Mawr Meadows into a sports complex are 1) unnecessary, 2) expensive, and 3) will require much effort and marketing to draw enough paying users to offset the construction cost. Is the Bryn Mawr Meadows park a local or a regional park?

- Development/addition of fencing and light poles will violate the visual trademark of the park – a view across an open green expanse to the downtown skyline beyond, a very urban, precious vista

- This park development puts local users (kids) and regional park users (adults) at odds with one another

- A sports complex development changes the park from a multi-use facility shared by visitors from the local areas of several neighborhoods to a single-use facility that results in a loss of diversity – cricket, youth soccer, neighborhood and ethnic festivals.

- In addition, obstructions such as fences and buildings would obstruct oversight by neighbors and sightlines to and from users, create hiding places, and create an unsafe situation leading to and increase in crime.

- Our position regarding the Bryn Mawr Meadows is that “There should be no net loss of open space; and that any development there preserve the view of the city across an open expanse of space.” - ////

- The rock crushing facility and the impound lot threaten the environment with dust, oil, and other pollutants—environmental impacts

- Bring more visibility of Bryn Mawr Meadows issues to the public, perhaps by a call for environmental artists to create and display artworks in the open space of the Meadows, a kite-design and flying festival, an open-space contest, festivals and events that celebrate the open space and vistas of the Bryn Mawr Meadows

- NRP should be an avenue for us to register our opinions.

- “Tear-downs” and fear of neighborhood succumbing to land speculation with new homeowners staying just a few years – loss of stability, longevity and continuity of residency

- General decline of Minneapolis Public School District leads to city neighborhoods, especially Bryn Mawr, becoming a destination for only child-less homeowners. We need to stay on top of the school district, providing oversight

- Concern about another school – Golden Valley’s Park View Montessori School moving into Bryn Mawr Elementary School’s facility. This would impact and displace spots for neighborhood children seeking to be enrolled in our community school, would it not?

- Maintaining our school as a community school, especially for the K-6 students. The middle school seems to be a time of difficulty for children

- Continue to look at schools as a resource

- Recreation: it’s important to maintain the Summer Sports/Arts program – one of only a few in the city. We must be willing to fight to keep these services

- Lack of housing for seniors. Seniors are as important an asset as families with children

- Concern that lack of access to Fruen Mill via park land/railroad threatens a “once in a lifetime” opportunity of the mill re-use and rehabilitation

- We must find ways for the Bryn Mawr Neighborhood and MPRB to work together in a mutually beneficial way rather than as adversaries. Concern about lack of courtesy offered between park board commissioners

- We should sponsor a campaign forum for park board commissioners – for at large candidates and our district candidates

- Lack of response from MPRB regarding our request that they clarify their position on the Bryn Mawr Meadows

- Concern about the difficulties imposed by MPRB on those seeking to make public comment during “open time” during MPRB meetings

- Concern that MPRB staff is moving park development projects ahead of and independent of the MPRB Commissioners who should be implementing improvements and maintenance that have been developed as part of the overall long-range master plan, or at least of a five-year master plan.

- Transit cuts, fare increase and service reductions

- We should advocate for a Penn Avenue stop on the SW Metro Transit line (a 10-year vision); vs. a Van White Boulevard stop. On the other hand, perhaps enough buses would be routed on Van White so as to make easy transfers to LRT more feasible.

One service, project, program or thing that BMNA could provide:

- A restaurant, a bar

- Senior housing

- Transportation/transit

- Native plant restoration/buckthorn removal and development of a master plan to address these issues within our surrounding park land: Bassett’s Creek Park, Eloise Butler WF Garden (creating a “buckthorn-free” zone around garden), Brownie and Cedar Lakes, Cedar Lake Park, land between Luce Line Trail and northeastern edge of Bryn Mawr

- Lobbying for development of a variety of housing types in a single development – multi-family, senior

- We’re never going to win the battle against excessive home market value/resale escalation without offering housing alternatives. Only then, would the obstacles of price be alleviated for new residents

- Work to speed up the removal of diseased elm trees. Lobby MPRB to increase its woefully inadequate budget for elm tree removal. NRP funds should not be used to subsidize existing city services. Instead help to fund/load funds for tree removal on private land for those for whom the high cost of tree removal is prohibitive. Pressure MPRB Forestry to step up timeline for removal of diseased elm trees. Otherwise, we will end up losing all of these elm trees in a fairly short time instead of allowing for a time of transition for the newly planted replacement trees to grow up. Without this, blocks will soon resemble a prairie like what St. Paul looked like when it lost so many of its elm trees.

- Work to escort/walk with children leaving schools. Organize a group (nearby residents?) to watch over children on their way from school to address vandalism and rough-housing/horse play that escalates to fights. Create as least the impression/appearance that there are neighbors watching out and this should help alleviate the present situation

- Communication through the website, list-serve – two way communication with an involved moderator

- Organize social communication/meetings for different groups of people – bingo for seniors, programs for young mothers (ECFE), teenagers

- Above all, address quality of life issues

What types of housing programs should BMNA provide?

- Grants and loans, especially some sort of a revolving funding program

- Concern about offering down-payment assistance unless this program can provide revolving funding for others to perpetuate the benefits

- Maybe seed money for development for housing

- Concern about the diversity of new housing

- Perhaps lobby MPRB, under their rule of “no net loss of park land” to gain access to Fruen Mill to allow development

- Spend money lobbying/partnering with agencies, perhaps such as CCHT (Central Community Housing Trust) or TPL (Trust for Public Land) to develop mixed-use housing in one of several sites endorsed by the Land Use Plan

- Develop a program for renters that, in return for reduced rents, participants agree to become more fully involved/invested in the neighborhood