Good afternoon everyone.

Welcome to the regular business of housing and zoning committee for July 22nd, 2026.

21st, 2026.

My name is Jamal Osman, and I'm the chair of this committee.

I will call an order for this meeting.

Before we begin, I want to remind folks that these meetings are broadcast live to enable greater public participation.

They include real captioning to increase the accessibility of our proceeding to the community.

Therefore, all speakers need to be mindful of the rate of their speech so that our captioners can fully transcribe all comments for the broadcast.

We ask all speakers to moderate the speed and clarity of their speech.

We'll be using speaker management, so please sign up.

At this time, I'll ask clerk to call the roll so we can verify a quorum.

Councilmember Rainfield.

Present.

Warren.

Present Schaefer.

Present.

Chavez.

Present.

Chebtai as absent.

Vice Chair Chowdhury.

Present.

And Chair Osman.

Present.

There are six members present.

Let the record reflect we have a quorum.

Our agenda is front is front of us.

We will begin with the consent items.

If you want to speak during the public hearing today, please go see the clerk in the hall and sign up.

All right, consent agenda is five through 20.

Item 5 approves five liquor license.

Item six approves 33 liquor license renewals.

I will move to postpone uh sub item 21 to our next meeting housing and zoning committee.

Item seven approves a gambling license.

Item eight grants a business license operation condition for Bloomington Commercial Kitchen.

Item nine is amending 2026 license fee schedule related to the truck service fee, tow truck service fee.

Item 10 authorizes 20 years contract with Macfield Center for Music Item 11 accept this author and authorizes a state of Minnesota workers grant for training.

Item 12 authorized the development technical funding for recommendation, also known as DTAP.

Item 13 accepts the low responsive bid for replacing floor boxes of the conventional center.

Item 14 delegates authority for owner occupy rehab programs such as home improvement program and Minnesota Housing.

Item 15 accepts and authorizes a met council water efficiency grant.

Item 16 approves a rental license dueling green statement for the property at 2113 Ilion Avenue North.

Item 17 authorizes a contract extension for green belt development project.

Item 18 authorize a staff direction related to the problem rental properties.

Item 19 sets a public hearing for Axe 4 to receive an annual report of hearing and hearing for Minneapolis Tourism Improvement District.

And lastly, item 20 refers to the staff and ordinance related to the bounty hunter and license.

Thank you, Chair Osman.

I know we talked about before this meeting, but if I would like to be added as an author to the ordinance you're reading on when it comes to bounty hunters.

And then do have a question about number nine, which is related to the tow truck service fees.

You can go ahead and ask questions.

At the height of the operation, the occupation of our city by the federal government.

I know that there was some work we did with the toll truck services.

I'm trying to figure out if this is an item we can attach some of those.

That work that we did to make sure that folks impacted by ice aren't you know having additional burden on them.

Would this be a similar item?

Can we attach some of those things to this or not?

So just trying to figure out Chair Osman, uh Councilmember Chavez, thank you for that question.

This is separate from that work.

This is the yearly annual adjustment to the tow truck fees where we take the fees previously using the federal guidelines and then increase based off of a certain matrix.

Perfect.

So it's just setting the maximum, and then if we were to want to address that more broadly, that would be a whole separate thing.

So I'll just be reaching out separately about that.

Yeah, so this is setting the maximum, so much like any other of the fees in the fee schedule.

We make the recommendation and then uh it goes to the body.

Perfect.

Thank you.

And then council chair, uh, Chair Osman, you pulled out or you moved to delay an item on the liquor license.

Can we just pull that out for discussion with that motion?

Yes, thank you.

Item um on lick item 21.

Six item six, section twenty-one.

You need to answer if he could be a co-author of the bounty hunters.

Yes, I will.

I'm happy to for you to be a co-author of the bounty hunter ordinance.

You're done.

Yep, thank you.

Uh Councilmember Warren.

Thank you.

Um, Vice President Asman.

Uh Chair Asmund.

Um, so I have I would like to pull item number 16.

I have some questions about that um for the rental reinstatement license at uh 2113 Ilian Avenue North.

Yes.

Do you want me to list my questions now?

Nope.

Oh, okay.

And then I um I don't see my staff direction on here.

I know we amended it in the agenda setting.

18.

Is it 18?

Oh, okay.

I see it.

Okay.

Boom.

All right.

And item 18, please.

And pulling item 18.

Pulling item 18.

And 16.

16 and 18.

16 and 18.

All right.

Uh, thank you so much.

And then you're in cue.

Yep, I will speak after that.

Okay.

All right.

Uh, with that, I will move all items except uh consent agenda item six uh point two one.

And also I will pull out um item 16 and 18 and move rest of the items.

So all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

And those opposed say nay.

The ayes have it, and the motion carries.

Now we're returning back to item two uh six two point one.

And I will put myself here and address this item.

All right, so uh unfortunately over the weekend we had a uh um violent crimes that took place in our city.

Some of the location is that was um that this happened was uh event center, uh rain event center, and their liquor license is up for renewal.

We have authority to uh look into that and make sure that this businesses are operating responsible and making sure we're keeping the public uh safe.

Uh we had a conversation with uh manager of licensing to kind of pull this item and kind of really review more about um some of the requirements for them to keep uh their liquor license, and this is uh a good move, I believe, to delay it and have that conversation to make sure that we put in the um you know addressing the safety safety challenges that are taking place.

Unfortunately, um uh some people have been hurt, uh some people lost their lives of the violence, and I really want to take the time to thank our officers for responding and also uh public for being patient while we address uh this uh gun violence we have in our city.

With that, I will um recognize Councilmember Shabbos.

Uh thank you, Chair Osman.

I just have a question about the recommendation to approve this license, at least from staff reading or start to an article that says an analysis of about 270 Minneapolis 911 calls to the club's address since 2021 shows incidents tripled from about 30 in 2024 to more than 100 in 2025.

Trying to understand why this is still being brought forward.

Councilmember Rainville, Amy Lingo, manager for business licensing.

Um, the thing with 911 calls is it's very often attributed to an entire block or to the first section, so we need to do a deep dive analysis to see how much is related to the business itself and not just that area where they named the business because that's the easiest thing that they see.

So through the standard process, it looked like things were moving forward.

We hadn't had any direct complaints.

So we have recommended the polling of this item so that we can have those conversations and that deeper review given the incidents from this weekend.

Okay, thank you.

All right, Councilmember Schaeffer.

Yeah, thank you for pulling this, flagging this, and um looking forward to taking a deeper dive into those 911 calls and seeing if there is reason or additional discussions that we need to have with the property owner.

The violence in our streets to this magnitude is outrageous, is unacceptable, and I am thankful for all of the first responders who responded in the moment and who have been responding since then to other areas on the border of my ward.

And so um we take this seriously, please here.

The council takes this seriously, and this is top of our agenda in this moment, and even this evening there will be a community meeting um where ward seven, ward 10 staff will be on hand, possibly ward six, um, to discuss these recent incidences.

So thank you for flagging this, and we'll look forward to hearing more information from Director Lingall.

Thank you, Councilmember Schaefer.

Uh, Councilmember Warren, are you here to speak on this item or the next item?

No, I wanted to just say that um thank you to the emergency responders and my hearts and prayers really go out to the families whose lives were impacted in the series of events that happened over here on on Hinnepin Avenue.

Um I know that there's still a a very deep dive and ongoing investigation of things that are happening over there, and I'm just standing in support of my council members and the work that they're doing.

I appreciate you uh councilmember Pearl.

Um, one more councilmember.

Yeah, thanks, Chairman.

I'm just gonna get back in and I think when we talk about finding different tools to address public safety concerns, this is one tool, and I hope that um we are able to use a tool to actually address the safety concerns that are happening in the area because no one should after ever have to experience what folks did over the weekend.

So I hope that what I just hope this item doesn't come back.

Okay, great.

Uh finally, I'll recognize Councilmember Rainville.

Uh thank you, Chair Osman.

And a big thank you to the Minneapolis police.

I know you're representing the whole department of but spread the word that all of us are united in our gratitude for that.

The response to that horrific uh night, as well as every day you show up every day, risking your own lives to keep us safe.

So the thanks from up here is unanimous today.

And uh I do want to uh uh agree with Councilmember Chavez that uh licensing is one of the tools that I I feel is underutilized, and I look forward to ongoing conversations about how we can best use that.

Uh and I know there are a lot of nuances to it, but my experience here in the last five years is uh we're we're missing something, and I look forward to solving that problem.

All right.

Uh thank you so much, Councilmember Rainville.

Uh with that, with this item to delay one more cycle.

All those in favor say aye.

I and those opposed say nay.

The ayes have it, and the motion carries next we'll take on item 16.

Uh recognize council member uh Pearl.

Thank you.

I'm sorry.

That's okay.

Thank you for that, Chair Osman.

Um, is who's available to ask answer questions about this rental licensing for this property here?

Hi, through um Chair Councilmember Warren, I'm Jordan Hooks.

I'm the rental license operations analyst.

Thank you.

Jordan, I um saw this was coming up on agenda and made it my um business as the council member in in the fifth ward there to drive past the list of properties that were on the licensing application.

All of those properties are owned by this same individual, Mr.

Don Kleinberg.

No, that is a former owner whose license was revoked in I think 2018.

The current owner is Segundo Chimborazo, and he doesn't own any other properties.

He doesn't own any other properties.

So the other addresses that were listed on that application are not his properties.

No, those are owned, those were owned by the former owner.

So that's unrelated to this reinstatement.

So this is just for the property at 2113 Ilion.

Yes, that's right.

Which is currently an occupied property.

Is he living in that property?

Not to my knowledge.

Um it wasn't occupied at the time of inspection.

Okay, well, when I drove past there and I have pictures of there, there is people living in that property currently as it stands.

So if the rental license hasn't been issued, how are people renting from that property or is it owner occupied?

Is it homestead at this time?

I don't believe so.

I'd have to double check my records.

I can definitely look into that and get back to you.

Okay.

Well, then I want to postpone this until we know for certain.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Uh thank you so much.

So, Councilmember Warren made a motion to postpone item 16.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

And those opposed say nay.

The item passed.

And um next item we will take is item 18, and also council member.

Warren.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, before you is the uh staff directive for problem rental properties, which is one of the things that we get to talk about today.

And so in this uh legislative directive is the instruction to undertake and research analysis to identify the steps the the city of Minneapolis could potentially take to strengthen the enforcement of rental licensing standards, maintenance and building code compliance, um, just to better help ensure the health and safety and well-being of our residents here in the city of Minneapolis.

Understanding the cost of feasibility and the potential steps of Minneapolis to take a more and take to take and create more upfront and ongoing oversight of rental properties throughout the licensing and inspection process.

And I've had a lot of amazing conversations with um Director Valquez about this, and I am excited to be working with him and his team through this process because it is a great deal of importance to the both of us.

We equally share those thoughts and sentiments about wanting to ensure that there are you know better ways for individuals to obtain rental business licenses that those standards attract individuals who are going to do healthy and good business here in the city of Minneapolis.

All right, uh wonderful.

Uh with that item uh Councilman Warner for moving forward with that item.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

And those opposed say nay.

The ayes have it, and the motion carries.

Now we are going to start the public hearing section for everyone in attendance, especially those who might participate in our hearing or comments period.

Let me offer this notice.

This hearing are being recorded and broadcasted, both recording and broadcasted are classified as a public data under the Minnesota Government Data Practice Act by attending and participating in this proceeding.

Your image and any testimony or information that you provide will also be subject to disclosure under the law.

That includes, but it's not limited to your attendance, your name and other personal details you might provide as well as the testimony or comments you provide, which includes any written submission you might you make, which you are included in the record.

All right, our first public hearing is to consider mayor's nomination of Enrique Falasquez to the appointment position of regulatory services department director.

To introduce this item, we have been joined by the city operation officer Margaret Anderson Kellehar, who I will now invite to speak on behalf of the nomination.

Welcome.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, for having me uh and allowing us to substitute, allowing me to substitute in for the mayor today.

Chair Osman, Vice Chair Chowdery, members of the committee.

I want to just say that I am very proud to be here on behalf of Mayor Frye and proud to join today in supporting the nomination of Enrique Velasquez to continue on as the director of regulatory services.

Regulatory services, of course, is one of the city's most public-facing departments.

For a lot of people, it is a department that is the city because people see the members of the staff of Reg Services out on the streets all the time doing very important work.

Reg Services plays a role in protecting the health, safety, quality of life of Minneapolis residents through inspections, licensing, animal care and control, traffic control, code compliance, as well as homelessness response.

Under Enrique's leadership, uh the department has embraced a culture of innovation, collaboration, constant and continuous improvement and learning.

And that comes with measurable results that we can see and feel.

In housing inspections alone, Reg Services has brought 22 properties into compliance through tenant remedy actions.

They've assisted 16 families directly with over 50,000 in relocation assistance to help prevent homelessness.

They've advanced 20 prolonged vacant properties towards rehab and/or sale, and that helps improve neighborhood stability in each of our neighborhoods.

In homelessness response, Enrique has built a nationally recognized team, the homelessness response team that builds relationships, both with our unhoused neighbors as well as with the other governmental units who have responsibilities as well in this area with connections and compassionate engagement.

In 2025, engaged on the homelessness response team alone engaged individuals 1,473 times.

They offered shelter at every single one of those engagements.

They made 276 referrals to housing, and all of this work helps us reduce unsheltered homelessness.

We've also seen strides in animal care and control, maintaining a 92% live release rate, despite caring for actually a record number of animals.

This is one of the things out of the pandemic that we have seen is there's just a boom of animals who need help and care as well as their humans.

They've responded to nearly all public priority one public safety calls within an hour, animal care and control, expanded low and no cost veterinary care that helps build stronger community partnerships to make sure that happens.

Finally, in traffic control and public safety, Reg Services has maintained a service level of nearly 97% with established response standards, making sure that they successfully supported Minneapolis's growing number of major events, advanced innovation in public safety initiatives, including two very important ones.

The traffic safety camera pilot, they are very engaged in that work, as well as a civilian crash investigation pilot.

I just want to speak directly to Enrique's skills.

Through it all, he has really fostered this idea of one regulatory services culture centered on collaboration, accountability, and enterprise problem solving.

And I can say from my past work as the public works director before coming to this role, that's very true.

He's always at the table, and his team is always at the table.

Strengthened partnerships across city departments with Hennepin County, with state agencies, as well as important community organizations.

He's also been very focused on modernizing the operations of regulatory services, improving customer service, and making sure that data is being used to drive decision makings and better outcomes.

And he's a thoughtful, wonderful colleague to people.

He is always present for people.

Thank you so much.

COO.

And now I will proceed.

And recognize Rico.

Welcome, sir.

Buenos tardes de Maricardo Morales, Mayamo Rico.

Hello, everyone.

I am Enrico Morales.

I have been a lifelong resident of the state of Minnesota, and I have lived in Minneapolis since 1992.

I represent the Hennepin County Lived Experience Advisory Group as well as many other homeless response teams with Metro Transit and other organizations, and I wear a lot of hats that I've seen and met the team, the homeless response team for the city of Minneapolis.

I've seen and met regulatory services with the parking and the litter cleanup and open streets.

And I've I've seen Enrique on a couple occasions in a professional way where we collaborate together, and I encourage you to continue Enrique's appointment here because when I see Enrique and people like Enrique, whether it's black or brown or indigenous people, I see myself.

I see others.

I see all of us rising up together and being able to have opportunities and resources.

And Enrique Velasquez has always been able to communicate, able to respond, the regulatory services, the parking meters.

I'm always, you know, looking at people parking, and I'm always riding my bicycle, or I live in Powder Horn Park now.

And it's just a great city, and I only see greatness here in front of me.

And I would like to see this great opportunity to continue with the appointment of reappointment of Enrique Velasquez.

So thank you so much.

Thank you so much for your testimony.

Are there anyone who would like to speak?

See none.

I'll close the public hearing.

Uh with that, I'll move.

Um, I'm sorry.

With that, I will invite I will invite uh Dr.

Enrique to come and give uh his testimony.

I don't know what's going on.

Well, thank you, Chair Osman.

Thank you, Vice Chair Chowdry and committee members.

Thank you very much for being here.

I'm Enrique Velasquez, the director of regulatory services, and it has been an absolute honor to be here in this city.

Ten years ago, I started working for the city of Minneapolis after a career spent in the private sector.

What drove me here was the passion, the commitment, and the opportunity to do great things right here at home for my own community instead of overseas and other places.

I first started with public works service, water and sewers division as the manager of special projects and business support, and then migrated over to community planning and economic development, where I led business licensing throughout the pandemic through the murder of George Floyd and all of our recovery efforts.

Even when the systems around them made them made it hard to care and to continue to deliver.

In August of 22, I moved into regulatory services as the director of inspection services.

One year later, I served as the interim department head pending the appointment and approval process by city council, uh which happened in October.

Since then, I've watched that care become policy, and I've watched what it means for the residents on the other end of every inspection, every citation, every call.

Before you go further, I'd like to express my sincere thanks to Mayor Fry, who's not here today, and to City Operations Officer Anderson Kelleher for the confidence placed in me in my nomination originally, and for the confidence in this reappointment that it represents today.

To Chair Osmond, Vice Chair Chowdry, and Business Housing and Zoning Committee members, thank you for the scrutiny for the partnership that have made our work sharper than it would have been able to withstand alone.

And to the nearly 200 regulatory services colleagues, I want to say this.

You show up every single day to do hard, complicated work, often without recognition, sometimes facing criticism.

You show up because it's the right thing to do.

None of what I'm about to share happens because of one person.

It happens because of every single one of you.

Mayor Fry gave me a charge in three parts when he nominated me.

Communicate transparently.

Collaborate effectively across city enterprise and with external parties, and do the right thing no matter what it costs.

That charge has shaped every decision over these past three years.

Operations and engagement processes, every rental license and permit we issue, more than 23,000 rental licenses, hazardous material permits, fire commercial registrations, and so many more.

They are the front door that thousands of residents and business owners and property owners use to reach and access the city.

This committee's updated fee schedule are moving us towards true cost recovery, funded by those who use the service, not just reliant on the general fund to supplement.

And process improvements have increased on-time rental license renewals across every tier.

Since 2022, I pushed to fold Minneapolis Public Housing Authority properties into our rental licensing tiering program, a goal realized in 2025.

We absorbed more than 700 buildings and 6,000 units.

No additional staffing, no added funding.

We did this so residents of public housing finally received the same enforceable safety standards that private tenants have long held.

You heard it from COO Anderson Keller logged more than 1700 engagements, leading to nearly 350 housing referrals just in the past year.

One conversation, one connection, trying to help people exercise their agency to find that pathway to stable supportive housing.

Carried by a cadre of volunteers and foster families who showed up when this city couldn't shelter alone.

And traffic control is expanding its reach into the public safety ecosystem, handling essential work where a sworn officer isn't required.

That's good government.

The right resources matched with the right response.

We reorganized alternative enforcement and housing liaison teams directly into inspection services so colleagues were structured to succeed.

We publish our violations, rental tiering, and homeless response dashboards so residents can see exactly how this department operates.

We reshaped how we show up for unsheltered residents, expanding beyond outreach into identification recovery and coordinated entry intake with expansive outreach alongside Hennepin County, Metro Transit, our mobile medical unit, and community partners with one goal to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.

What it revealed is this regulation done with people at the center is compassion, structured and made accessible to everyone we serve.

We've come a long way in these three years, but we're nowhere close to done.

Not a standard that bans by zip code or by who owns the property, but one that every resident can count on.

Every result I've named represents a colleague who chose to see a resident, a neighbor, an animal, a pet, before they saw a case number.

That's the culture we've built, and that's what we are still building in regulatory services.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for your testimony.

And my colleagues, if you have uh any comments or questions, please uh sign up to speak.

I uh put myself in queue, and I just want to really take the time to thank your leadership.

Um you and your staff have been uh a good partner in my work, which has a lot of challenges when it comes to uh you know responding to uh rental issue, uh heat elevator, even the elevator is not under you, but you do reach out to the state and talk to them.

You are always available to uh respond, and this department is very important to our uh resident uh to give them health and safe.

Uh, your leadership has uh since 2023 has really been um amazing for this department, and wanted also to note that you have taken uh very uh challenge uh issue when it comes to you know uh the unshelter uh homelessness is a serious concern in our city.

Uh a lot of people are sleeping in the cold weather outside, but um you have uh you know it's it wasn't it was an easy task uh to take.

This was moved from health department to your department and uh with uh less resources.

I remember uh talking to you and you know, uh some of the homeless outreach team taking their personal cars to really go in encampments and talk to folks and offer services, which you know, of course, is uh not um uh the best way to to approach.

And and that is one of the things we discussed, even you know, having a budget item to buy them a van so they can at least uh continue building that relationship with uh with uh you know folks uh that are uh uh you know that are on shelter that are dealing all kind of challenges in our city.

Uh you also have done a lot of amazing work with uh government partnerships like uh the county, the Meth Council, the MINDAT.

You have heard me many times that you know the bridge might not belong to the city, but it does belong to the MINDAT.

So somebody got to go pick up the phone and call, and you have done that.

I'm really um uh excited uh to support you, and I encourage my colleagues to um, yes, we do face a lot of challenges, and it requires a lot of um uh leadership and patience and working with the council members, going to the meeting in the communities and kind of showing up and showing that you care, and that is something that you have demonstrated for your time here.

And I'm glad the mayor uh you know renominated you to continue uh to work.

Your team is amazing.

Thank you for for your services, and um excited to support you, and I encourage my colleagues to uh support you as well.

I uh see if there's anyone who would like to um comment.

I see council member uh Rainville.

Thank you, Chair.

Uh Enrique, I just want to compliment you on always being accessible, and you're doing a great job.

Some of the other words that come to my mind are your thoughtfulness, that your results focused, uh, you have very creative solutions.

And even though you have a very, very, very tough job, your kindness shows through all the time.

I mean, helping people who have uh uh the the problem, especially of homelessness, uh as well as other issues affecting that.

It's it's not a pretty thing to do every day, every day, but you have great dignity in you doing the job as well and providing that dignity to the customers who we seek to serve.

The uh also want to uh admire you for your strength because of the criticism you receive.

And it's uh in my opinion, very unfairly founded.

It comes from elected officials, from staff, from citizens, from the very people that you are trying to help.

But you you do not internalize that, you you accept that and you continue to do your job.

So I I will be supporting this nomination, and thank you so much for your service to Minneapolis and especially to the citizens who need the help the most.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'll recognize Councilmember Warren.

Thank you, Chair.

Director Valquez.

I first of all want to say thank you, because um, since I've stepped in this role, and I'm new to this role, so I wasn't privy to all of your long history and tenure with the city.

But every time I reach out to you, every time I call, you show up and you show out.

So I have taken a great pleasure in working with you and being solution-driven with you.

You know, we have some tough conversations, but it's all about trying to find the solutions so that we can continue to build winners throughout the city.

So I thank you humbly for your work.

I thank you for your leadership and all of the the good tools that you have given and the conversations that we have had throughout the work that I've been doing, especially around Heritage Park.

I greatly appreciate you for every community meeting showing up and just being humble and you know, listening to those tough conversations that have to be had in those moments because it's not easy, you know, but you're consistent in that, and I appreciate that.

So I will be supporting your nomination.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember uh Schaefer.

I'll say two brief things.

Number one, um, being six months on the job, your office and you sell yourself personally have been a lifeline to us as we entered into a lot of rental rights issues right from the beginning at the start in the middle of Operation Metro Surge.

And so for the beginning, you were helpful in helping us get community meetings around renters' rights, about helping to support those buildings that were trying to develop tenants unions.

Your recent office to the eight your visit with to the AG's office with us, um, your staff has gone above and beyond in helping my staff um navigate this process and being a real support to the residents, particularly in the Loring Park area.

So I just want to say thank you for being a lifeline to our new Ward 7 office.

And lastly, I would concur with many of the elements that Councilmember Rainville mentioned, but would we also add to the list really your calm demeanor in your calm presence in any situation really brings a peace and a level of comfort to those that are facing real life problems, real difficulties that are making a lot of stress in their own lives.

And so your calm demeanor really brings a presence that I think is appreciated by so many.

So thank you, and I'm proud to support your nomination.

Thank you.

Vice Chair Chow.

Thank you, Chair Osman, and thank you, Director Velasquez, for coming before us today and your service to the city of Minneapolis.

Um it is not an easy job being the director of regulatory services.

And I have appreciated the conversations that we've had over the last few years while I've been a council member, and I think there are more conversations that we need to have.

Um I'll be really honest with you.

I have not made a decision yet.

I think there's just and the reason for that is I think there's just more follow-up conversation that I want to do with you.

Um that was something that I shared when we had our meeting that there's a lot to process um and look back on the last few years, and then also look ahead because the work of regulatory services, one has expanded, two is so constituent-facing, and I want to have an opportunity to have uh a one-on-one conversation with you ahead of Thursday.

So I did want to just say thank you for your service and your work and coming before us today.

Um with that, I did want to make a motion to just move this forward without recommendation so there can be more time ahead of a vote uh uh before our final vote, because today I just don't feel like I would be able to vote on it.

Okay, we also have been joined by Councilmember uh Fita, but before I recognize her, I will recognize Councilmember Shavez.

Uh I'll just second that.

Yeah, I have a few questions.

Uh Director Velasquez, uh, mostly about encampment response and our response to unsheltered homelessness.

I know we've talked about it in our one-on-one.

I think since our one-on-one, there was an announcement about um, you know, quote unquote open drug markets um encampments.

And I think for me, I saw you at the press conference on the video.

So I guess I want to hear your approach to unsheltered homelessness and because I'm I'm kind of concerned if the focus is just targeting those who are homeless and have addiction.

And I guess I want to hear your approach as you want to have uh four more years as a director of regulatory services.

Certainly.

Through the chair, Councilmember Chavez, thank you for the question.

So our approach to unsheltered homelessness largely remains unchanged.

What we started seeing in community is that more drug dealers were moving in, taking advantage of individuals that were in the throes of their addiction, trying to find a pathway out.

And we were just spinning, circling the drain, trying to find a solution.

So the new approach offered by the Office of Community Safety is intended to target the drug dealers so that we can separate them away from those that are experiencing the effects of substance use disorder and surrounding community members that are surrounding those individuals, so that we can do the important earnest work of engaging with those individuals through outreach through engagement, not just our homeless response team who are here with us today, but also with Hennevin County and their service partners, so that we're making concerted efforts to be there, be present as often as possible to get all those different nodes and all the different ways that people turn us down to turn them into yes.

So that's our approach.

We're gonna keep on showing up, we're gonna stay in those different spaces.

And yes, there is some enforcement happening, specifically targeting drug dealers.

So it's not unhoused people that are using drugs that are struggling with addiction then.

Through the chair, uh Councilmember Chavez, there's probably a portion of the unsheltered community that are experiencing addiction or substance use disorder.

That's not the focus of this current effort.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna have to get more information about this quote new approach because that's not what was communicated to the media.

I think what was communicated to the media is that it would include unsheltered individuals that are using drugs or struggling with addiction.

So I guess I would like to get more clarification on this new approach and what this new approach means for the entire department and how you are gonna, as a director, going to be handling this.

I think.

Yeah, so I have a lot of questions.

So yeah, I guess that's mostly my main thing that I want to get to the bottom of the response to unsheltered homelessness that regulatory services are gonna have, which I think even just talking about how encampment response is under regulatory services, it should be under the health department feels a little weird to me, but yeah, that's not a decision you get to make.

Uh Councilmember Vita, welcome.

Thank you for having me.

I was watching on TV and I thought, oh, I could just walk in there.

And so I'm here.

Uh thank you, Director Velasquez, for even accepting this uh recommendation from the mayor because it is a really tough time.

I always say the two toughest positions in the city enterprise are the chief of police and the director of regulatory services.

And so I really do appreciate you accepting the nomination at this time and wanting to continue this work.

Um, you know, a lot of the conversation has been around encampment response and some of the harder things, but one of the things I appreciate about you and your team is attention to detail in those basic city services is something I hear about a lot in Ward 4 and on the North Side, people just want really good basic city services.

And we have some challenges that we haven't fixed, but you've certainly helped me out a lot to try to navigate through some of those things like the dumping issue we have on the north side, that is tremendous, and not only is it just a terrible thing to see, but it it's cost a lot of money to businesses and um residents sometimes in North Minneapolis.

But I do appreciate how swiftly you and your team responds to that because when you wake up with trash all outside of your house, or you're a senior who can barely move and you have two refrigerators dumped in your yard, and you know, someone is there to listen and try to help with that.

That means a great deal to me.

So I I certainly appreciate your understanding of just basic city services and how people want that to work for them.

How I mean I hear a lot of people say, what happened to the days when regulatory services just drove down the alley and gave people tickets and saw like the overgrown grass and you know the things that happened before, and I I'm I'm proud that there's a middle with you in that, and that you understand we want a clean environment, but that you also understand that some people have challenges and maybe we should spend the time to go out and speak to them about what what's going on with their homes or their properties before we take action sometimes.

So I I really do appreciate that about you.

I do um want to know what do you see for the future of that?

Like what are some of the ways in which we can enhance how we respond and make sure those basic city services and those needs are being filled by regulatory services for the people of Minneapolis.

Yeah, through the chair, Councilmember uh Vita, some of the different things that I envision are more collaborative partnerships, especially with public works, solid waste and recycling, their clean city team where we can identify some of those different issues as they're happening.

Um, because you're right, it might be a senior citizen that is just struggling to get by, who is now responsible, physically responsible, but then also financially responsible for taking care of this dumping situation, or we add it to their taxes, the tax roles, and that just becomes a problem.

It could be uh just a very urgent situation happening with that community member.

And it's our role to show up, to show out, to be present and say, you know what?

We know this isn't you, this isn't your problem, and we're going to take care of it anyways.

So I have to have those conversations so that we can identify the proper pathway and make sure that we're also taking care of the services that are needed for this work, while also identifying ways to find out who's doing it so we can go after them, add it to their tax roles, whether it's in this city or other cities.

I already have partnerships with surrounding cities that if we identify something and it belongs to you or is one of your businesses, you're gonna go after them, and we will do the same.

Because the North Side is not dumping ground.

That's right.

Thank you so much, direct.

Thank you.

The other thing is we did receive an email, and there was a correspondence in there that spoke to how some employees feel about um your leadership style.

Now, I am aware that I certainly have a different relationship than probably some of your employees have.

And so just wondering if you've seen this letter that the council received first.

No, I have not.

Okay, so we'll send it to you, but that is something I would like to have a conversation with you about.

I mean, what just a quick overview of the letter.

It sounds like some of your staff is some of your staff who've been there for a while feel left out of conversations and engagement, and um also uh there I'll send you the letter, but I'm looking forward to having a conversation with you about it.

I will say when I read it, the first thing I thought is that like you're a person who certainly has the ability to self-reflect.

I've witnessed it firsthand.

You're the person who will look to working with not just yourself but others on how to correct things or how to at least start a conversation around what needs to be corrected.

So I felt confident in like that we can have a conversation about this and that action will be taken.

And so I'll send it to you, and then we'll talk about it between now and the end of this process.

Thank you, Director.

Thank you.

Uh all right.

Uh yeah, just wanted to highlight, you know, appreciate what you say, you know.

Uh, while being a compassionate and caring helping, um at the same time not ignoring the reality on the ground that addiction and you know, drug dealers are targeting uh the most formulable people in our community to sell drugs and drug them.

You can see that visual uh visibly under the bridge situation, and I remember that press conference that uh a lot of promise was made, and I was just having a conversation with CEO.

Hopefully, that could be followed, uh, that we are uh tackling um uh where this problem is coming from, which is uh drug dealers that are bringing um uh chemicals that kill people that are just you know um really you can see it in in our neighborhoods in in our cities, and that's just unacceptable.

We can't ignore that.

Uh, we can we gotta continue to be passionate and and and care and show you know resources and help folks to recover, but uh at the same time we also have to target the bigger picture is that what's making um drug dealers get addicted is just continue uh drug dealers coming in our neighborhoods, and um I'm I'm hoping uh the mayor's promise can be followed and and uh public safety can can take some, you know, some address those uh concerns.

Um money Native American communities uh are asking the help.

Uh we are asking to help, the neighbors are helpful, asking to help.

The young people that are will return to school soon are asking the help to catch the bus.

You know, when they catch in the bus, they don't want to see a needle on the floor, they don't they want to be able to, you know, catch the bus safely and get off the bus safely.

Um but again, uh being a compassionate, but at the same time not ignoring the reality that we're we're facing our city uh and I do want to give it a special shout out to your homeless outreach team.

Uh, they are the real heroes here and who are showing up on and going out there to build a relationship with the folks and connecting them to the county and other services the city might not offer.

So again, thank you.

Uh, and I look forward to supporting you on next uh Thursday or following Thursday.

Uh lastly, I will recognize Councilmember Rainville.

Uh thank you, Chair.

Two things real quick.

Uh I forgot to talk about your great collaboration with other government agencies and with nonprofits.

You know, truly not one organization can do this job alone, and you have that ability to reach out and bring that help in.

So thank you for that.

That's a great talent to have.

And then I did want to uh let my colleagues know I'm gonna be voting no moving this forward without recommendation.

I think that's the wrong message of sent.

We need to move this forward with recommendation.

Second.

Okay.

Chair Osman, there's already a motion in front of us, so we should vote on that motion.

Okay.

I would like to just quick get in discussion.

Yep, I'll want to get back to the discussion.

Um for me, I uh will recognize Vice Chair Chowder, but I think the motion was based on just trying to catch more time to have a conversation to have a discussion on.

I do support um, I do support you, but at the same time, I do also support uh motion without recommendation.

I think it does make sense.

There are some council members that who have um questions uh and follow up, and that is um that is something that we have uh done it here many many times.

But councilmember uh Vice Chair Chowder, please go ahead and make your questions.

Yeah, thank you.

Uh colleagues, I would appreciate your support in moving this forward without recommendation.

Oftentimes in committee, we offer each other the courtesy when a member is not ready to make a decision to move something forward without recommendation, and I'd like that uh to be offered to me as well because similar to Councilmember Vita, I have questions about the letter that I received from the employees within the department, and I have not had a chance to address that with the Director of Alasquez.

I also have questions that I'd like to address about just like the greater vision for how we are resolving um the the issues that we see as it comes to rental inspections and tierings, like that's been an issue that's been brought forward.

I also would like to discuss this approach around breaking down open air drug markets.

That wasn't something that I've had a chance to communicate with with Director of Velasquez since our last meeting.

That's something that came to light after our meeting, and it's a big topic.

So I'm unable to make a vote today.

And if we have to make a vote today, which I think is kind of unfair, um, I would have to vote no, which I'm not ready to make a decision on.

So I'm asking members to just offer me and other members who may not be ready to vote today that courtesy.

All right, uh thank you so much.

Uh seeing no one else, I will ask Clerk to call uh the role uh on the uh this item to move it forward without recommendation to the full council.

Councilmember Rainville.

No.

Warren, no Schaefer, no Chavez.

Aye.

Chip Tai is absent.

Vice Chair Chowdery.

Aye.

And Chair Osman.

Aye.

There are three ayes and three nays.

The motion fails.

So I am going to proceed uh to move it with recommendation.

Oh, Councilmember Rainville, sorry.

Thank you.

I was gonna make that you do it.

Sorry, I'm I didn't see that.

But yeah, council member uh Rainville intention and my motion is to move it with recommendation.

I'm on cue.

Oh, uh, you are in Q as well.

Okay, Councilmember Shaves.

Uh thank you, uh Chair Osman.

I'll be voting against your appointment director.

I wish I had more time to make a decision, but um, since it's not able to move forward without recommendation, I guess I have to make my vote today, and I won't be supporting your nomination.

Thank you.

All right, Councilmember Chowder.

Yeah, thank you.

Uh Chair Osmond.

Uh yeah, unfortunately, I will not be able to support your nomination today.

Um there's several things to talk about.

I do want to just speak to the staff within the regulatory services department.

I really do appreciate your work deeply.

I know that times are tough in the city of Minneapolis, and I see your effort.

I think it's important just to state that there are just these larger conversations that just need to happen with the director and myself.

Um also just really want to express uh that in the last few committees whenever there was an item where members expressed a motion to move something without recommendation so people could have time.

Um we've allowed for that, and if that's a norm that we're changing, I I suppose that's a norm that we're changing.

Um I wish that wasn't the case.

I think it just gives us gives us necessary time, especially when members request uh more time for conversation.

Uh but again, Director of Alasquez, thank you for your service to the city of Minneapolis.

Councilmember Warren.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, and I just want to say to my colleagues, I hear you in and I understand.

I think that as um representatives in our seat as council members, that it is our fiduciary responsibility to you know be very intentional about reaching out to these city departments and formulating these relationships.

We are at a precipice in this city, and with all of the things that are going on, um interjurisdictionally and just around, you know, it's important that we are intentional about that communication and utilizing the individuals who are in position and asking those tough questions and really looking for ways to work with them in order to um in order to see the success that we want to see in the city.

Like building a win is not an easy thing to do, you know, and it takes time.

A lot of the questions that you know many of us have are questions that people have had long before at least I know I was here.

But then what are we doing with that information and how are we being intentional and pivotal around you know, strengthening things around regulatory?

I know that there's been a lot of work that has been being done in conversations, even with other council members about our tiering system, right?

Um that was brought up in the question that you and I had because you know, Director Valquez, I was hot, you know, and still am.

But that's because I want us to win, and I want the reflection of our city and the way we regulate how business is done around rental licensing and inspections and things like that to be a win for everybody.

It's not anything personal, it's how do we strengthen our front line so that we represent each other well?

I want to represent and be representative of regulatory services.

I want to be a good representative of CPED in this seat where I sit with council because that shows a strong fostering in relationships and how we move forward to help improve one another so we can all stand strong together.

I mean, we Minnesota, we stand at the top of the map for a reason.

You know, so with that being said, I mean, there's going to be plenty more opportunity in and we're gonna have you know many more chances to to get it right, and I think that it's just gonna take a lot of a lot of collective efficacy.

I don't have all the answers.

I'm gonna ask some tough questions.

People are probably gonna think I'm a jerk and I'm mean or whatever else the case is, and I'm fine with that too.

You know, but I just want us to win.

And I think that that is what we do.

We win together and and we move forward regardless to how complicated it looks.

It's what can we change in order to make it better, and that's how we go with it.

So you got my support, and I'm here for it.

Councilmember Shavis.

Thank you, Chair Osman.

All right, then let's have the conversation.

Thanks for being here, Director Velasquez.

Uh, why don't we do the letter that asked me since and maybe give you an opportunity to just publicly address it?

I think that would be helpful for me as an elected official.

It's a dear Meaple City Council, ask me local nine gave its members the opportunity to provide comments about each department head nominated for reappointment by the mayor and being considered by the city council.

This email contains our feedback about regulatory services department, director Enrique Velasquez asked me local five, asked its members the following questions and a summary of the response is included.

Does this individual treat employees fairly and consistently?

Responses were mixed.

Members noted that his approach to discipline is not fair or proportional to the situation.

Does in does this individual foster a respectful and inclusive work environment?

Responses were mixed.

Members stated that Enriquez disciplinary decisions lack compassion or empathy for employee employees.

Hardworking, longtime city employees do not feel valued.

Does this individual effectively resolve workplace issues?

Members mostly responded no.

They know that management seems to make scapegoats of department staff instead of taking responsibility.

Does this individual communicate workplace updates and issues to you in a clear and timely manner?

Members mostly responded no, indicated they heard hardly ever from him and do not see him in divisions of the department.

Does this individual follow the term of your collective bargaining agreement?

Responses were mixed.

Members pointed out that Enrique does not follow follow progressive discipline as laid out in their collective bargaining agreements.

Please share any other input you think is relevant to this individual's interactions with ASME.

Several members noted that personally, Enrique is kind, intelligent, and caring.

Unfortunately, these traits do not carry over into his leadership style.

A department director's job is to do the right thing even when it's hard and to shield his employees from the politics and unarned criticisms that surround our work.

It appears that Enrique will never challenge the will of his superiors and the rank and file employees of the department become the casualties of his read that last word in solidarity.

So Director Velasquez, can you just respond to this letter?

Sure.

Some of the different values that we hold within regulatory services are transparency, integrity, continuous improvement and holding people accountable.

It's that accountability piece that tends to rub people the wrong way where they don't necessarily see the work that we're doing as holding people accountable as fair or consistent.

Sometimes the discipline is a little bit more elevated, not because it doesn't fit the specific issue.

It's because the egregiousness of the issue that we're facing, and I can't go into any specifics of what we're talking about.

The egregiousness, even though it's a first offense, requires a more elevated response.

I I am present.

I have office hours.

We have four different buildings.

I'm present in all four buildings, engage with staff in all four.

Engage in a series of write-alongs with individual staff where they get to treat me like their intern, and I get to just learn and hear all the different things that they're dealing with as employees, as my peers, as people working in this enterprise, or what it's like to do their job in this city so that we can find ways to do things better.

Oh councilmember Fita.

Thank you, Chair.

Um I just wanted to say that I think it's extremely unfair to make Director Velasquez respond to this.

I just asked him if he has seen the letter, and he said no, that he hadn't.

So I was waiting to talk about it because I just think it's like that's something really hard to respond to in the moment when someone reads that at you.

So I just wanted to say that that I'm I'm sorry that that just happened.

And and I really do think that that's something that a person should be able to process and have time to respond to and not have it read to them and expect it to respond in that moment.

Thank you.

All right, uh, wonderful.

Uh thank you, sir, for all your uh council member uh warrants back.

Um first of all, thank you for whoever completed the survey.

Um here's the issue that I have with that.

When you do a survey like that, is does that go to your superior?

Does it go to people have an opportunity to write a letter like that?

Do people have an opportunity to talk about it or talk about areas of improvement or what have you?

How many people completed that survey?

Is that just the opinion of five or ten people, or is this opinion of the entirety of the department?

So it's that information is not being displayed.

That letter does not constitute absolutely anything.

If you're doing something like that, then you need to present it to the person and then talk about a means of corrective action and behavior, or how someone has the space and the room in order to approve things about their character.

But if you write a letter like that and attach a survey to it and you keep it to yourself, then that means that you're not providing any space for anyone to approve upon absolutely anything.

You just want to sit and rest with those opinions all your own.

And and that's not fair to anybody.

Everybody deserves the space to self-correct.

Everybody deserves the space to improve upon who they are and how they are moving about caring about the business of this city and anywhere else.

If you're not given that opportunity, then that's weak.

So you gotta give people an opportunity, and you have to allow for those things to be open.

If I tell one of my council um colleagues or write a letter to somebody and say, so-and-so hurt my feelings, but then I never confronted with that person.

I'm not giving them an opportunity to write their wrong or to correct themselves.

Like, come on now, we're adults here.

Let's do real work and get the city under control here and get some things in order.

That's what I'm interested in.

The inn.

Thank you.

Council member uh Vice Chair Chalby.

Yeah, thank you, Chair Osborn.

I mean, this is precisely why I wanted to move it forward without recommendation because we could have these conversations that we need to have.

Like personally, I don't like doing this like this.

I really don't.

Um I respect, I respect our ability to and your accessibility to me and the conversations that we have had.

Um I do want to state for this letter that was sent by Ask Me Local Nine that represents members within the regulatory services department.

I do think it's a valid letter, and it gives opportunity for members to send information anonymously that they would not be able to be honest about otherwise.

And I don't think we get to just say a letter isn't valid.

I don't agree with that.

I do think it provides an important marker for me, appointment after appointment.

What has always mattered to me is how do the people within your department feel and how's morale?

Like it's a tough, tough city to work in.

And I understand that this can't be encompassing of every single person.

I think the letter said that uh information was mixed and things were highlighted that um were themes, and it is our job as a board that considers these appointments before us to consider that and uh director Velasquez, even though we're not moving forward with recommendation, um, I do look forward to having a conversation with you about it after you've had some time to process and discuss some other things.

Like I'm really interested in talking through what I kind of find as a troubling approach um of making mass arrests uh in lieu of like a larger strategic vision that isn't accessible to me in terms of how we're addressing uh uh drug dealing, addiction, homelessness.

Like I really think you and I have to kind of dig in on that.

And these these appointments have been an opportunity also for us to kind of have that type of check-in looking ahead into the future.

Um and I also think this appointment provides that opportunity after years and years of work to for the workers within the department to weigh in, and that's been a theme, and I just I don't want to discourage um workers within departments giving their voice because I think it matters because we want to be a choice employer in the city of Minneapolis.

We do.

We want to retain and have staff want to work in the city of Minneapolis, and we have want to have good public servants.

And if public servants are putting up the flag to us that they have concerns within leadership, we owe it to them to listen, and we owe it to them to have a path forward to correct it.

And I don't want to be a part of invalidating the information that's there or saying that it doesn't carry weight because it does carry weight, otherwise we wouldn't be speaking about it up here.

Um, and again, that's why I wanted to move it forward without recommendation today, so we could have the appropriate conversations necessary.

All right, uh, members, I just want to remind you all that we do have a long agenda today.

So um I'll be quick.

Councilmember Chavez.

Thank you, Chair Osman.

Just I read the letter out loud, so I just want staff members that did fill out the survey.

If you feel like you're feeling unheard, or if you're feeling feeling like your opinion doesn't matter, just know that I'm always here to hear our city staff and hear their concerns.

And part of me reading it was because when I did get the letter, I was concerned.

And I think that if you are the relegatory service department and you express your concerns, just know that I hear you.

Thank you.

All right, uh, see you no one else with that motion to move this item with recommendation.

I will ask Clerk to call the role.

Um, I'm sorry.

Uh Councilmember Warren.

I'm just gonna say this.

I hear you too, but don't write letters about people and then not share the information with people because that serves as a disservice to what it is that you're trying to do.

If you want people to be better, share the information openly.

If you're concerned about any type of, there's there's not anything that comes as survey is anonymous, but you can't just survey people and what have you, and then you not share the information with somebody.

If you have concerns, you should address those concerns.

There is just some matureness that has to come into play here, and I hear people, I'm not discrediting anyone's feelings or how anyone feels about what they want to see or changes brought about in the department.

That's for the department to discuss within the department.

Everyone deserves the right to be heard, but you have to put that stuff out there so that it can be better together.

That's all I'm saying.

The in.

Uh Clerk, please call the role.

Councilmember Ringo.

All right, Warren.

Aye, Schaefer, aye.

Chavez.

No.

Vice Chair Chowdery, nay.

And Chair Osman.

Aye.

There are four ayes and two nays.

That motion carries.

Thank you.

All right.

Next public hearing is application for Strange Loop Laboratory in War 7.

For a liquor and general entertainment license.

I will have a director of business license.

Amy Lingo to give us information about that item.

Welcome.

Thank you, Chair Osman and committee members.

I am Amy Lingo, manager for Licenses and Consumer Services.

Today I am presenting an application from Strange Loop Projects, LLC, DBA as Strange Loop Laboratory, located at 1629 Hennepin Avenue, Suite 100 in Ward 7.

The applicant is requesting an on-sale wine and strong beer with general entertainment license.

If approved, they intend to perform an operating.

They intend to operate a performing arts and cultural venue presenting live theater, dance, multimedia art exhibitions, and community-based arts programming with wine and strong beer.

Usually from 10 a.m.

to 11 p.m., sometimes later, for selected events as permitted by the city ordinance and their zoning code.

Public hearing notices were sent to residents, property owners, and posted on all residential buildings with four or more units within 650 feet of the premises.

Notices were also sent to the citizens for Loring Park, the downtown council, and Councilmember Schaefer.

We received no comments from the community.

A review of any complaints, 311 calls, police calls, and any operating conditions found no significant issues concerning the business and issuance of this license.

Licenses and consumer services division and recommends approval of an on-sale wine and strong beer with general entertainment license.

This concludes my presentation.

At this time, I'll stand for any comments or questions.

All right.

Thank you so much for that presentation.

I'm going to open the public hearing and see if there's anyone who would like to speak.

I have Zavana Franks.

Maybe they're waiting to come in.

Maybe they're coming.

Zavanna Franks.

If you are on the overflow room.

Yeah, it looks like there we go.

Up this man.

No.

I'm John.

Hi, welcome.

Go ahead.

Hi, thank you so much.

I'm Johnna Franks for Strange Loop Projects and Strange Loop Laboratories.

What do you like to do?

What would I like to say?

Yes.

It sounds like you have an idea of what we do, and I saw many of your faces at my space, so thank you so much for taking time to visit us there.

And for everyone who's supported and offered us guidance through this process.

The revenue will be a really important sustainable thing for us financially as a small arts organization.

Will also allow us to help keep our ticket prices lower, making our programming more accessible for our community.

And we were really excited to just be able to continue to be a vibrant and stable arts organization contributing to the landscape of our city.

Right.

Thank you so much for your testimony.

I will close.

See none, I'll close the public here and recognize Councilmember Schaefer to make a motion.

Yes, I would like.

Second.

Yep.

Thank you so much.

Are there any members who like to comment?

See none.

Um with that motion, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

And those opposed say nay.

The ayes have it, and the motion carries.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much.

So much.

Yep.

Our next item is a quasi judicial hearing before we begin.

If the applicant or the appellant is here to testify, you will be granted seven minutes to address this committee.

All testifiers are have to sign up and they will get two minutes.

So this is a uh hearing a public hearing for interim use permit for people serving people located at 219 4th Street.

I will welcome Alex Kohlhaus from CBED to give us presentation on this item.

Welcome, sir.

Thank you, Chair Osman and committee members.

My name is Alex Kohlhaus from CPED Planning.

Before you today is an application for an interim use permit to allow an emergency shelter at 219 4th Street South.

Just a little bit of history for this property.

Some of you may recall previous applications as recently as December 2025 when Hennepin County proposed opening an emergency shelter in the basement and main level only, which would have been for a maximum of 50 people.

That was approved through August 31st of this year, 2026.

What is before you today is a new proposal.

The applicant, as Chair Osman noted, is people serving people who would be purchasing the property from Hennepin County, and they are proposing to operate their own emergency shelter.

And they are proposing to use the property in this manner on an interim basis until no later than August 31st, 2029.

I will also note the staff report was published for this item last week, and it references a proposed maximum capacity of 312 people as was indicated in the applicant's initial application materials.

They have since communicated with staff that they are have revised that proposed maximum capacity to now a maximum of 280 people as opposed to 312 as initially indicated.

Just to go over the zoning for the property quickly.

This is a zoning map.

This property is in the downtown or the excuse me, the DT1 zoning district.

This is just a half block west of City Hall here.

And this building does take up virtually the entirety of that subject property.

And it was originally built as a hotel.

These are the floor plans for the building.

This is the main level in the front of the building is towards the right.

This main level would have common areas for uh shelter guest admittance, uh, meal service, and then there would be other staff areas on this floor.

Uh my understanding is that shelter guests would only be admitted through referral from Hennepin County, and uh the operators would also be providing security, cleaning services, etc.

And uh would have staff available periodically for uh potentially referring shelter guests to um other services.

And I'll defer to the applicants if they want to speak more about their proposed operations.

This is the uh floor plans for the second level, and all the levels above that three through five are virtually identical.

Uh 13 rooms uh per floor, again, originally built as a hotel.

Um each room does have a kitchenette currently, I believe.

Most of these look like you know, a hotel room, a studio apartment, though there are a few one bedrooms on on each level.

As the committee members are aware, all interim use permit applications are subject to specific required legal findings uh as stated in the zoning ordinance.

Um, and they are also required to uh to consider the uh the findings that are required for a conditional use permit as well.

Uh the staff analysis for these is listed in the staff report.

I'm happy to answer any questions about that if uh any of the committee members are are interested in that staff analysis, but I'll uh summarize by noting that staff uh does find that all of the required findings would be met.

We do recommend approval of this application.

The staff report notes two uh recommended conditions of approval, one of which is to specify that proposed end date of August 31st, 2029.

Uh an interim use permit can be granted for up to five years, but in this case, the applicants have indicated this uh 2029 end date as what they are proposing under this application.

Uh, the other recommended condition of approval is regarding uh zoning standards for uh the location of required long-term bike parking.

In a little bit of context here, the zoning code in this case requires a minimum of eight long-term bike parking spaces be provided for a congregate living use like this.

Uh long-term bike parking spaces have some additional specific standards in the zoning code, and one of the standards is that at least 50% of these required long-term bike parking spaces must be accessible without the use of stairs or an elevator.

Staff have discussed this uh requirement with uh the applicant as they've been proceeding with uh with their proposal.

The staff report does include this condition that is shown on your screen that essentially affirms that that requirement.

After the staff report was published, there is a little bit of additional discussion that I had with the applicants, and they are requesting that the city council waive this condition and effectively waive this requirement.

The zoning code does allow the city council to waive conditions or requirements of the zoning code which would apply to an interim use permit.

To do so, there would need to be a finding that the temporary nature of the interim use would eliminate the adverse effects that the condition is intended to prevent.

I'll note their proposal, they would be providing eight long-term bike parking spaces, but they would be providing them all in the basement, which would require an elevator or stairs to access.

So if the committee is inclined to grant this waiver, you can do so through a motion which would need to be modified from the staff recommended motion to not include that second that second recommended condition of approval and uh grant the waiver to that uh to that condition regarding required long-term bike parking standards.

Um this concludes my presentation.

I will note there was one uh written public comment that was received.

It was a letter of support from the downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association.

I believe the applicants are in attendance, and I'm happy to stand for questions.

Thank you so much for that presentation.

I am going to proceed to open the public hearing and invite the applicant if they'd like to make a comment.

Welcome.

Good afternoon, Chair Osman and members of the business housing and zoning committee.

My name is Grace Rick, and I am People Serving People's Director of Enterprise Operations.

On behalf of on behalf of People Serving People's Chief Executive Officer Huang Murphy, who regrets he is unable to be here today.

We thank you for this opportunity to speak regarding our application for an interim use permit to expand family shelter services to the Federal Plaza Building at 219 South 4th Street.

People serving people was founded in 1982 and is Minnesota's largest and most comprehensive emergency shelter provider for families experiencing homelessness.

We are not just a shelter provider.

We offer wraparound services, including but not limited to high quality early learning at our downtown shelter and First Covenant Church, homelessness prevention, case management, financial literacy education, and systems change.

We center families in all that we do, and we are committed to continuing our work until every family has what they need.

Hennepin County is transforming its family shelter system and will be retiring its current overflow site at the La Quinta Inn in Brooklyn Park by the end of September.

The county has selected people serving people to open a new family shelter by that time to preserve vital capacity and fulfill its guarantee that no child sleeps outside.

We are in final negotiations to purchase 219 South 4th Street to house this shelter.

People serving people operated in isolation and quarantine hotel there at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And Hennepin County operated their family overnight safe space program there until earlier this year.

We intend to close on the property by the first of September and will open it to families just a few days later on September 4th.

This new shelter will serve up to 52 families nightly in their own hotel-style rooms.

Just as with our other shelters, families will never be asked to share rooms and may come and go as they would from any of our other shelters.

There will be no daily queuing for entry.

We will offer up to 208 beds and expect to serve up to 280 people.

This is a reduction from our original projected maximum occupancy of 312 due to ongoing refinements of our site plan in partnership with city staff.

We anticipate that our likely nightly census will be approximately 180 people based on a typical family size.

Families will be referred to our shelter by Hennepin County.

The average length of stay in our shelters is 119 days, but families may stay as long as they remain eligible and until they regain housing.

Continued eligibility is determined every two weeks.

The shelter will be staffed 24-7 and we'll have a security team on site.

We will also have facilities staff on site daily and available to respond to emergencies on call.

We will launder linens on site and families will have access to a laundry room.

We will offer three nutritious meals daily.

Each room will have a microwave and refrigerator to support family choice, agency, and autonomy.

Families staying in our shelter will receive access to people serving people's full range of services and amenities, including basic needs, case management, opportunities to enroll in early learning programs, access to Hennepin County health care for the homeless clinic, and Minneapolis Public School staff at our existing downtown shelter and referrals to external service providers.

Prior to welcoming families, we intend to complete minor renovations to enhance accessibility and lighting, improve dining facilities, expand guest laundry, and to add office space.

We will make technology safety and security improvements over the midterm, and we are negotiating a short-term lease with Hennepin County to permit these improvements before closing on the property.

Due to space limitations, we're seeking a waiver of the city's requirement for long-term bicycle parking.

We will provide families and staff with accessible bicycle storage, but strict compliance with the requirement would cause us to sacrifice capacity in our planned first floor dining room and guest gathering space, which will be the only common space available outside of guest rooms.

Communal dining and gathering options is important for our service model.

In conclusion, people serving people is grateful to be entering into this partnership with Hennepin County to help ensure that no child sleeps outside and that every family has what they need.

We are likewise grateful for the support of the city.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

On behalf of people serving people and families in our community, I respectfully ask for your support for our interim use permit, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you so much for your testimony.

I um are there anyone who would like to speak on this item?

Seeing none, I'll close the public hearing and um recognize Councilman Marineville.

Thank you, Chair.

I'm wondering if the applicant could elaborate a little bit more on the security.

You know, clearly the these are very vulnerable population, and I'm wondering how you you propose to keep them safe.

So at our current downtown shelter, which is located at uh 614 South Third Street, uh, we do offer 24-7 contracted security services, and we are proposing to maintain that same sort of service model at this new location.

Um so it does have about half the rooms as our current 99-room shelter.

We'll take uh our learnings from operating that shelter for over 20 years and apply them here.

Um so the plan is to have a 24-7 uh security presence on site.

Um we'll also have 24-7 internal guest services staff on site.

Um, something to note about the building is that it's the it has pretty tight access control, so that front door does remain locked, um, and that will be accessible to guests using a fob or by um ringing the doorbell and being let in proactively by staff.

Um, so in that way, similar to our other sites, we keep the doors locked.

Um, we always have staff there, and um, you know, the only people who are allowed to come and go from the shelter are either shelter guests or staff or close community partners such as Hennepin County um caseworkers, things like that.

Uh thank you.

It sounds like a very well thought of plan.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Councilmember Warren.

Thank you, Chair.

I'm excited about this.

And so um I sat down with Wong went over to people serving people, and um he was able to share with me some information about um the shelter and and hoping to start having um and being able to serve families early as October.

Um, so that is something that you know I'm excited that we will have more space to be able to provide um, you know, a good environment and a greater sense of independence.

I know that's something that doesn't exist in in the people serving people site that people don't have those um, you know, small cooking facilities or ways to store store food inside of their rooms or you know, personal things to meet their dietary needs.

So I think this is a great opportunity for for people in a good way to serve um our population in in the city that are seeking housing and are in transition.

So thank you for uplifting this, and I'm excited to support it.

Yeah, uh I just want to say thank you.

Uh, your organization is very unique.

It's amazing.

It's one of the organizations that you know provide um not just shelter but keep families together, you know.

Um this is the place that uh families that are in in crisis turn into, and and you know, uh in my previous uh council life.

I closely work with your organization, and it's amazing job you do.

So I'm fully supportive and um uh fully support you on on the expansion of this and also the request of uh uh given exemption of the uh the request on that presentation.

I also hope that council member make that motion include that uh on that exception.

Um with that I will recognize uh councilmember Schaefer speak.

Thank you.

I had a question around um if you're purchasing the building, is it correct that I heard you were seeking just a two two and a half year interim permit?

Is that correct?

Instead of the five-year?

Uh yes, thank you.

So we are pursuing an interim use permit to go through August 31st of 2029.

Um, so just under three years.

The property isn't um we're gonna use that time to hopefully find a property that's a little bit more suitable and that allows for more of our wraparound services.

So, for example, our education services.

We won't be able to offer them directly on site here just because there isn't enough space at this specific location.

Um, our goal is to operate under an interim use permit.

In the meantime, look for a more suitable site that's going to allow for more of those wraparound services that families require.

And then, if we are unable to find a more suitable site at that point, pursue a conditional use permit to continue operating in this same way.

But you would still own the building then.

So you at that point, I think we would explore then most likely uh selling the building.

Okay, all right.

Thank you for that clarification and that detail.

Um I am very fully supportive of this.

I would like to also make the motion to allow the variance on the bicycles.

I think that's a reasonable explanation.

My only feedback would be that I was not aware of the as the ward member um for this project until I saw it on the agenda.

So I would just give feedback to Huang and the staff that uh in the future it would be great to have insight into this before that I see it right on the agenda.

Thank you.

All right.

Um thank you.

See no one else with that motion um to approve this item, also giving the variance request.

Um that motion, all those in favor say aye.

Aye, and those opposed say nay.

The eyes having, and the motion carries.

Thank you so much.

All right.

Uh next item we have is here.

Is also a quasi judicial item.

Uh is an appeal on behalf of FGNC for the property at 300 Minihaja, also known as Democracy Center.

I will note that item 23 is related to this appeal.

I will have Andrew Friends uh from uh CBIT to give us presentation on this item.

Welcome, sir.

Uh good afternoon.

Excuse me, uh Chair Osman and committee members.

Uh my name is Andrew Friends.

I'm a planner on the land use team in CPED planning.

Before you today is an appeal of the planning commission's actions approving land use applications for the Minneapolis Democracy Center project at 3000 Mini Haha Avenue and 3033 Snelling Avenue.

This appeal was filed by the owner of the adjacent property to the southeast, 3010 Mini Haha Avenue.

There is also uh there are also a number of other actions before you today, as the chair mentioned associated with this project under item 23 on the agenda, and I'll touch on those um in a moment.

Um the subject property here is the former third precinct site at the southwest corner of Mini Haha and Lake.

The project site consists of two parcels separated by a sub uh by a public alley.

The northern parcel contains the existing three-story uh former third precinct building.

Um, and then the southern parcel, as well as an accessory parking lot.

Well, that southern parcel consists entirely of service parking.

Um this block is configured with a uh broadly north-south uh public alley that runs most of the length of the block before making a 90-degree turn uh to exit out to Snelling Avenue between um the two subject properties.

Minneapolis Property Services is proposing to renovate uh the building and construct an approximately 16,600 square foot addition.

Uh the building would primarily be used as the new headquarters for Minneapolis elections and voter services.

Uh they would be relocating all of their regular year-round functions here.

So office space, um, the space where uh they they print, store uh and tabulate ballots, um, all of the uh machines that do the uh ballot tabulation, um uh candidate and voter registration, election judge training, um, as well as the city's um early vote center.

Um the building would also have space uh about 6,000 square feet um for a future small business or nonprofit uh tenant that has yet to be um identified.

In order to allow the proposed addition to the building, the applicant team is proposing to reconfigure the site, relocating the existing east-west alley segment, approximately 75 feet south of its existing location, and widening the far north end of the north-south alley segment to accommodate turning movements.

You can see that here on the on the left is an aerial image showing the existing configuration today, and on the right is a site plan showing the proposed configuration.

The land use applications for this project first came before the planning commission on May 18th.

The planning commission acted at that meeting to continue the applications one cycle, encouraging the applicant to make changes to the project to respond to the concerns that were raised by the adjacent property owner, who is the appellant today.

The project returned to the planning commission on June 8th and was continued another cycle at the request of the applicant.

They requested more time to make those changes.

And then it returned to the planning commission a third time on June 22nd.

Between the plans that went between the May 18th planning commission meeting and the June 22nd Planning Commission meeting, a number of changes were made by the applicants to respond to those concerns.

The largest, and you can see a comparison between the original proposal and what went to planning commission on June 22nd.

The largest change is to the southeast corner of the property where the proposed dead-end alley segment, that the end of that north-south alley has been widened significantly, and the arrangement of the far southeast corner of the subject property has been modified to increase the maneuvering area available for vehicles traveling through the block from Mini Haha to Snelling via the alley.

The widened alley as proposed and approved by the planning commission on June 22nd allows for buses, RVs, and trucks of up to 50 feet in length to make the turns necessary to navigate through the block.

The applicant has also reduced the north-south dimension of the building addition by approximately 11 and a half feet to increase the visibility of that 3010 Mini Haha building from Snelling Avenue and has also added a designated pedestrian walkway connecting the public sidewalk on Snelling to the rear of that 3010 Mini Haha parcel.

And so there's two other I'm sorry that this is kind of difficult to see in this setting, but they're kind of a few different versions of a side-by-side showing the changes that were made in response to those concerns that were raised on May 18th.

There are a total of seven land use applications associated with this project, six of which are before you today as part of these two agenda items.

First, the project has two separate rezoning requests.

These rezonings are both required to resolve conflicts between the existing zoning districts on the two subject properties.

They're not required to allow the proposed uses just to resolve the conflicts to allow the rearrangement of the property.

The planning commission has recommended approval of those rezonings, and they are before you today as part of item 23 and are not subject to appeal.

This project also originally sought two conditional use permits.

The first was to establish a planned unit development.

That application was required based on a staff error, my error, and has been returned to the applicant and is not before you today.

The second is a conditional use permit to allow a public safety and welfare use.

That's EVS's use of the property as an election headquarters and voting center.

That conditional use permit was approved by the planning commission on June 22nd and is one of the actions included in the appeal that's before you.

Are before you as part of item 23 and are not subject to appeal.

Public Works designs alleys to accommodate a step, a set of standard design vehicles, which include snowplows, garbage trucks, recycling trucks with trailers, and box trucks up to 30 feet in length.

There are situations all throughout the city where there are alleys that are used by larger commercial vehicles, but Public Works does not, as a practice, design alleys to accommodate those vehicles.

When this project originally went to planning commission on 18th, the alley design accommodated all of Public Works's standard design vehicles and metworks' standards for alley design.

And then since that that first meeting, and before the June 22nd meeting, the alley has been widened to accommodate vehicles of up to 50 feet in length.

So greatly exceeding the standard requirements of public works.

The proposed maneuvering area greatly exceeds the standard design requirements that Public Works has.

And it's the position of both public works staff as well as CPED staff that the vacation and the plat meet the required findings and provide the necessary access for this site and for the block.

If there are any questions about the original findings in the staff report or any of staff's response to anything that's raised in the appeal statement, I'm happy to answer those questions.

But staff is recommending that the committee deny the appeal, adopt staff findings, and uphold the planning commission's actions.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Andrew, for that presentation.

I really appreciate it.

I will go ahead and open up this hearing and then ask the appellant if they are here to come and speak on this item.

If you are here to speak on this item, you can do so now.

You will have up to seven minutes that's on that timer.

And please introduce yourself.

Thanks.

Thank you.

I have a Peter if you want to move there.

Thank you.

My name is Brian Bell, and I represent FGN C, which is the owner of the hook and ladder theater.

What I want to start on is a few diagrams.

And this is the current configuration of the public alley and the private drive.

The private drive is the part to on the map is on the eastern.

Well, I guess I can use my cursor here on the eastern side of the property.

This is the public alley.

This allows large vehicles, semi-trucks, metro mobility vehicles, et cetera, to drive straight through the alley in either direction, dropping people off at the front door, which had to be moved to the north side of the building in this area when the bike lane was created.

It also allows this alley for folks to park on Snelling Avenue right here, and in this parking lot here to have direct access to the front door of the hook and ladder.

That just would not be possible under the revised alley configuration where the alley would be moved to the south and east of its current location.

You can see that cars frequently park in this private drive at different locations.

And we do not believe that the part that these cars were adequately considered in the applicant's consideration of the turning radius.

That brings me to the next slide in which you can see that there is ADA parking that is along the north side of the private drive, and that the that the vehicles, this is the diagram that the applicant submitted, and that these vehicles would not be able to use the space covered by the ADA parking to make their turns.

And so it just would be infeasible for these vehicles to make this turn when there are folks that are parking in the ADA parking that again is on the north side of this private drive.

It also eliminates the straight through access from Snelling Avenue, and then equally as important is the parking that has been available.

There's historically been 88 spots available, and those would be reduced to I believe around 40 to 50 different spaces.

And that's equally as important.

Uh the applicant has indicated that it would be willing to enter some sort of a parking arrangement with us.

We've yet to have any formal discussions about that.

And in any event, it would be at a reduced uh amount of parking.

Um the final slide I'll just show here is this shows uh vehicles that are parked in the uh private drive and um why it is so uh critical for metro mobility vehicles, for performers and their tour buses, and for uh uh vendors to be able to drive straight through this alley rather than having to make um a left turn at a T intersection and then another right turn um at an L section where the new uh uh alley would be.

Um, a couple more points I would like to make before handing it over.

Um at the planning commission meeting, my recollection was that it was a it was a bare majority vote of four to three uh to recommend approval of um these these uh the land use application, and one of the major discussions was the extent to which a impact on neighboring properties is a proper consideration before this body.

And I think that it is is very plain in the ordinances itself that for everything that we've appealed under the conditional use permit, the preliminary plat and the site plan, that it is a proper consideration to consider the impacts on neighboring properties to issue a CUP.

Um, it has to be shown that it will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property for a preliminary plat, it must not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of neighboring property.

Site plan is designed to help to promote the development that is compatible with nearby properties.

And so when planning commission staff said that a finding that approval would somehow be injurious to the adjacent property could not be a finding to support approval.

That's just incorrect.

And in fairness, that was specifically in reference to the uh street vacation, but it's also incorrect with respect to the street vacation because that ordinance provides that uh that that the alley vacation not have a negative effect upon the access by a budding and adjacent property owners, and for the reasons that I've described, this would have a negative impact on the access of a budding and an adjacent property owners.

Um the only thing that I'll conclude on is that all that we're asking from the applicant is that the existing alley be maintained and that the existing parking uh be maintained.

And we believe that there's a fairly straightforward way to do that, which would be to have the loading dock at grade rather than being sunken to move the garage for the mobile voter uh vehicle, and then to uh and those are really I think actually the two, and I think moving a refuse bin that would allow this uh alley to remain as it is.

And I'll yield the balance of my time to Hello.

I'm Christine Smith, I'm the owner of record.

I'm not happy to be here.

I'm not happy to be paying a lawyer.

I feel that this whole issue could have been avoided if someone had taken the time to look me up and talk to me in person.

There was no way I would have approved a plan like this.

And I find myself standing there and thinking that if it was anybody else, it was Joe Bagadonuts, owner next door, and he wanted to do this to me and to my businesses.

That there's no way the city council would allow this to happen.

But because this is a city piece of property and this is what the city wants, I'm forced in the position of having to fight for my business, my neighborhood.

And this is a neighborhood that's been severely impacted by the riots.

We are the remaining four businesses.

Uh we are the remaining four businesses.

Thank you.

Please wrap it up.

Yep, I'm finishing.

We're the remaining four businesses.

It once was a vital organization.

I would like to see it continue.

I don't want the democracy center to be the reason that kills everything.

Thank you.

Next, we will go to those who have signed up for public testimony.

First, we have Chris Mosina.

Thank you to this committee for this opportunity to speak to you today.

I am Chris Mosina, co-founder and operator of the Hook and Ladder.

We are located directly next door to the former third precinct and home of the future site of the Democracy Center.

To be clear, we support redeveloping the former third precinct site.

For six of the past ten years, the hook and ladder is operated.

We've lived next to a fenced-off shell surrounded by concrete barriers and rusty barbed wire.

We'd love to see that chapter end.

Our primary concern is whether the current design presented unintentionally hurts us and the surrounding businesses.

To be clear, this isn't just about the hook and ladder.

Within our block is a growing arts and entertainment juristic that includes the hook and ladder, firehouse performing arts center, Noble Presents, Space Between, Sol Canab Fitness, Future Home of Pangea World Theaters New Location, Moon Palace Books, Arbiter Brewing, and several other independent businesses.

Today there are more than 10 arts and hospitality destination businesses working together to make this part of Longfellow in South Minneapolis a place people want to come and experience.

The Hook and Ladder will celebrate its 10th anniversary in two weeks with the community picnic.

But we've spent those 10 years doing much more than presenting live art, uh live concerts and performing arts.

We provide safe spaces and platforms for marginalized communities.

A democracy center presumably seeks to serve.

The Democracy Center project in its current form recently passed the planning commission after several minor improvements were made.

However, we still believe major access and parking issues remain and re uh represent an existential threat to the theater and surrounding area.

The biggest issue that no one appears to have completed an economic impact study evaluating how the current design affects neighboring businesses and the future growth of this emerging entertainment district.

We believe those goals can and should work together.

For six years while the third precinct is remained vacant, our neighborhood businesses have continued on investing, creating jobs, paying taxes, attracting visitors, and helping this neighborhood to recover.

Thank you.

Please wrap up the to be clear.

Thank you.

Next we have Brian Ball or Bell.

Okay.

No worries.

Next we can go to speaker number three, Lisa Boyd.

Two.

Hello, my name is Lisa Boyd.

I'm a resident of the Howe neighborhood and I work in the Longfellow neighborhood.

I'm here today representing the nonprofit organization Longfellow Rising.

Thank you to the committee for the opportunity to speak today on behalf of a beloved part of the city that is rapidly turning into an arts and entertainment district and slowly recovering from so much destruction that happened in 2020.

Like many have said before, we are glad finally to see movement on the renovation and reuse of the property at 3000 Mini Haha.

For too long, it has been a symbol of stalled recovery and abandonment.

However, this recovery should not come into the expense of anchor businesses on Minihaja Avenue, especially the Hook and Ladder Theater, which is a destination in downtown Longfellow and a cherished institution for musicians and music lovers across the metro.

It could ultimately be decided that everything the city is planning to do at this site is perfectly legal.

But just because it's legal and maybe it isn't, it still doesn't make it the right thing to do.

I'm asking the committee today to slow this process down just enough so that the local business owners, the property department, and the architects can sit down together and come up with a new plan that meets everyone's needs.

Thank you.

Thank you, Lisa.

Is there anyone else wishing to speak on this item?

Okay.

Um Clerk, I just wanted to give a check on what else we need to do to conduct this part of the public hearing.

Is it if the applicant wants to speak at all, they are welcome to, but don't have to.

Okay.

Um I'll offer the moment for the applicant to speak and just request that we ensure that that is in our script for the future.

I believe the applicant gets seven minutes.

It says two right now.

Thank you, Chair Osman.

Members of the council, my name is Jennifer Anderson Tuttle.

I'm the Would you mind just waiting one second here?

70.

I don't have that much.

You want 70 minutes?

No, thank you.

Go ahead.

Okay, thank you.

Chair Osman, members of the council.

My name is Jennifer Anderson Tuttle.

I'm a principal director of our public sector at LSE Architects.

Um I'm happy to be here today to share the information on the Democracy Center project.

Uh and am excited to share also that we are the design architects for the Pangea World Theater Project, which was just referenced.

We've had the chance to have some open houses on this project at Moon Palace previously before some of the meetings that were were mentioned and have met with Hook and Ladder on two occasions since our last meeting as well to try to address as many of their concerns as we could, and we believe we have met those that we're aware of.

Can you go to the next slide?

We just wanted to share a little bit.

Oh, okay, just roll.

All right, got it.

There's no switches.

Okay.

Okay.

So just looking at this plan.

This is the plan that was initially shared at Planning Commission where we first heard of a concern regarding the garage location.

Previously, we had heard about a turning radiuses, which we had worked on some diagrams.

We were not aware of the garage concern at that point.

So after following meetings with them, we made some additional adjustments to the plan.

We also were aware of uh parking concerns.

We have at this point 59 evening stalls in addition to 14 parking for bicycles on site.

Um so it's a slight reduction from the current, and I think the applicant did, or I'm sorry, the um hook and ladder shared that there have been offered discussions about some shared use parking that would happen outside of this process, and that's that's what we're aware of.

Um the five changes that were made to the plan since we met with Planning Commission initially are identified in this plan.

One there was a generator that had initially been located about where my cursor is in this green space here right before the green space.

We had have come up with an alternative plan, so there would not need to be a generator in that location, keeping the visibility more clear.

We relocated a transformer that would have been in that same location, which comes at some added expense to the project, but we've made that adjustment.

Uh we widen the alley, which um um Andrew Friends mentioned.

It was it's uh the I think the regulation width is 15 feet.

We have gone to a 32-foot wide um dimension, which is more than double what is required, um, and that both allows for uh turning radiuses of 45-foot vehicles but also a 50-foot vehicle, um, which is um conducive of the size that has been shared with us as a maximum size.

Um and it also could allow uh uh a vehicle to actually even park in this turning radius and still have room for uh maneuvering around it.

We added a sidewalk from Snelling to the back of uh where the the alley begins, which is about where um the moon palace sign and where you would turn to kind of get to the location.

Um and then the probably the biggest change is the garage that they've referenced wanting to see be relocated has been relocated further within the building, and so at a loss of square footage to the building, um it does have some impact to operations, but being able to keep that as a secured and connected piece of the program is somewhat essential.

Um then I'm gonna need two minutes.

Okay, okay, thank you.

So I'm I'm showing that here, 50-foot turning radius.

What I really want to highlight is this diagram here.

Um we, you know, from multiple visits to the site, photographing of the parking, and I think the um attorney also shared some diagrams that demonstrated where those cars park.

You can see we have I we have identified the striped parking spots.

Uh he did I uh reference those as ADA parking spots.

I'd just like to highlight none of those meet requirements currently as ADA parking spots, so they are not ADA parking, but we have identified those cars on this spot.

You can see that the turning radius of this vehicle is a 50-foot vehicle.

It makes no turns that are different than the turns a vehicle would make today on a straight-through shot until it gets to this location, which is past parking of every car that's shown on the site.

So there is no impact to the parking that is currently there that has the turn has any part of.

So I I wanted to highlight that.

Um I also wanted to highlight that we have had conversations with some of the business local business owners.

Um, Panga in part, and there is not objection that I'm aware of from my conversations with Mina and Tabonkar related to the current proposal.

Um we also wanted to highlight this is this is what the view had been before we moved the garage.

So after meeting with them the second time, we understood we understood that was an issue.

We've shifted that in.

You see, the view corridor is now open.

I'm gonna turn it over to Mohammed Lewal now, who is um CEO and design principal.

Um good afternoon.

I'm one of the applicants.

Um, Mohammed Lawal, I'm the principal architect for the project and the CEO of Law Scott Ericsson Architect.

Um, I have personally been involved in a number of the community meetings that have been had.

I've met personally on two occasions with the owner Christine of Hook and Ladder as well as Chris.

And what I can tell you that my firm for 15 years has done work in the city of Minneapolis in our community.

I'm a resident here, I'm in ward five, a business owner, and my team has worked extensively to exceed the requirements of the zoning and planning to meet the needs for this site and facility.

And we have, I've personally looked over it and gone through things, and we've made every accommodation we believe that's reasonable, and we believe it the findings and the planning commission support as such.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I'll pass the chair back over to Chair Osman and share with him that I'm in queue.

Thank you so much.

Are there anyone else who would like to speak on the public hearing?

See none.

Uh close the public hearing and recognize Councilmember Fice Church Houdin.

Yeah, thank you so much, Chair Osman.

First of all, I just want to start off by um saying thank you to everyone that um came uh to chambers here today, both the appellant, the applicant, and our city staff.

Um want to thank city staff for their work on this project and then also just this process.

And I also want to thank community members for bringing their voice into this.

I want to just start off by saying that I do support the Democracy Center project.

And I also want to contextualize the community that I represent.

I represent the 12th ward.

This is in the ninth ward, but this is a critical part of the community for my residents.

They work, they play here, they own businesses here.

This is where their local gym is, this is where their local independent concert and entertain entertainment venue is one that's extremely inclusive.

And also the Longfellow area, the downtown Longfellow area, is a core to the vibrancy of the South Side.

And this is an area that has faced a lot of hardship over the last six years.

You oftentimes hear business owners and community members sharing that they're worried about death by a thousand cuts.

And they also have a great level of hope for this part of the community.

People are showing up constantly.

They're doing litter cleanup, they're doing activations in that green space, Nuevo Campo as they've developed it, they're doing bench paintings, they're activating the area, they're hosting events at Hook and Ladder to benefit neighbors that have struggled to pay rent, they're supporting local artists, and one of the chief worries that we hear about is that Hook and Ladder that is an anchor business for this area is going to face hardship due to the Democracy Center project.

And I think it's important to note that we're at an important juncture of being able to take a big step together.

Um, and I think that step does require some time and some additional conversations, and I think there is time and space for us to do so.

Um of the questions that I wanted to start off asking is uh for our city staff.

Um if we are to take a take some time to continue this, would this have any impact on the democracy center construction timeline?

And I'll ask Director Holine to come up if you're able.

I'm asked, sorry.

Hi, I can't really hold in manager the land uses it and preservation team.

So I can say from the land use uh application side, the applicant who is property services has given us enough room for a two-cycle continuance that would push things out into October.

You know, obviously every delay here probably impacts their construction timeline in some way, but that is the current timeline that we're working with.

And I'm sure property services could tell you more about what's going on.

Could you explain just like the extension a little bit that you you mentioned and the two cycle continuance and how that was like thought of?

So per state law, the city has 60 days to approve a land, well, review and act on a land use application.

We also have the ability to extend that by 60 days out to 120 after that timeline expires.

The only way that we can continue an application without making a decision is if we're granted an extension from the applicant.

Uh so in this case, we do have an extension from the applicant that goes to October.

No.

September 18th.

September 18th, sorry.

Um, so a decision would need to get all the way through this body and be signed by the mayor and published before that September 18th date.

Okay, thank you.

That's really clarifying.

Um, and I I think like uh just kind of de diving a little bit deeper into this.

I wanted to ask the appellant, as this is a quasi-judicial matter.

We have to have our conversations here in this forum.

I wanted to ask the appellant just some questions about um impact to the local economy and some things that you're hoping could be included in this project.

I think that would be just some valuable input for this body to hear, just like what you're hearing from local businesses in the neighborhood, and then what you're hoping to get.

Um, there's always there as council members, we can try to have conversations to see what's possible.

Not everything is possible, but getting your input in this forum is helpful.

Conversations contain words, words and their definitions have value.

What I've heard today is it may boil down to a distinction between direct access and necessary access.

Um I personally what we have today is direct access.

What we have today is adequate parking and the infrastructure to support this evolving entertainment district that we've attempted to describe.

These um what minor adjustments to a turning radius in the alley do not direct do not uh address those concerns.

And we initially put forward a list of eight concerns three meetings ago.

So it's um disappointing to hear that none of these things have been uh uh heard of before the June meeting.

Um you know, the bottom line was we'd like to continue to do what we're doing today.

And we'd like to see the RV garage, which to my understanding, there's one existing democracy center in the nation that we're basing this design on.

Seems to me the city could find a another place to put that garage that provided safety and security that did not bring about all these negative effects.

This is not the first time I've had a problem with the city as my neighbor in 2000 when they put the addition on.

They when I went to the planning commission meeting, there was in front of me a plan to put the front door on my parking lot.

Once again, the city had failed to contact me as the owner.

I have done my best.

It's an 1894 historic firehouse.

It takes a lot of money to keep it upright.

I don't need the city to tell me that they need to build this democracy center in such a way that's going to impact the value of my building.

There are only three uses for a building like this a coffee shop, a retail, or a restaurant.

Without adequate access and parking, it is useless.

If I don't bring this matter to before you now, I would be bringing it to you later when I had to sue you for the value of my building that had been destroyed, and I had no way of selling it or maintaining it.

I bought that building to support the arts.

Thank you.

Just uh one other question, and I want to be mindful of time.

If we aren't able to get like the thing that you mentioned about the RV or the full direct access, is there anything that would be a compromise or an idea of what would be workable?

I mean, we're talking about an entertainment district and removing 45% of the available parking and access to the only on-street parking, which is snelling, is counterintuitive to our ambitions as a community.

I know what you're asking for.

Like what where's the happy medium?

And the happy medium is um is simply reimagining the design and perhaps the city asserting itself as the client in this process and directly asking for an updated design.

I I find it hard to believe that this is the only possible solution for parking in RV.

Okay.

Well, thank you.

Those are those are my questions for now.

Um and yeah, I'll get I'll jump back in queue if there are any other questions.

All right.

Um thank you so much.

Next, I will recognize Councilmember Shabbos.

Uh thank you, Chair Osman.

I'll first begin by saying that many of you all know that I initially did not support the Democracy Center.

It was not a project that I voted for, but since then they have learned more about the projects.

There's been changes made to the project.

Um, especially my concerns when it came to the windowless component of the democracy center.

So very happy that that was able to be changed throughout this process.

So very thankful to the work that staff has done through this project and uh the work that is going to happen.

Really excited about the community component, the community space that is going to be a part of the project.

Uh so I at least want to start off by with that component.

I think the situation right now that I'm mostly concerned about is the alleyway concern.

And I think that is something that I want to at least figure out ways we can address maybe some of the concerns that community members have been bringing up in my ward.

Just for context, this is in Ward 9.

There's a project in my backyard.

Um and would appreciate my colleagues supporting a delay of a cycle just so we can figure out that component.

So I would like to make that motion.

Thank you so much.

I uh put myself in here, and I think the question was asked on the delay of the election, and I do want to directly ask the maybe the finance building.

Who is the is here?

Doctor, uh on delaying this.

Will this create an issue with uh presidential election next year?

Uh I am you know supportive of the council uh uh council uh motion that's that was just made for one cycle, but if that cycle is an issue that that could create uh a problem, then I might have to uh look at it different way and and and move this forward.

So uh like just the clear answer, you being the director of the uh of the property services.

Uh, will this affect uh our uh elections?

Chair Osman.

I'm Barbara O'Brien, director of property services, and I really thank you for asking that question.

Um, as was demonstrated uh earlier in this discussion.

This project has already had some delays in this process for the land use application.

Um, so we've already uh suffered that.

This project, the intent of this project is to deliver this building such that the um voter services can be moved in and functioning in time for the next presidential election.

The schedule right now is extremely tight.

We will it will be a very big challenge to meet that delivery date.

You know that in construction, there are always unforeseen conditions.

There are delays in mechanics and equipment things.

That's part of construction.

Any delay takes away our ability to deliver this project on time.

I I appreciate you.

I have not heard that this is gonna have a other than uh the delay and and then but it's not really gonna have an effect of the actual voting time of uh citizen is to vote on.

Um it is scheduled.

Uh could be tight schedule, but I am uh leading to supporting the motion to delay a cycle.

Um I have not heard say yes, it would.

Say that again.

Sir, I did say yes, it will affect.

It will affect.

Yes, it does affect our schedule.

Yes.

Okay.

That is uh uh my end of my question.

We have been joined by council member uh Palmasano.

Councilmember Palmasano, welcome to Biz Committee.

Thank you.

Um I as you mentioned, I'm not part of this committee, I don't get to vote today, but thank you for having me here.

I'm here because this project is very important to me.

Um I don't see it the way that the attorney for the um appellant here explain this at all.

I don't see the city inserting itself as the client.

I I see the city as frankly being taken advantage of here, and that's my opinion.

Um, but I do recognize, especially from the public perspective, that this is complicated because it is the city, and then our architect LSE, who is the applicant, which is part of why we are going for no variances.

Um we're not asking any special permissions here.

Um I don't see how any future agreements between the city and neighboring properties after all of this other conversation could be legally tied to this land use approval.

If it was, it would have to go back through the planning commission and back here.

I see no justifiable reason to deny or to delay this any further, not to say that conversations can't continue to happen.

I worry that any delay has a cumulative effect, and I worry that this then means a no-go for having this election center open for the next presidential election.

That is different than land use law.

You've seen recently that we went beyond land use time, but that's not really a factor here, as Mr.

Friends you know, uh assured us.

Um that is not my concern.

My concern is about getting this finally in place for its intended public purpose, which is an elections office.

Um, and that is with all due deference to council members who hold this community close in their vicinity.

I do really respect that.

Um to that end, I've been part of this for six years now as to what we do with this space.

Um, some on this dais are far more new to this.

Um the council members that represent this area aren't brand new to this.

Um I do have a couple of questions.

I see this was already delayed at Planning Commission, and I think that Hook and Ladder was in attendance at the community engagement session a year ago when this plan was shown.

This plan has been in front of us, it's been public on limbs for a year.

I do not know any other land use applicant ever that's met with neighbors multiple times and changed things to make things work for the neighbors.

Moving a transformer is a big expensive deal, and widening the alley is also a big expensive deal.

Um LSE mentioned it changes the square footage of their design building.

Important to me is that the parking lot to the third precinct was fenced and gated when the precinct was operating there.

It was a reasonable measure for the security for a police station, but it was not available to hook and ladder or other nearby businesses prior to the third precinct stopping operations there.

It was not available, it was fenced off.

The police parking lot couldn't be used for other operations for other uses in the area at night.

I think the way that this parking lot has been used is basically the same as using our city's parking for free, which is fine.

If it was a private somebody else's private lot, that would be considered squatting.

There's a shopping center across the street that has literally hundreds of parking spaces, the majority of which are empty when I'm in the area.

It surprises me and I do not understand when it was said they had to move the front door because of a bike lane.

I don't think that's how it works, but that is exactly what I experienced as a concert goer when I went there a few months ago.

Is this allowed?

Like I don't know of any other business that doesn't have to have the front door in the front of their business.

Is there somebody that could answer that question in plan review?

Uh Councilmember Palmasano.

So under the zoning code, a front entrance facing the goods and services corridor.

So facing the street is required here.

As far as I'm aware, we did not sign off on any building permits to allow the closure of the front entrance and a relocation of the principal entrance to the north side of the building.

So that surprised me as a user of this space.

Another thing that surprises me as a user of this space is that the parking on the other side of the building, what used to be on the other side of your building has been completely blocked off what looks to be permanently for a private patio.

Is this a permitted use?

Is this indeed permanent?

Because I see bike rack things that are permanently installed.

I see a fence without a gate that a person in distress could egress from.

And I think that there's a balance of removing your parking lot from where it used to be to where you want it to be, and it's not disability parking.

There are I want the city to be good neighbors with everybody around it.

I want everybody in this area to have agreements, maybe now without it being a police precinct, there can be some kind of parking space agreement.

I think we've been good neighbors here for a very long time.

Um, but I see no grounds here for delay or denial.

And this applicant has met every single code requirement and in my opinion, bent over backwards to try and work well with the people who were objecting around it.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you so much.

Uh, we'll recognize Vice Chair Chowdhury.

Yeah, thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Um I mean, I I believe deeply whenever something comes before this body, it should be anticipated that there's always a chance that there is a single cycle for continuance.

We are not a record through any governing body automatically.

There's always a chance for continuance.

That's just the reality of the situation that we have here.

I think this continuance gives us an opportunity as council members of the area to really take stock of what are possibilities here.

I personally do not believe we are going to be able to meet every single thing that that the appellant is looking for, but there are things that we can consider, and I'm interested in considering in terms of what we can do to support the economic future of this area and be good neighbors.

And I would love to work with finance and property services and our staff to think through that and have a conversation and have conversations with our other city staff.

I don't feel like there is enough information or conversation to make a motion or suggest conditions or have those conversations right now, and I don't believe that there will be enough time for it by Thursday.

I also want to just take some time to apologize to hook and ladder.

It was said that you're the city's being taken advantage of.

There shouldn't be any talking down or just making making this area feel small when there's already been so much pressure and so much hardship, and it's an area that's really trying to rise.

It is really, really trying.

Everybody's really trying.

Like the neighbors and the businesses here really care for each other.

So those are my comments.

I think I made clear.

I think Councilmember Chavez made clear.

We're looking to find a way to ensure that this project moves forward because the Democracy Center would be a great activation for this area.

But also I think we need to figure out how to how to care for the economic future of this.

Councilmember Rainville.

Thank you, Chair.

So could the clerks remind me, do we have a motion on the floor?

We are debating one, or do we need to do that?

Yes, we do.

Um councilmember Chavez, a move to delay the item for one more cycle.

Okay.

There's that motion on the floor right now, correct?

Yeah.

Yep.

That's the motion we have.

Okay, great.

So I I am I'm gonna vote against that because I think we need this to move to the full council.

There is 10 days before that meeting.

That's plenty of time to work out this.

I'm listening loud and clear to our staff that uh the presidential election, the vote on that is being endangered by these continuous delays.

And uh it's it's time to roll up our sleeves and go to work.

Everybody, and uh that's why I'm not gonna vote for this motion, but I will be advancing uh this to the full council should should that be necessary.

Thank you.

I would love to just get clarity on that from staff real quick that the vote would still take place for the presidential election.

Thank you.

Through the chair and to our legal staff.

Certainly, the presidential election would still there would still be a vote.

Our objective as property services is to be able to provide this piece of property, this facility to be available for that purpose.

We currently lease space that uh houses those services, and the intent of this building is to be um fully prepared, operational, and ready to receive the vote for the presidential election, not saying that the presidential election won't happen.

All right.

I I I just really sorry, Doctor.

I just want to get it clear.

The vote will happen, but where will happen if we delay it?

Would it have been the location, the new location uh 3030?

Um, or would it have been uh on hennepin, um the one that's currently leasing?

I will make a decision based on the answer you gave me.

I do not want to delay the election.

I want the election to move forward and to happen in this new location.

But the point of council member my colleagues raised and having an opportunity to have a conversation to business owners to really meet their need uh is is also important.

Sure.

But um would the election happen in this location if we delay it today.

Another way sure.

Please chair Chair Esmin.

Um another way to explain this, um, maybe a little bit more clear language, is that delaying this a cycle and pushing this out means that sending this bid package out to bid so that we have can have a construction contract also gets delayed.

And then we are no longer talking about starting construction in the fall.

We are now talking about winter conditions.

That uh and that is a significant delay.

Sure.

And that significantly impacts the construction.

So this is a real thing.

The ripple effect from this decision will impact the viability of this project.

Uh I see uh uh Casey Carl uh clerk, who also the head of the election and uh voting services.

If you can add your uh Pinion or your facts or please welcome.

Thank you, uh Mr.

Chair and Council members.

Clearly, I wasn't prepared to uh present today, but I've been monitoring the coverage of the meeting from my office, and I hurried in here to maybe give a direct answer from the perspective of the operating department elections and voter services.

Uh the current timeline that property services is working against is the 2028 presidential election, both under state law, which requires notices in advance of where early voting would take place, as well as our ability to move all of our operation from our current facility on Hennepin into the new democracy center.

Uh early voting starts, uh, I want to say July.

We have to give notices by the end of June.

The current schedule has us moving in in mid-June 2028.

That gives us literally a month for any wiggle room for things that could go wrong.

And in major projects like this, I'm certain there will be delays.

So we are really running the clock to the last minute to move our entire election in advance of a presidential.

I have already told the property services team there has to be a point of no return by which I have to file with the Secretary of State in Hennepin County notice of where early voting will take place.

And if we get close to that date and we're not many, we will not move in 2028, which further delays our move into 2029.

Thank you, Clerk.

Your uh points really matter uh on the decision.

Uh, and I appreciate you coming uh from your office to lay that for us.

I see a couple more council members here.

Uh I recognize councilmember Schaefer and then Vice Chair Childby.

Sure.

I won't be able to support this motion to delay.

I really respect the work that staff have put in back and forth to with the planning commission and the planning commission's extra time and really trying to work with a design that really works with the neighboring property owner.

I think if we were to continue to delay this, we are then creating a situation where we are creating hardship for our city staff and really moving forward with the plan for the next election, which is going to be a time to celebrate, right?

To celebrate a brand new location that we have worked hard after years of pain and anguish around that site.

I would hate to see this delayed past such an important election goal.

For us to be able to be in that site, have room for us to be able to display that for the community, I think would be a really high and great goal for us to accomplish.

Right.

Uh thank you, Councilmember Schaefer.

I have uh council Vice Chair Chowdhury, please.

Thank you.

I I really appreciated this discussion.

Um I hope folks in the room can see that.

I mean, I this is an important discussion to have, and so I hope that there isn't you know a denial of the necessity of this conversation.

It's the job of us to represent our communities.

Um I want to just state I will be supporting uh the motion that's before us if it continues.

I don't think at present, if that motion fails, I'd be able to support this right now.

I just I think there's that further work that needs to be done, so I want to just be clear on that.

Like that that's the reason for the motion for me.

Getting that time and speaking with staff.

So I would still like for that to happen regardless of what the decision is that comes out of this body.

The other thing that I want to be crystal clear on is we have seen other projects happen for um city buildings, such as the Southside Community Safety Center.

That was supposed to be done years ago and has not been completed.

And that is much to my chagrin because that is something that the community has asked for.

And so if this project is not completed on the on the timeline that it's said to be completed and we're not able to move forward, I'm going to remember the fact that like a two-week delay, which is troubling to me that we can't plan for a two-week delay, a single cycle delay in our process because it's a regular thing that happens in a body.

That's going to be troubling if we don't end up actually getting this done on schedule and moving in.

Because we're saying we can't take two weeks to have a conversation that's necessary with community members.

So I just want to state that clearly.

I hope if if we are if the delay doesn't go forward, that this is actually done on time and that we're able to move forward on the 2028 election.

Because I will say there are several other documented factors that could lead it to not happening on time.

And I I'm just not in a place to have enough evidence to be assured that a two-week delay would be the be the reason why it doesn't move forward on schedule.

I think there's actually several other things outside of this that would lead to that, as evidenced by the Southside Community Safety Center.

All right, thank you so much.

Uh seeing no one else on the motion.

Oh.

Councilmember Shabbos.

Uh thank you, Chair Osman.

It's clear that I don't have the support to delay this one cycle, so I'll be withdrawing my motion.

I'll just say, colleagues, um, you know, I hope that FO Council we have enough time to address the concerns that I've outlined here today.

This is the ward I represent.

There are small business owners that have clearly outlined some of the concerns that they have.

I already publicly said I support the project moving forward.

I'm trying to address one concern, particularly that some of the small business owners have identified in the ward that I represent.

And I don't believe that two weeks would have killed this project.

You know, if if two years come from now and the building isn't even built out, which wouldn't be surprised to me because I look at the safety center for the third precinct.

That was supposed to be opened up last year, and we're in 2026.

And we're going to go into 2027, and there probably still isn't going to be a third precinct building.

So I hope that if folks aren't gonna, you know help me figure this out.

And if this even doesn't even open up for the presidential election, that will be pretty pretty telling.

So that's it.

All right.

Uh Councilmember Jason Chavez withdraw his motion to delay it.

So now uh we need a motion.

And I see Councilmember Rainbow on the line.

Yes, I I move that we forward this without recommendation to the full council.

All right.

Uh we are uh the councilmember Rainbow's motion to move forward without recommendation.

I will ask clerk to call the role councilmember Rainville.

All right.

Warren.

Uh Schaefer, aye.

Chavez.

No.

Vice Chair Chowdhury.

Nay.

And Chair Osman.

Aye.

There are four ayes and two nays.

Right.

That motion carries.

Uh next we have see here.

Uh we are moving to uh on discussion items.

We are going to take uh item uh take up item 21 and 22, and I will invite uh Greg Goldberg and David McCuz McKunza from CBIT to give us update about the program.

Welcome.

Okay.

Sorry.

Sorry about that delay.

Um thank you, Chair Osman, members of the committee for having us today.

I'm Carrie Goldberg with residential finance.

This presentation addresses the next two agenda items.

I'm gonna provide a very brief overview of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund program, and then my colleague David McCunza will provide a very brief overview of NOAA, and then we'll take any questions that you have.

The Affordable Housing Trust Fund program creates and preserves affordable housing projects that have 10 units or more by providing gap financing.

Um by providing gap financing for project capital costs.

The minimum qualifier is that 20% of the units must be affordable at 50% AMI or less, and the funds are structured as a deferred loan with affordability in place for a minimum of 30 years.

The program prioritizes deeply affordable units at 30% AMI, units for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, large units for families, and units with rental assistance, along with units that provide support services.

There are four main sources of funds in this program, which are community development block grant funds, home investment partnership funds, local affordable housing aid funds, and local pooled TIFF.

The program is designed to comply with all state and federal requirements associated with those funding sources.

Awards are made on a per unit basis through an annual competitive process, and the program is oversubscribed each year.

Applications are evaluated against the affordable housing trust fund underwriting standards and criteria and project feasibility.

Staff analyzes the project sources and uses, financial gaps, the management and operating budget and expenses, the project's reserves and cash flow.

The maximum award a project can receive is 35,000 per unit at or below 50% AMI.

To incent larger units, a deeper affordability, a project can qualify for 50,000 per two-bedroom unit or larger and affordable at 30% AMI or below.

Projects that provide restricted units that are filled through the coordinated entry system receive an additional 5,000 per unit.

In no case can a project's overall award be more than 15% of the total development cost.

For today, the recommendation is an update to the program to allow the city to use the local affordable housing aid funding source to allow for eligible nonprofit entities to capitalize the operating deficit reserves for a trust funded project in accordance with the state statute.

It does not increase the award amount.

And now I'll go ahead and pass the presentation to my colleague David.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair Osman, Vice Chair Chaudry, committee members.

I am a supervisor supervisor with CPEDS residential finance, and I'm here to share proposed changes to the city's naturally occurring affordable housing preservation fund referred to as NOAA.

So back in 2018, the city established the NOAA program together with other anti-displacement programs to assist eligible preservation buyers in the acquisition and preservation of NOAA properties that were at risk of market conversion and or gentrification, while simultaneously protecting low-cost low-income renters at risk of involuntary displacement.

This program provides a low-cost loan for the acquisition of unsubsidized rental housing.

And our current loan terms are 0% interest deferred loan, 10 to 30-year loan term.

We have two loan amounts, 35,000 for a unit that is restricted at or below 60% area medium income.

Then we also have a higher one, which is 40,000 per restricted affordable unit at or below 50,000 50% area medium income.

Are deeply affordable units at or below 50% area medium income, affordability term that is ex that exceeds 10 years, and then we also provide priorities for small-scale emerging developers that have ties to the neighborhood where the proposed acquisition is located.

So the the uh as you can see on your left, uh these are the current um uh guidelines that I just referred to, and the proposed changes uh that we want to have one loan amount, which is 35,000, irrespective of the AMI restrictions.

Uh we are also proposing uh debt coverage ratios be increased from 1.1 in year one to 1.2, and then from years two to 20, we are proposing that is increased to 1.1.

Um the vacancy rate, we are also proposing that is increased from 5% to 7%.

And then lastly, we are also proposing that the borough contribution be increased to 5% with at least 3% developer equity, and the remaining 2% be a personal guarantee.

So the last slide, I just wanted to share some highlights since the program started.

Um back in 2018 to date, we have been able to preserve 576 affordable units, 103 transitional housing beds.

The program is now accessible to a wider pool of applicants, including emerging and unrepresented developers.

Um then from 2022 to 2025, we have been able to successfully close on 13 NOAA projects, 12 of which were completed by emerging developers.

And I will add that of those 12, two more than two-thirds are from the BIPOC community.

That concludes my presentation, and my colleague and I will stand for any questions you both you all may have.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

I'll ask colleagues to get into queue if they have any questions.

I just quick put myself in cue to say thank you so much for your presentation and your work on these programs.

I think it's really exciting that we have these two programs to build affordable housing and then also now support capital updates, which is huge, and then also preserving affordable housing and widening the pool.

I think it's always important to get a good refresher that these programs exist and how it's helping our communities and keeping Minneapolis affordable.

So just extension of thanks to you and your whole team that's been working on this.

And I will just also move these items together for approval.

So item 21 and 22, if there's a second.

Second.

Thank you.

And then we'll go to Councilmember Schaefer.

Hi, could you just um detail for us what were the motivations around the changes that you're proposing?

Hi, Councilmember Schaefer, Carrie Goldberg for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Program.

Um, right now, capitalizing operating deficit reserves is not a use that is permitted in the program.

It's the program has been designed to meet the federal standards, which allows for capital costs.

Um those types of funds cannot be used for capital costs or for operating reserves.

And so with the introduction of the local affordable housing aid from the state, their statute allowed for that use.

And so when we incorporated Laha into the program last year, um some of the feedback we've received from folks is that it would be nice if that was a possibility.

Um I do want to clarify it's for nonprofit entities only.

Um that's how the state statute was written, and that's what we'll be working with is for those nonprofit entities to be able to do that.

Colleagues, are there any other questions on these items?

Okay.

Seeing no further discussion and with the motion of approval on both of these items.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say nay.

That motion carries.

Okay, thank you so much.

Okay, our last item is a rezoning application for 3000 Mini Haha, the Democracy Center.

Um, as noted before, we had that discussion on the appeal in the quasi-judicial hearing portion, item number four earlier.

So that's also related to these items.

I'll invite um Andrew Friends again to come up and present.

Uh good afternoon again, uh, Vice Chair, Chattering Committee members.

Um, the items before you as part of uh this agenda item are other land use applications associated with the same uh appeal that was before you with item four.

Um these are just the uh land use applications that are not subject to appeal.

Given the action that the body took um to uh forward item four to council without recommendation, we would recommend that you do the same uh with these items given that they are tied together.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Is there any discussion on this item or any motions?

Nobody wants to make a motion on this item.

Thank you, Mike.

I will make a motion to move it forward without or with recommendation.

Well, we'll match it was without recommendation, I believe me in the other, let's match that.

Right.

Is there any discussion?

Okay.

Um Chair Osman, I'll just keep you up to speed.

Right now we're voting on the rezoning alley vacation for 3,000 mini haha related to item number four from the quasi-judicial.

The motion before us is to move this forward without recommendation to match the prior um decision that was made by this body.

And with that, I'll ask the clerk to call the roll.

Councilmember Rainville is absent.

Warren?

Aye Schaefer, aye.

Chavez?

No.

Vice Chair Chowdhury.

Aye.

And Chair Osman.

Aye.

There are four ayes and one nay and one abstention.

That motion carries.

Are we on the last discussion?

Yes, we are.

Did we have an abstention?

Absolutely.

Okay, let's could you say the vote again for just for the record?

Please.

The vote was four ayes and one nay.

And one absent.

How do we have four eyes?

Sorry.

Sorry, clicks.

Me, you, okay.

I wasn't counting you because you weren't here.

All right.

All right.

Uh, if it without objection, is it possible for me members?

Can I switch my vote to a no?

I did wanted to move forward with out of the committee, but if it's going to move forward anyways, without my vote, I would like to switch to no.

Sure.

Okay.

All right.

That item carries.

Are we on here?

You want me to finish?

Yes, please.

Okay.

All right.

I believe that that is our last item.

Okay.

But Chair and I are really teaming up together and seeing no further business before us with no objection, I'll declare this meeting adjourned.

Thank you.

Well done.

Oh, you two.