Arvidson, Adam R. From: Andrew Hestness <> Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2016 5:39 PM To: Arvidson, Adam R. Cc: Renee Spillum; Schroeder, Michael Subject: RE: Park Dedication Attachments: FranklinPlan - Bystrom Site Movement.pdf; FranklinPlan.pdf; Hennepin County Bike Plan Map.pdf; PV114 Map.pdf; CedarFranklinMinnehaha Project.pdf; Bessemer C3-01 Grading Plan.pdf Adam, Thanks for your message. We are pleased to hear the Commissioner is supportive and look forward to working together to develop a workable project for all parties. To address some of your specific comments: 1. The connection at 22 nd Street is the result of a fair amount of back and forth with the City and County on the design. The City of Minneapolis was concerned about the proximity of the trail to the project driveway and wanted to maintain space so that bicycles would not cross the driveway at speed. So far we have contemplated the east leg of the connection at 22 nd St primarily for pedestrians, and the western leg that angles towards the intersection at Cedar for bicycles since this will ultimately connect to the bikeway along Cedar Ave. Our intention was that bicycles on 22 nd St would stay on the street until the crosswalk at Cedar, and access the path from that location. Medium term a bike specific ramp could be constructed just east of the pedestrian crossing of 22 nd St at Cedar Ave. We discussed this future bike ramp and the County is interested, but it would likely require storm sewer modifications, and they would wait until they had resources to build the bikeway on the block north of the connection and make all the modifications at once. 2. The connection at the Hiawatha trail is shown as a T at the request of the City, so that bicycles are required to slow down and judge the bicycle and ped traffic on the trail before entering. We built a bicycle connection in our previous project, the Cooperage just to the south of this site with a gentler connection. For both this item and item #1 we just need a consensus between the City, County, and MPRB about how the design should be shown. If necessary we can schedule a joint meeting with all parties to address your comments. 3. Yes, the majority of the trail is on Cedar Avenue ROW, which is owned by Hennepin County, but managed by the City. Our site plan shows all improvements we are proposing to the public right of way on all sides of our project including this trail. It will be reviewed at the Minneapolis Planning Commission on 5/23, which will indicate the City s acceptance of our use of public land for the trail. 4. We agree that it should be clear that this is a public trail. We are open to exploring ways to clearly identify the trail and provide wayfinding. 5. I have attached a grading plan showing topographic lines surrounding the trail. The ground will be smoothed substantially on either side of the trail and tie into the existing grades further from the trail itself. 6. The east west pedestrian connection along 22 nd St is documented in the 2009 Franklin Vision Plan created by neighborhood stakeholders. I have attached the plan for reference and also pulled out a specific movement page that shows the pedestrian route and the desire for a connection through the Bystrom Site to the LRT, which is referencing our project site. The north south bicycle connection comes from the Hennepin County bike plan. I have attached a close up from the County plan showing the proposed off street bike facility (dotted line in red) on Cedar Avenue. The first segment of this off street facility will be built by the County this summer as a part of the the Cedar Franklin Minnehaha project (see attached map of project). The City will connect a protected bikeway north of this segment in 2019 (see attached PV114 map). The neighborhood group also expressed formal support for the trail connection and has sent you a letter. Sincerely,
From: Arvidson, Adam R. [mailto:aarvidson@minneapolisparks.org] Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2016 10:47 AM To: Andrew Hestness <> Cc: Renee Spillum <Renee@redesigninc.org>; Schroeder, Michael <MSchroeder@minneapolisparks.org> Andy and Renee: The meeting with Commissioner Vreeland last week regarding your request for consideration of land in lieu of park dedication fees went well, and the commissioner is supportive of your proposal. Our next step will be to draft an agreement that must be reviewed by legal counsel at the City and MPRB (and, of course, you). That agreement will then be before the Board for consideration. I will begin this work and keep you posted on its progress. As we move forward, there were a few minor alterations and clarifications we would like to see in the plans that will accompany the agreement: The connection to 22 nd Street should be improved. As currently drawn, bicyclists do not have a direct route into the street itself, and are forced onto the sidewalk, especially when traveling east on 22 nd. The connection to the Hiawatha bike trail should not occur as a perfect T intersection, but rather should have radii on both sides to allow easy turning movements for bikes. It appears that the majority of the trail connection will take place on city right of way. Please document the city s approval of this use of public land, and what maintenance agreements you have made with the city. The proposed trail must be made obviously a public trail connection. Appropriate signage should be installed at both ends of the trail that helps users navigate and makes clear that the trail is open to the public. Minneapolis s standard bikeway signage should suffice. We are unclear exactly how the trail sits on the steep slope between your property and Cedar Avenue. Please provide the project s grading plan for this area. Please provide, for reference, the neighborhood s bike plan, if it differs from the city s. This will provide back up to your statement of neighborhood desire for this connection. Please note that we cannot pre allocate your fee portion of the park dedication to specific projects at this time. Seward Neighborhood has three park properties that would be eligible for park dedication fee expenditures: Matthews Park,
Normanna Triangle, and a portion of Mississippi Gorge Regional Park. Allocations of park dedication fees are made during the MPRB s annual budgeting and CIP process. Thank you for this excellent proposal. I look forward to continuing work with you. Adam. Adam Regn Arvidson, PLA, FASLA Director of Strategic Planning Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board 2117 West River Road Minneapolis MN 55411 612 230 6470 From: Andrew Hestness [mailto:] Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 1:26 PM To: Arvidson, Adam R. Cc: Renee Spillum Thanks Adam, I was curious if there was any update on the process and timing? Do you have a sense of when a decision could be made? We are continuing to advance the development project, and plan to have it reviewed at the May 23 rd Minneapolis Planning Commission meeting. We are interested to know how the two approval processes will align. Let us know if you have questions. Also, I have taken a new job, and will be transitioning out of my role at Redesign. My last day will be May 20 th. Renee Spillum (612 435 0279, renee@redesigninc.org) from Redesign will be your contact going forward. Thanks,
From: Arvidson, Adam R. [mailto:aarvidson@minneapolisparks.org] Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2016 12:27 PM To: Andrew Hestness <> Thank you, Andrew. I will convene the appropriate internal meetings and be in touch shortly. Adam. Adam Regn Arvidson, PLA, FASLA Director of Strategic Planning Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board 2117 West River Road Minneapolis MN 55411 612 230 6470 From: Andrew Hestness [mailto:] Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2016 1:54 PM To: Arvidson, Adam R. Cc: Schroeder, Michael; Renee Spillum; Brian Miller Subject: Park Dedication Adam, I have attached a letter initiating the process of review for land in lieu of fee under the Minneapolis Park Dedication Ordinance for our development project at 2200 Snelling Avenue within the private land maintained for public use provision. I have attached the landscape plan showing the area proposed to dedicate and the proposed improvements. Please let me know if you have any questions, and what additional information you need during the review process. Sincerely,
From: Andrew Hestness Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2016 10:43 AM To: 'Arvidson, Adam R.' <AArvidson@minneapolisparks.org> Cc: Schroeder, Michael <MSchroeder@minneapolisparks.org>; Renee Spillum (Renee@redesigninc.org) <Renee@redesigninc.org>; Brian Miller (brian@redesigninc.org) <brian@redesigninc.org> Adam, Great to talk to you this morning. Thank you for the park dedication in lieu of fee information. I have attached a landscape drawing showing the approximate area we are proposing for the private land maintained for public use. Additionally I have included a current civil drawing that more clearly shows the trail connection in grey. As I read the ordinance, it requires.01 acres dedicated per housing unit for market rate units, up to a max of 10% of the site area. We have 121 units and our site is 53,046 sq ft (~1.22 acres), so the cap would apply. My assumption is the dedication area would need to be approximately 5,300 sq ft. Can you confirm if this is the correct calculation for the requirement? Our drawing is currently showing an area just over 5,300 sq ft. Let me know if you have questions, and we will be in touch. Sincerely,
From: Arvidson, Adam R. [mailto:aarvidson@minneapolisparks.org] Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2016 9:46 AM To: Andrew Hestness <> Cc: Schroeder, Michael <MSchroeder@minneapolisparks.org> Subject: Park Dedication Andrew: Attached please find a document with the general procedure for considering park dedication land in lieu of fees. Please answer briefly the questions in step 1. I will then schedule the internal meeting referenced in step 2. This is an interesting proposal and I look forward to continuing work with you. Adam. Adam Regn Arvidson, PLA, FASLA Director of Strategic Planning Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board 2117 West River Road Minneapolis MN 55411 612 230 6470