The Minneapolis City Council on Dec. 7, 2018, approved the “Minneapolis 2040” Comprehensive Plan and forwarded it, as required by state law, to the Metropolitan Council for final approval during 2019. The plan provides a roadmap for where the city sees itself in the coming years. Urban design, density, zoning, housing, transportation, heritage preservation, equity, community engagement and more are detailed for each area of the city. Check this link for details from the city. 

The plan and its public meetings generated debate and news coverage; in the Windom Park neighborhood, debate generally centered around the city’s initial proposal to allow dwelling structures of up to four units (four-plexes; later reduced to tri-plexes plus an Accessory Dwelling Unit) on all residential properties – in conflict with the Small Area Plan the neighborhood approved. The Small Area Plan called for zoning to remain “as is” in this neighborhood.  WPCiA submitted comment to the city stating that we support the Windom Park Neighborhood Small Area Plan and wish to have it incorporated into “Minneapolis 2040.” Your neighbor volunteers worked for over two years seeking community input, conducting surveys, holding community engagement sessions, working with a special consultant, conferring with city staff, listening to neighbors, revising and ultimately creating a plan for this specific area of Minneapolis.

The City of Minneapolis’ approved 2040 plan can be found here. WPCiA remains committed to its Small Area Plan. If you are interested in volunteering to help work towards implementation of the plan, contact WPCiA or attend our monthly meetings.

WPCiA has completed the Windom Park Neighborhood Small Area Plan (SAP). This important document will provide direction for the neighborhood and the City of Minneapolis for the coming years on topics such as land use, zoning, density, transportation, parking, commercial area revitalization, and gateways. We thank all of you who provided input, answered our surveys, attended meetings, and served on the Steering Committee!

Please note that on Jan. 23, 2018, after considering the many comments on the SAP and motions made by neighbors attending the Jan. 16 neighborhood meeting, the Board of Directors voted to remove the Johnson Street opportunity site from the plan. Also removed are references to rezone the neighborhood to R3 (higher-density residential); instead, the document will express a preference that zoning in the neighborhood remains “as is.” 

You can access the WPCiA Small Area Plan by downloading Volume 1 and Volume 2 here (approximately 12 MB each).

Other Key Milestones:

• Technical Memo #1 (December 2016)
• Initial Draft – Neighborhood Issues Map (Fall 2016)
• January 17, 2017 SAP Memo (Community Meeting No. 1 Summary)
• PowerPoint Presentation at 1-17-17 Community Meeting (Presentation from Community Meeting No. 1)
• “Safe Routes to School” (Minneapolis Public Schools bike-walk routes)
• Traffic Study Review related to Lowry Grove redevelopment
• Lowry Avenue NE Plan (Hennepin County)
• WPCiA’s Johnson Street design concepts (drafts from 5/9/17 meeting)
• WPCiA’s 5/15/17 updated Johnson Street design concepts and streetscape details
• Examples of Opportunity Sites from 9/12/17 steering committee meeting
• All Steering Committee Progress Reports to date
• A draft overview was presented at our Oct. 17, 2017, neighborhood meeting. We thank everyone who attended the meeting and engaged in the discussion. The draft Opportunity Sites, R3 rezoning, and Johnson Street traffic generated many comments at the meeting.
• Draft concepts presented by Biko Associates at 10-17-17 Community-Wide Meeting
• The plan was updated in November 2017, and the full document was posted here for final review and input by Dec. 15, 2017.
• The Board of Directors agreed to extend comment time to Jan. 16, 2018, following an Open House on Jan. 13 and the neighborhood meeting presentation on Jan. 16.
• A final vote on amendments to the document was taken by the board at its Jan. 23, 2018, meeting.

See also: Lowry Grove redevelopment plans