The Monastery Meeting
This past Monday, the theater in the Maplewood Community Center was overflowing with citizens who turned out for this special meeting of the city council, to express both support and concerns about the proposed Planned Unit Development on the site of St. Paul's Monastery.
I offered a couple of lines of thought, both rooted in my perspective as a businessman. First, I wanted to focus attention on the fact that we were talking about the Benedictine sisters' private land. The proposed development is in harmony both with existing zoning and with the city's comprehensive land use plan. Thus, it seems to me that the hurdle is set very high, in terms of the public interest that must be served in order to outweigh the private landowners' property rights. Second, I wanted to speak to the importance of affordable housing as a public good, in helping working families better their own situation and become more secure and self-sufficient, which benefits all of us as taxpayers and fellow citizens. When non-profit organizations are stepping forward to provide this affordable housing in our community, it's an opportunity we should not miss.
Because one of the five members of the city council was absent from the meeting on account of illness, the vote was tabled until tomorrow night's regular council meeting.
I offered a couple of lines of thought, both rooted in my perspective as a businessman. First, I wanted to focus attention on the fact that we were talking about the Benedictine sisters' private land. The proposed development is in harmony both with existing zoning and with the city's comprehensive land use plan. Thus, it seems to me that the hurdle is set very high, in terms of the public interest that must be served in order to outweigh the private landowners' property rights. Second, I wanted to speak to the importance of affordable housing as a public good, in helping working families better their own situation and become more secure and self-sufficient, which benefits all of us as taxpayers and fellow citizens. When non-profit organizations are stepping forward to provide this affordable housing in our community, it's an opportunity we should not miss.
Because one of the five members of the city council was absent from the meeting on account of illness, the vote was tabled until tomorrow night's regular council meeting.
Labels: development, process, video
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