I just sat through two and a half hours of the Zoning Board meeting. The School District asked for blanket changes to the new ordinance on off site parking. It was not a good day for expediting the Red Plan.
I only stuck around through the discussion of the Ordean site which was one of three Red plan projects that the District wanted a free pass on from the Zoning Board. The District got most of what it wanted at Laura Mac except for the modest issue of putting up some kind of a sign. They had no plans for any of the sites signs so that was pulled for all school sites pending a plan.
The Planning staff made a recommendation that before granting the District approval to proceed on any site the District be required to show that it owned all the deeds to any property it needed before building. The Planning Dept also wanted a landscaping plan drawn up beforehand. Those demands both seemed sensible to me. Too bad their in such a hurry these little details fall by the wayside.
My questions were read at the beginning of the Laura Mac presentation and one of the Red Plan’s boosters, who thought my questions were directed at Laura Mac, made a point of saying I hadn’t been to any western Duluth meetings and that everyone out near Denfeld was happy with them. Of course, my questions about giving the Distric blanket approval would have applied to all Red Plan sites but I drew them up with Ordean in mind.
The Zoning Board’s hard questions on Ordean led the District’s representative to withdraw two of four requests for approvals on the Ordean site. The third on signage had already bitten the dust. The only request left for the Board to address was off site parking.
I got to speak at half past noon the last of four people. I made it clear that my questions while apropos to all Red Plan sites were drawn up with Ordean in mind. I commended the Board for treating each school site separately and wished them a chance to get a speedy lunch. Then I left before their vote because I had a press interview.
