Wedge LIVE!

I'm joined by Chris Meyer, legislative assistant for Minnesota state Sen. Omar Fateh, to talk about a slew of ambitious zoning reforms to be considered during the 2024 legislative session. You're really going to want to contact your state senators and representatives about these. Eliminating parking minimums, allowing fourplexes by right, requiring cities to allow apartments near high frequency transit, allowing cities to experiment with a land value tax -- and closing the loophole that's allowed rich folks masquerading as environmentalists to spend the last five years trying to have the state courts undo the Minneapolis 2040 Plan. Because Chris is also a member of the Minneapolis Planning Commission, we also talk about a series of reforms he'd like to see taken up in Minneapolis this year: allowing corner stores; making sure triplexes aren't just legal, they're viable; density bonuses for affordable housing; incentivizing more family sized housing units near schools; and more.

***Please listen until the end to participate in the Wedge LIVE podcast's first ever prize giveaway. You must email Chris Meyer -- [email protected] -- using the special code phrase played during this episode.*** Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

John is joined by redistricting enthusiast Josh Martin for a conversation about redrawing political boundaries in Minneapolis. It's a process that happens every ten years, and it's already underway for City Council and Park Board. Based on data from the 2020 census, the ideal City Council ward should have a population of 33,073.38. The city's most populous ward -- Ward 3 -- currently has a population over 43,000. As the map drawing process kicks off, this is creating ripple effects across the city, as boundaries for less populated wards shift to take on additional population. We talk about the guidelines being used by the Commission's redistricting advisory group, which is made up of commissioners (appointed by a Hennepin County judge) and residents (appointed by the Commission). We also talk about some of the specific changes and concerns that have come up early in the process. Such as, Is it appropriate to consider a council member's home address during the map drawing process? Is Ward 6 at risk of losing its status as the Somali ward? Why did someone submit a map that divided the Wedge neighborhood into three different wards? Will Ward 4 gain an Aldi? We get into some of the arguments for and against downtown Minneapolis having its own ward -- rather than divided between three council members. John makes a pitch for everyone within the sound of his voice to apply to be on the Charter Commission. Not only does the Commission draw our political boundaries, they have the power to put charter amendments on the ballot (they unanimously put the strong mayor charter amendment on the ballot, in a city where voters approved it by just a single percentage point). We close the show by talking about another idea with some interesting implications working its way through the Charter Commission: moving city elections from odd to even years.

Links

• Existing City Council boundaries: https://districtr.org/plan/80467
• First draft of a redrawn City Council map: https://districtr.org/plan/80467
• First draft of a redrawn Park Board map: https://districtr.org/plan/71683
• Find more information about the process and submit comments and maps to the Charter Commission: https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/boards-and-commissions/charter-commission/
• Sign up to speak at a future redistricting public hearing (select "commission"). The next one is in December. This list will be updated as hearings are scheduled: https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/programs-initiatives/redistricting/
• Whenever you see openings (there's a bunch coming in 2022), please apply to be on the Minneapolis Charter Commission: https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/boards-and-commissions/charter-commission/
• Follow twitter.com/JoshMartinMpls for more information about redistricting and other city happenings.
• A photo of the Portland Charter Commission: https://www.portland.gov/omf/charter-review-commission

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Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

Today, we're talking about people who think Roberts Rules is an acceptable form of bullying. It turns out, shouting "Point of order! Point of order!" over and over again is not an excuse to get up in a parliamentarian's personal space. Our conversation is inspired by Deborah Copperud's recent experience at the Minneapolis DFL City Convention. We talk about what's wrong with the DFL process, some potential solutions, and importantly, why those fixes will never happen. In a surprising twist, we agree the current deeply flawed process is still better than a primary.

John's guests are Conrad Zbikowski, new chair of the Minneapolis DFL, and Deborah Copperud of the new substack "Deborah Copperud Shops at Target."

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Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

John is joined by Grammy-nominated transportation organizer José Antonio Zayas Cabán (Our Streets Minneapolis) for a conversation about the push for municipal sidewalk clearing. In a northern city with significant annual snowfall every winter, how seriously do we take our commitment that each of our neighbors should get where they're going with bodies unbroken? We talk about the cost to do it right, the skepticism, what it looks like in other places, why the city council voted down funding for a pilot project in the 2023 budget, and the impact to the city's transportation and climate goals if we accept the failed and dangerous status quo. We finish the episode by congratulating José on his Grammy nomination and talk about some of his musical inspirations, including his experience as a young pedestrian growing up in Puerto Rico.

About Montreal's sidewalk clearing program: https://montreal.ca/en/topics/snow-removal-sidewalks-and-streets

Our Streets Minneapolis' push for municipal snow removal: https://www.ourstreetsmpls.org/muni_sidewalk_plowing

José's Grammy nominated work: http://joseantonio-zayascaban.com/release/el-pais-invisible/

Recommendations:
Movie - Finding Forrester
Music - "Alondra de los Bosques"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihf0KsNpMKc&ab_channel=BorinkenTv
Book - "How to Hide an Empire"
https://www.moonpalacebooks.com/item/pAG4rDFNcoxGxSfx850BTA
Book - "Empire of Borders"
https://www.moonpalacebooks.com/item/UEvoORypFGoyiCFb5_nA0Q

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Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive
Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive
Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

My conversation with Cody Fischer - whose company Footprint Development builds small-scale, sustainable, multi-family housing - about imminent changes to the City of Minneapolis's 4d tax incentive program for affordable housing. We also talk about unique energy efficiency features he puts into his buildings and how the 4d program makes those possible. Plus an update on "single stair" building legalization in Minnesota.

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive

Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive

Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee