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Newspaper Clipping - Newspaper Clipping Scan - Activities of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority - 12/25/1994ADMINIST ION Tom Colbert, Public Works tolly Duffy, Admin Pat Geagan, Police Jkan Hohenstein, Admin Dale Nelson, Fire Admin Secretary Peggy Reichert, Comm Dev } Joanna Foote, Recyling/Comm Gene VanOverbeke, Finance Kristi Peterson, MIS Ken Vraa, Parks & Rec Mike Reardon, Cable Jim Sheldon, City Atty Joyce Pruitt, Admin Intern C_- C_ . 1- t cs-1.4,. ‘-a° `WokZ wo moo' .P/ 7ie --- __ mod_ • off, 6F.s4-L- L i�,g4d 91 ate` �' � lz-e-e-eic--,a_SAid)_,rA, ,,9 _ozrY& /ix �.,0.2-<z)(.,e/ a c e7, BL° ,A de,-.V,6 / / / T.: -�s� Dl3p� rtT City of Eagan plans to work toward '&S" affordable, life-cycleP\ maintaining , housing By BRENDA HAUGEN Council Member Pat expected of it. Awada cast the lone dis- But according to Councif In a 4-1 vote, the Eagan senting vote saying she was Member Shawn Hunter, the City Council opted Monday uncomfortable joining the move doesn't obligate the night to participate in the program when the city Livable Communities Act. doesn't know what will be a,n 74s ia'R l l Housing (Continued from front page) with the city of Eagan, the city. It just shows a good Livable Communities Act faith effort on the city's established a formula for an (Affordable he said. ALOHA and Mayor Tom Egan said he Life Cycle Housing Oppor- will support the program un- tunities) amount. The til "something goes awry." amount, determined annu- He added that it is a wel- ally, is the money each city come step away from "the must spend to create afford - socialist" direction the Leg- able and life -cycle housing islature had gone toward in or to maintain existing hous- the past. ing of such types, Freese "This issue has been given said. For 1997, Eagan's es - back to the communities," timated amount is $97,063, he said. according to the memo. The act, passed by the But the money can come Legislature last session, ba- from any funding source sically calls for communi- available to Eagan. As ties to provide affordable Reichert pointed out, Com- housing as well as life -cycle munity Development Block housing, including a mix of Grant funds could be used. apartments, starter homes, According to Freese's homes families can move memo, each participating up to and housing for empty- community needs to negoti- nesters. ate its goals for the period "We're already doing a lot between 1996 and 2010. of the things they're encour- Reichert said Eagan will aging communities to do," work with the Dakota said Community Develop- County Housing and Rede- ment Director Peggy velopment Authority (HRA) Reichert. "We really have a to come up with an action good variety (of housing) in plan. Awada said she is also Eagan." uncomfortable with the But in Dakota County, the HRA's role in the program, market dictates the value of considering the difficulties land, said City Administra- the city has had with it in tor Tom Hedges, explaining the past regarding develop - that cities in the county ment. Hedges said the HRA need to collaborate to meet would administer the pro - the goals set by the Met gram, not decide where the Council. Originally, the pro- housing would go. gram was to be adminis- According to Reichert, the tered city by city, but clus- Met Council has set up tering of communities in benchmark indicators it , Dakota County to meet the wants cities to work toward. goals was the subject of a She said Eagan already Met Council meeting earlier meets most of the bench - Monday (see related story) marks now, and meeting the in Eagan, and appears to be remainder "won't be oner- a go, Hedges said. ous." Eagan's goal will "We've accomplished a mainly consist of trying to great deal," he said. "We "hold the line" on housing, , may be kind of a pilot proj- she said, adding that the ect for the Met Council. city doesn't have much land "I think there was a major left to work with. breakthrough today." "Our hands are kind of According to a memo from tied," she said. Lisa Freese, senior planner Dakota County cities respond to Livable Communities�� -ems Act W' K II %2 99s--- By SARA PETERSON In what may be considered a model to other metropolitan communities, the Metropolitan Council agreed Thursday to allow Dakota County to act as a "cluster" in response to the Metropolitan Livable Commu- nities Act. The Act, passed by the Leg- islature last session, is geared toward balancing the housing supply throughout the metro- politan area by providing af- fordable homes to people at all income levels and in all stages of the life -cycle. "The Metro- politan Council has established benchmarks for each partici- pating community to achieve. As an incentive, participating communities can tap into a fund to help clean up polluted land, revitalize their area and promote efficient and provide low- income housing. Some local development, to moderate - communities have decided to jump on board (see related story), however since Dakota County will be considered as one, cities must decide whether to become in- volved in the first countywide cluster action plan in the met- ropolitan area. "This represents a very good start between member cities and the Metropolitan Council," Lakeville City Administrator Bob Erickson said. "It portrays a real genuine interest in form- ing a partnership in providing (See Act, p.15A) Act (Continued from front page) affordable housing." Erickson and Eagan City Administrator Tom Hedges rep- resented the Dakota County Managers Organization Mon- day and presented the cluster- ing plan to Metropolitan Coun- cil members. Since the passage of the Act, Dakota County city administra- tors and the Dakota County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) have teamed up to determine the best way to implement the requirements of the Act within the county. The Dakota County Manag- ers Organization's action plan lumps all of the county's cities into one, working off the same five-year action plan which is prepared and administered by the Dakota County HRA. According to the plan, each city would sign individual goal statements that would be tied into the countywide cluster ac- tion plan. The Dakota County HRA would act as the vehicle in providing resources and ex- pertise in the achievement of these goals — something the HRA has done for the past 25 years. The organization explained to Met Council members that local cities and the Dakota County HRA have already been working together as an unofficial cluster since the HRA was formed in the early 1970s. As a result of the collabora- tive effort, communities which wouldn't have . had the re- ' sources to bring some forms of housing into their town on their own were able to do so with the HRA's help. In addition, the HRA has been able to access federal and state housing programs, develop housing strategies and foster working relationships between the cities and the county. The time frame of the HRA's five-year action plan coincides with the county's Consolidated Plan, prepared by the HRA, which addresses housing needs and proposed housing activities for the entire area, HRA Ex- ecutive Director Mark Ulfers explained Monday. federal government decreases its commitment to affordable housing, the County Board and HRA have committed local resources to continue this hous- ing strategy. In fact, in order to finance the county's elderly housing program, the HRA and County Board approved a property tax levy which annually exceeds $1 million. This levy is greater than any single HRA levy in the metro area, Ulfers said. Erickson said that the Dakota County HRA's levy will be used as a match to the Afford- able and Life -Cycle Housing Opportunities Amount (ALHOA) — an amount estab- lished by formula in the Act that a participating municipal- ity must spend to create or maintain affordable and life - cycle housing. "This is an excellent pro- posal.... We're thrilled and ex- cited about Dakota County coming in as a cluster," Met Council HRA Division Man- ager Thomas McElveen said in an interview Thursday. He added that proposals like Dakota County's are the out- come the Met Council had hoped the Act would generate. He said he thinks a similar plan would benefit Washing- ton, Scott and Carver counties, which also have very active HRAs. "If communities go in with a cluster, it gives them a broader opportunity to take the advan- tage of the market. ... That makes sense," McElveen said. While other counties are considering forming clusters, McElveen said the Dakota County HRA "has stepped up to provide the leadership. This was clearly the cluster that moved the quickest." McElveen commended the HRA's track record saying that it is "unsurpassed." Ulfers said the Met Council will look at the results of the action plan in its determination of how each city has per- formed. If some cities in Dakota County decide not to partici- pate in the cluster, Erickson said the other cities in the county can still participate. Ulfers praised the Met Coun- cil for accepting the Dakota County clustering plan. He said it shows the council is "willing to be somewhat flexible in working with the community. "It is more practical for communities to work together and combine resources," he added. "If the state and federal resources remain level, we should have success in meet- ing those goals." Details of the action plan should be worked out within the next three weeks, McElveen said. Goals from participating communities are due Dec. 15, with the Met Council holding a public hear- ing Dec. 21. The Met Council will act on the goals Jan. 11, 1996. housing into their town on their own were able to do so with the HRA's help. In addition, the HRA has been able to access federal and state housing programs, develop housing strategies and foster working relationships between the cities and the county. The time frame of the HRA's five-year action plan coincides with the county's Consolidated Plan, prepared by the HRA, which addresses housing needs and proposed housing activities for the entire area, HRA Ex- ecutive Director Mark Ulfers explained Monday. Since 1990, approximately 4,700 units of affordable hous- ing have been built in the county. Of that total, 61 per- cent (2,871) are family units. "This is fairly significant," Ulfers told Met Council mem- bers. "It is an example of what can be done through collabora- tion, and cities and a county- wide agency working to- gether." In addition to these housing units, the HRA has adminis- tered several federal and state rehabilitation loan and grant programs that have improved 4,607 owner -occupied single family homes throughout the county. Looking five years down the road, the action plan estimates that 2,600 units will be added to the county's housing stock — 1,100 affordable owner - occupied units and 1,500 new rental units through tenant sub- sidy, new construction or reha- bilitation. Ulfers stressed that as the n EEK ?wspaper February 5,1995 Woman battles chemical sensitivity p.4A Local students travel via computers ....p.12A Wildcats get boys' hockey victory p.28A HRA files lawsuit against city of Eagan By BRENDA HAUGEN In a move that didn't come as much of a surprise, the Dakota County Housing and Redevelop- ment Authority (HRA) opted to take the city of Eagan to court over a proposed low-income hous- ing development. According to Mayor Tom Egan, the suit was filed Jan. 30 in Dako- ta County District Court. The suit basically asks the court to move the City Council to approve the HRA's proposed development, and further asks that the court find that the city was inconsistent and unfair in its decision. "We knew that they would claim our action was arbitrary and capricious," Egan said. At issue is an HRA proposal for 42 townhouse units to be built on 8.1 acres located on the east side of Johnny Cake Ridge Road, nor- th of Oak Ridge Elementary School. The townhouses would be home to low-income families. Many of the area's residents have come out against the pro- posal. Fear of crime as well as loss in property values seem to be the main reasons for their objec- tions to the development. The proposed townhouses would be neighbors to other townhomes, mainly owner -occupied, valued at around $100,000, and single- family homes generally valued from $200,000 to $300,000. (See Lawsuit, p.20A) "Bargains. Servic BOTTOM BOTTOM \ - ALL VE LINE� SOTTO PRICING - CLEAR \�pSION-FREE \g17ylNG TRADI - VEHIC. MEANS: - SALAR w • TO GIVE YOU OUR BEST • To apprais+ `92 TOYOTA CAMRY 12,Z4O `94 CHEV. BERETTA 13,6Z5 `92 PONT. GRAND AM $8930 `94 MAZDA 626 14,715 `92 FORD TEMPO `94 LINCOLN CONT. $7155 2Z,7OO - --- -.. ..'.r""1"4N '89 CHEV. SUBURBAN Lawsuit (Continued from front page) Though the City Council voted 3-2 in favor of the necessary rezoning for the project Dec. 7, the proposal failed because a four -fifths vote is need for ap- proval of a rezoning. According to the site's present zoning, up to 200 apartments could go on the site, Egan pointed out. In discussing options, the HRA did look at a housing plan that would Locate 66 apartment units at the site but decided the townhouse option best fits the needs of those the housing would be built for, he said. Much has been said about look- ing for different sites for the HRA proposal. But, Egan pointed out, the HRA haS invested about $40,000 in land acquisition and development costs in the site at issue and doesn't want to just ab- sorb that as a loss. Moving the proposed de- velopment creates other prob- lems as well. According to Egan, the present landowner also has the right to sue the city if he were to lose the sales transaction with the HRA. And, he added, if the city were to move the project to another neighborhood, those living there would have the same rights as those living in the neighborhood from which the proposal had been moved. The city would have to demonstrate "tangible evidence" detailing why the project could be located in the second neighborhood but not in the one originally slated to be home to the development. Egan said he doesn't believe there is "demonstrable criteria" that the site proposed by the HRA isn't an appropriate site for this development, especially with its proximity to such amenities as schools and parks. He added that moving the de- velopment to another area could be seen as "creating class sites" in Eagan. The city's next move is to review the HRA's claim with the city attorney and determine if the council's action is defensible and what the city's strategy should be, Egan said. According to Egan, the City Council doesn't want to spend money on untenable actions, but some sort of settlement is just one of the options open to the council. He pointed out that whatever ac- tion is taken will come as a result of the council collectively making the decision. ••Ate,..;.••.►_►r.nsc•.•- - r Council (Continued from front page) Council members Pat Awada and Ted Wachter voted against the proposed rezoning. According to City Ad- ministrator Tom Hedges, the HRA decided in a Dec. 19 meeting to pursue suing the city for its decision. City Attorney Jim Sheldon said the HRA sent the city a letter say- ing they're "commencing litiga- tion." He added that the HRA asked the city to wait on making a decision on the findings of fact for denial of the project, which were on the council's Dec. 20 consent agenda, so the HRA can present its information to the council. The City Council held an ex- ecutive session before the regular council meeting Dec. 20 to discuss the pending lawsuit. Executive sessions are closed to the public, and, as is the usual case with pending litigation, the council declined to discuss the contents of the meeting. During the regular meeting, the council voted to continue the decision on the findings of fact un- til its Jan. 3 meeting. At that meeting, the findings of fact for denial again will appear on the consent agenda, according to Awada. Included in the findings of fact for denial of the project, are: • The type of residential de- velopment proposed is incom- patible with the higher valued residential units adjacent to the property. • The existing R-4 zoning is more appropriate than the pro- posed planned development zon- ing to meet the city's multiple - family housing needs by preserv- ing R-4 land to allow a full range of housing types. • The property, as currently zoned, provides a viable economic use of the property. In agreeing to continue the fin- dings of fact decision to the next City Council meeting, Mayor Tom Egan said the issue does warrant further deliberation. Wachter agreed, saying he'd like to see more information. He said he may be conducive to mov- ing this project to another area. County Commissioner Patrice Battaglia told the council later in the meeting that the HRA is pur- suing the purchase of the proper- ty in question. Many of the area residents who would neighbor the proposed de- velopment spoke against the pro- ject Dec. 7, because they said they fear crime would increase with the low-income housing. Many again showed up at the Dec. 20 meeting, some possibly because of a flier distributed in the area saying the proposed de- velopment was going to be discussed again, but it wasn't. According to Awada, the issue won't be rehashed Jan. 3 either. Only the findings of fact will be discussed, she pointed out. If the council decides Jan. 3 that it wishes to move to reconsider the action, the soonest that recon- sideration could occur would be the council's Jan. 17 meeting, she explained. In the days since its initial deci- sion, the council members voting against the development have been blasted in the media as well as by a scattering of others who believe Eagan is lending fuel to the fire of those who say the suburbs don't do their part in offering low-income housing. Ac- cording to Awada, the city received an HRA report that Eagan has 607 assisted housing units. "The vast majority are scat- tered," Awada said. "And they work." DDING gaNDS GOLD DEVIL INGS CLASSGouts Don't give your gold and diamonds away to a PAWN SHOP. Stop in Today! Apple Valle JEWELERS 432-7777 14810 C;ranaifa Ali.io 1►1 oIumn the holidays sensibly to ;e n- :o al ie 't n s cerned Dakota County citizens promoting the single message, "No illegal use or abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs" has the following suggestions for making the holiday season a fun and safe one. • Do not make alcohol the main focus of the social events. Guests can be entertained with music, games, dancing, food and lively conversation. • Don't force non-drinkers to share the cost of alcoholic beverages. If you are having a corporate event, separate the price of admission or food from the cost of the drinks. • Require bartenders to measure the correct amount of liquor in drinks (no "doubles") and instruct them to refuse ser- vice to minors and individuals who appear to be impaired. Stop serving drinks at least one hour before the end of the event. Serve non-alcoholic beverages and desserts at that time. • Provide drinkers with alter- natives to driving. Offer your place to spend the night, drive the friend home yourself (if you have not been drinking), call a taxi, or ask someone who has not been drinkign to drive your friend home. • Don't let a drinker drive. If the drinker insists on driving, take the keys, ask for help from other guest, or temporarily disable the car. If necessary, say you will call the police (and do so) if all else fails. • Host alcohol -free events for adults to demonstrate that they can enjoy normal social activities where alcohol is not served. • Never serve alcoholic beverages to anyone under 21. • Be a positive role model for youth. • Host appealing, alcohol -free activities for underage people. • If you drink, always plan ahead by designating a non - drinking driver. For more information, call the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at 1-800-729-6686 or the Dakota Alliance for Prevention at 552-3114. !xplains allegations never seen a fly go into a walk-in cooler and certainly not light in the middle of a jar of dressing. When Ms. Smith asked the ex- ecutive chef the next day what she should do with dressing if she found a fly in it, he told her to throw it out and make new dress- ing. KSTP never mentioned this on their news story. The meat left out for four to five hours was a piece of prime rib :hat was tough and being return- md to the vendor for replacement. The chicken was stored on the ourth shelf of the cooler and overed while the vegetables are n the bottom shelf. They were nt hnwever. in the same section waiting to be picked up. An employee had hung a coat near the cooler instead of the designated area. Ice scoops were left in the ice. An employee sampled a daily special in the kit- chen. These and other factors, not relating to kitchen cleanliness, led to failed inspections. The truth is Dougherty's has always cooperated with the health department in all ways. There has never been an incident of food poisoning at Dougherty's. I have been in the restaurant business for 50 years, and have always ensured the highest quali- ty of food and service because my reputation depends on it. The day i THREE SECTIONS News • Sports General Section Real Estate Section Classified Section 52 pages Eagan THISWEEK Your Community Newspaper Volume 15, No. 43 Council continues findings on low-income development HRA threatens lawsuit against city By BRENDA HAUGEN With the threat of a lawsuit looming, the Eagan City Council has opted to continue to Jan. 3, further action on denial of a con- troversial Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) plan to build low-income housing east of Johnny Cake Ridge Road, north of Oak Ridge Elementary School. The plan, brought before the City Council Dec. 7, includes 42 townhouse units on the 8.1-acre site. At that time, the HRA asked the council to rezone the property to allow for the townhouse units. According to the site's present zoning, R-4, up to 16 units per acre could be placed at the site. The HRA's proposal was for 5.2 units per acre. Although three of the five coun- cil members voted in favor of the rezoning, the motion failed because a vote of at least four - fifths is needed to change zoning. (See Council, p.3A) December 25,1994 School districts hire diversity coordinators p.11A Dance ensemble offers fun, education p.14A Wildcats come up just short in gym meet p.28A Burnsville legislator: Eagan vote compromised suburban position State Rep. Ken Wolf blanched when he read that the Eagan City Council had denied the HRA's low-income townhouse project. An Independent -Republican from Burnsville, Wolf suspects many colleagues were also dismayed: "I would guess that a lot of Republican legislators who saw that article said, 'Oh, no.' " Wolf feared that Eagan's action would light a fire beneath Rep. Myron Orfield, DFL-Minneapolis, and his allies who want to set (See Wolf, p.8A) finric "Bargains, Service and Integrity Since 1919" Grossman Chevrolet MINIM i a MINIM LJ MINIM 111111 /' :ININII AM :11M.-...I1111111/ •IMM MINI Mt NIMII MN im RRR NMI- i MI i i =IMIIM mm rmAminnir Geo Announces toi MONOmmoi �� 1 INNINIII MOM MIMNINIM i MIL s IMF CARS, TRUCKS . , BR...,, i ND NEW 1 and ,0010" 1C1�yG 4R • • •TO GIVOUEOURpIBERD rightEupI. front �Rti s OsxQ1A� on all new and used vehicles ko iC .`.�2L *To agnraico ■br•s■r r INN City won't be bullied by HRA Council refuses to change vote By Lori Haugen Staff Writer With all eyes on them, the Eagan City Council last week upheld its decision to block a 42- unit, low-income townhouse de- velopment that has pushed the city into the spotlight. The decision divided the council, prompted applause from a crowd of neighbors, and sent the HRA scurrying for alterna- tives. The ball is now in the Dakota County HRA's court, and HRA Director Mark Ulfers said he's taking his time and considering several courses of action. The HRA could sue the city, it could build a higher -density housing development that would fit in the area's current zoning, or it could find another site. HRA: To Page 8A 1VdLlC Address City Phone (Home) _ Clip & Mail to: Crystal Lai 3816 Penn Mpls., MN L Or Call Mr.� Now h progress Our zoo h a national i Th• Mall of t And now we commuter designed to transports part of everyoi The c for a chew 8A Apple Valley/Rosemount, Eagan Sun•CurrenVWednesday, Jan. 11, 1995 DENTISTRY WITH A DIFFERENCE We Take The Time To Listen Children and Apprehensive Adults Especially Welcome Our caring staff is devoted to providing you with a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. We are a preventive oriented practice recognizing each individual's unique needs, fears, and concerns. Dr. Shelley Wakefield, Dr. Sharon Tvrdik, Dakota Dental Clinic, P.A. 431-5774 16020 S. Cedar Ave., Rosemount Located just South of Target Greatland Closeout Sale NEW • DEMO • RENTAL RETURNS • BAND INSTRUMENTS Saxs • Clarinets • Flutes • Oboes • French Horns Piccolos • Trombones • Trumpets & Drums Choose from: Conn • Bundy • Artley • Vito • Bach • Armstrong • Yamaha • Ludwig Discounts up to 40% OFF ri-7- HRA: City may still be taken to court From Page lA "I'm trying to make a rational decision," said Ulfers. "I'm gath- ering all I can so I can make an informed decision." He said he plans to decide what to do by the end of the week. Along with considering legal action against the city, Ulfers said he has consulted his archi- tects to check out other options that would fit within the current zoning and would still be suit- able for the area. He said they will not build a three-story walkup building with an elevator, but there may be a non-traditional kind of structure they could build. "This also gives us additional time to pursue whether or not another site is possible," Ulfers said. "I'm not saying we will, but we're looking." To change the Council's deci- sion, one of the two councilmem- bers who voted against it origi- nally, Ted Wachter or Pat Awada, would have had to call for a reconsideration of the vote. Instead, the two defended their votes and the criticism they've faced. Wachter said he was not op- posed to a development per se, but doesn't believe that particu- lar site is proper. "I'm willing to talk to the HRA," Wachter said. "There are lots of areas this could go, and I can't see why this is the only place. To stay out of court, why can't we discuss this rather than be childish?" he said. If it goes to court, Mayor Tom Egan, who supported the devel- opment, said the council doesn't have a case. "We were advised we didn't have a legal basis to deny this," Egan said. He said no one wins by leav- ing the decision as it is. "Every- one will be much less happy with the fruits of this decision," he said. "If a higher density project goes in, that's not a victory. If we get involved in an embarrassing lawsuit, that's not a victory." The HRA had planned to take over the property the last week of 1994, but the property owner discovered the land first had to be subdivided, which gives the HRA more time. The development, near Oak Ridge school and the intersec- tion of Johnny Cake Ridge Road and Diffley Road, has met vocal opposition from its would-be neighbors, and the council has met criticism from politicians and the media. Nearby residents, though, are pleased with the decision. "I think Wachter and Awada made the right choice," said Scott Holm, who owns a home on Drexel Court. "They represented the people. They chose to go with the majority. It was nothing against poor people." Robin Ruegg, who lives with her family in a home on Mallard Place, said the HRA hasn't done enough to educate the neighbors about the development or to allay their concerns. She said she wrote to the HRA and they responded with a three -page let- ter that reassured her some- what, but she is still concerned about unsupervised children of single parents running around. "Who's going to be supervising the kids?" she asked. In talking to her neighbors, she said they are not unsympathetic — many of them could have been consid- ered low-income at one time or another — but she says there must be a better place. Apple Valley/Rosemount, Eagan Sun•Current/Wednesday, Jan. 11, 1995 7A City purchases Holz farm for historic site By Lori Haugen Staff Writer The City of Eagan last week purchased the Holz farm, one of the few remaining farms in Eagan, for $337,500 and is mov- ing ahead with plans to open it to the public as a historic site. The city closed on the proper- ty Jan. 4, after lengthy discus- sions with the property develop- er. Ken Vraa, Eagan's Park and Recreation director, said the City Council will determine how the site is to be used, and the parks department will do some preliminary preparation on the site in anticipation of its open- ing. The land contains a farm house, barn, several outbuild- ings, and a garden. The site was considered the best -maintained and most his- torically valuable from a list of possible sites. Vraa said other park department projects will probably be postponed because of the acquisition, which will be paid for from the park depart- ment budget. Otto and Ella Holz, the own- ers and residents for many years, both died in the summer of 1993. The childless couple had left the property to a number of descendants. Until the time of their death, they were said to have cooked their meals over an old wood stove, and Ella dragged tubs of water into the kitchen where she scrubbed the clothes. The farm is located between Dodd Road and Highway 3 in the southeast corner of Eagan. It is adjacent to a small, existing city - owned park. BRIEFS Awareness luncheon Scheduled for Jan. 27 The B. Robert Lewis Shelter will be at Brackett's Crossing Country Club, 17976 Judicial Road, Lakeville. Cost is $12.25, advance payment is requested. Make checks payable to Brack - POLICE The Eagan Police Depart- ment reported the following inci- dents from 8:10 a.m. Dec. 1 to 7:41 a.m. Dec. 22: Twenty-six reports of theft on the blocks of: 1100 Duckwood Trail, 4600 Beacon Hill Court, two on 1100 block of Timbershore Lane, 1200 Town Centre Drive, two on 800 block of Apollo Road, two on the 3000 block of Eagandale Place, three on the 3500 block of Lexington Avenue, 3900 Highway 13, 1300 Town Centre Drive, two on the 4100 block of Braddock Trail, 3200 block of Highway 149, 4100 Nicols Road, 900 Apollo Road, two on the 3800 block of Heather Drive, two on the 1500 block of Cliff Road, 1900 Seneca Road, 3500 Blue Jay Way and 4400 Slater Road. Twelve reports of burglaries on the blocks of: 900 Wescott Trail, 1900 Cliff Lake Road, 3900 South Valley View Drive, 4800 Pilot Knob Road, 1400 East Woodview Ave., 1500 Rustic Hills Drive, 4200 Nicols Road, 2700 Highway 13, 2000 Royale Drive, 2800 West Service Road, 1700 Yankee Doodle Road and 3300 Coachman Road. Four reports of vehicle thefts on the blocks of 1800 Silver Bell Road, 1300 Town Centre Drive, 2900 Lexington Avenue, and 900 Apol- lo Road. Ten reports of thefts from vehicles on the blocks of: 3800 Beau De Rue Drive, 1500 Thomas Center Drive, 3600 Denmark Av- enue, 4000 Highway 13, 3900 Highway 13, 1800 Silver Bell Road, 1400 Yankee Doodle Road, 4700 Weston Hills Drive, 3900 Riverton Avenue, and 4000 Meadowlark Lane. Two reports of shoplifting were reported, one at Wal-Mart and one at Knox Lumber. Fifteen reports of assaults, four vandalisms and six fires on the blocks of: 700 North Hay Lake Road, 3000 Eagandale Place, 1400 Yankee Doodle Road, 3200 Terminal Drive, 4200 Dodd Road, and 3300 Donald Avenue Eleven reports of car/deer accidents at the intersections of Lexington and Wescott Road, two at Johnny Cake Ridge Road and COUCHES • LOVESEATS • CHAIRS • ANTIQUES • RECLINER DINING ROOM CHAIRS • SWIVEL ROCKERS • HIDE -A -BEDS ROCKERS • CUSHIONS • KITCHEN CHAIRS • WING CHAIRS TUFTING • CHANNELING • FOOTSTOOLS ANYTHING COVERED IN FABRIC - COUPON - 15% Off Labor-20% for Seniors Custom Crafted Upholstery Treasure Island Sponsors: e..a oy_ A swashbuckling story of adventure on the high Seas! presented by •Child PlaANv THEATRE COMP January 13 - February 5,1995 $8 adults, $6 children/seniors, $4.75 weekday matinees Ca11 925-5250 for tickets. UPHOLSTERY SPECIAL Apple Valley/Rosemount, Eagan Sun•Current/Wednesday, Nov. 15, 1995 3A Eagan joins Livable Communities Act By Sue Hegarty Staff Writer Eagan's City Council voted 4-1 last week to participate in the Local Housing Incentives Ac- count program under the Metro- politan Livable Communities Act. The Livable Communities Act was passed by the Minnesota Legislature last session to estab- lish an aid fund to communities that provide affordable and a va- riety of housing. Councilmember Pat Awada cast the dissenting vote Nov. 6. Awada said she was not comfort- able adopting the act until the Legislature determines what it expects of communities. Each participating communi- ty must adopt principles and goals in the form of a housing agreement by Dec. 15 and an ac- tion plan by June 30, 1996. Eagan City Council expects to adopt the principles and goals at its Nov. 21 and Dec. 5 meetings. A formula has been estab- lished to determine an Afford- able and Life Cycle Housing Op- portunities Amount (ALOHA) that each city must spend to cre- ate affordable and life -cycle housing or to maintain existing stock. An ALOHA amount is not re- quired next year, but the esti- mated amount required by Eagan for 1997 is $97,000. Cities can obtain funding through any available source, such as property taxes or Com- munity Development Block Grants. Council members agreed to participate in the program even though they said Eagan is al- ready doing a good job of provid- ing affordable housing. Some feared transportation and other funding from the state would be tied to whether or not a city par- ticipates in the program. "Our goals are to hold the line. It's mostly to keep what we've got," said Peggy Reichert, community development direc- tor. "You can start out here in an apartment, buy a starter house, move up to a bigger house and then into senior housing or a one -level townhome. The only thing we need is a larger ceme- tery," Reichert said. Each city must develop its own action plan. Mayor Tom Egan was satisfied that the process has been given back to the communities for local deci- sion -making. "I, for one, plan to take full ad- vantage of that," Egan said. Participation in the program will not obligate the city to pro- vide additional affordable hous- ing, said Councilmember Shawn Hunter. "This shows good faith if nothing else." The Livable Communities Act expires in the year 2010. Arc offers help to parents By Deb Schewe Staff Writer Jana Magnusson beams when she talks about her 10- year-old daughter's school performance. "Last year she had a 94 percent in spelling," the Apple Valley woman said. Quite an accomplishment for any child, but even more so for Magnus- son's daughter, who has Down syndrome and was taking the same tests as her peers. "She's doing very well," When Magnusson moved to the area almost 10 years ago, her attitude may not have been so positive. She talks openly about looking for someone to turn to for advice while dealing with a 9-month- old child with Down syn- drome. It was during that search that she found Arc Suburban, an organization that provides advocacy, information and sup- port for developmentally dis- abled people and their families. She joined a support group and shortly found herself leading the group. This year the Arc Suburban fund-raiser is 6:30 p.m. Satur- day, Nov. 18, at Dakota Coun- ty Western Service Center atrium, at the intersection of County Road 42 and Galaxie Avenue in Apple Valley. Pro- ceeds from the event are used to help run Arc programs. The services offered by Arc come in a variety of forms, said Joan Fawcett, Arc execu- tive director. People are able to find Dakota County infor- mation by using an Internet connection in the Arc Subur- ban office, 1526 E. 122nd St., Burnsville. For more informa- tion about the fund-raiser or about Arc, call 890-3057. 4A Apple Valley/Rosemount, Eagan Sun•Current/Wednesday, Nov. 15, 1995 Our viewpoint Community education affordable, important It took our nation's educators until the mid-1960s to realize that schools don't have to close at 3 p.m., that learning doesn't end at age 18 or begin at age 6. Thus was born the concept of community education, which served more than 36,000 people in the Inver Grove Heights, West St. Paul -Eagan and South St. Paul Public school districts in 1994-95. Community education fills a variety of niches, from adults wanting to learn to play bridge to preschoolers learning to swim, from people learning to surf the Internet to elementary school children learning to bake cookies. High-school c%ropouts alsagan take a course to prepare for their General Equivalency Diploma (GMMt niors can find a whole host of activities. In today's fast -changing, computer -driven world, where the importance of education is unquestioned, the value of community education is unquestioned as well. OPINION 1 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have powerful influence on youth They came from as farr away as Faribault and Arden Hills. The line snaked around shelves of video tapes, books and head- ed toward the front door. Had Elvis made an unannounced stop at Apple Valley's Media Play? No, most of the people wait- ing were under 10 — too young to know who "The King" was. Perhaps Barney the Dinosaur. Yeah right, he's headed the way of his ancestors — extinction. No, the person they were waiting to meettt+WasU$'om White Ranger — leader of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. OK, maybe I'm a little old but I fail to see the appeal of a man confirmed the popularity of the show. "It's a hot rental title," he said. "Even though Power Rangers is on every day, people still rent it." is...,zrwm His theory on the Power Ranger's popularity — the color scheme of the uniforms. "It's the basic color scheme — red, blue, yellow, white," Carl - actor portraying the White Power Ranger) show up in regu- lar clothes instead of his cos- tume. The reason, she said, is because it reinforces the idea that Power Rangers are just television characters and are not real. Kelly Glover of Eagan said she also limits how much of the show her two children can watch. Her children are more likely to watch the show at a friend's house than hers, she said. So why bring them out to meet Frank? She read an article about him in which he stressed the importance of not using vio- lence as a solution to problems. "He as a person is a good role model," she said. "I'm not so T 7 StarTribu 22A Friday/January 6/1995 OUR PERSPECTIVE Affordable housing Metro future may lie in the balance First of two editorials The problem with poor people, some- one once said, is that they don't have enough money. To hear a group of suburban Eagan residents tell it, howev- er, the problem with the poor is that they drive down property values. So it is that for the second time in less than a month, a two -member minority of the Eagan City Council has succeed- ed: in blocking a zoning change that would have allowed the Dakota County Housing and Redevelopment Authority to build a 42-unit townhouse project in the city for low-income families. Mayor Tpm Egan, one of three council mem- bers supporting the project, called the opponents "hypocritical to the point of being mean -spirited." Their action in attempting to close Ea- gan's borders to people near the bottom of the Twin Cities area's economic scale was at least bizarre, given the accep- tance that similar housing projects have received in neighboring cities, such as Burnsville. It was not, however, unique — except perhaps for its blatancy. Other communities have achieved the same discriminatory results with more subtlety through the adoption of large - lot zoning ordinances and restrictive building codes whose ostensible pur- pose usually has been to protect the environment, promote public safety or slow growing demands for costly public services. That such codes and ordi- nances also increase housing costs to the point that low- and moderate -in- come people can't afford to live in the city may be an unintended effect. It's an effect nevertheless. Combined with other factors, it's rapidly turning the Twin Cities area into a house divid- ed. One half consists of upper -income, job- and tax -base -rich, mostly south- western suburbs; the other half is cen- tral cities and, a group of mostly low - tax -base, low -housing -cost northern suburbs, where the poor are increasingly .,�.pnnce itrated in isolation from the ex- padding southwestern job bases that might provide many of them a way to raise their economic status. All of this imposes an evident human and social cost. Because poor people often are burdened with other prob- lems, and because concentrating people with problems tends to compound those problems, parts of the inner cities andsome northern suburbs have be- come not only poverty -ridden but crime- and blight -ridden as well. is it any wonder that some suburbanites — such as the two recalcitrant Eagan City Council members and the constitu- ents on whose behalf they cast their misguided votes — might equate pover- ty with crime and with diminished property values? Or that they might want to maintain the legal barriers that help keep the urban poor out of com- munities like Eagan and in their central - city and northern -suburb "place"? Yet : as Mayor Egan and others have argued, restrictive housing codes can hurt the communities that impose them. National studies have shown that in metropolitan areas where the eco- nomic gap between central city and sub- urbs is wide, the overall regional econo- my tends to be less healthy than in metro areas where the city -suburban ,gap is less pronounced. For this reason, if no other, the housing issue may be the most fundamentally critical one now facing the Twin Cities region. But restrictive codes can also have a direct negative impact on the cities that impose them. In Eagan, for example, the rejected townhouse project would have constituted one small step toward meeting the affordable housing needs of lower -paid employees of the city's ma- jor businesses. For many employers, the availability of affordable housing for their workers is becoming an important consideration in decisions on where to locate new plants and offices — no affordable housing, no new facilities; no new facilities, no additional tax base. Restrictive housing codes can also force a community's home-grown poor — young, job -seeking adults who grew up in the community; divorced wives; peo- ple who have lost good -paying jobs — to seek affordable housing elsewhere, adding their numbers and their prob- lems to existing poverty concentrations. Such codes can also drive away a city's own public employees — teachers, po- lice officers, street crews. City employ- ees shouldn't be required to live in the community they work for, but neither should they be effectively barred from living there by city -imposed housing restrictions. So while the common fear is that open- ing up a restrictive suburb to' low-cost housing would invite an undesirable element into the community, the more likely result in many cases is that such housing would meet needs already ex- isting within the community. That it would also avoid adding to existing concentrations of poverty in other cities is a further potential benefit. Even if it can be shown that allowing a balanced economic housing mix can work to a community's benefit, experi- ence — reaffirmed by this week's action in Eagan — indicates that many subur- ban governments will not take such action unless pushed into it by some overriding metropolitan policy, backed by state law. Yet for the past two years, legislative efforts to produce such a law have been frustrated by bitterly personalized de- bate and gubernatorial vetoes. The need for positive action is widely acknowl- edged — even in the governor's office. But what has emerged instead is a parti- san political standoff that serves no one's interests — least of all the poor, whose housing choices remain limited and whose lives, therefore, remain hos- tage to forces they cannot control. With the 1995 Legislature now in ses- sion, it's time to try again — this time with a new approach, one that offers an opportunity for both compromise and effective results. Fortunately, some promising ideas are in the works. This Legislature and this governor should not be allowed to go home until one of them is signed into law. Tomorrow: Can two good metro ideas be rolled into one? ..21A 9 with jurisdiction easures and most 1 programs, stated "We must stop passion by the y the government 'we will cut spend - es, we will revolu- put America on a ually declarative, act, "We are going f committee in the ." But he suggested hat the specifics of h calls for balanc- 2002 and cutting auling welfare and spending, are sub - that we wrote in aid. "We thought mber some good months ago. The t those ideas give he Congressional erscored the diffi- uld-be budget bal- with its last pro- , the CBO said, would add $123 it over the next u Correspondent tributed to this Schmitt's PIANO WAREHOUS BALED NEW & USED Used Verticals from $688 Used Grands from $2995 0 Today 10-9; Sat. 9:30-5:30; Sun. Noon- Schmitt's Brooklyn Center Warehouse 2400 Freeway Boulevard 566-4560 schmitt Easy to find...take 694 or 94 West. Exit north on Shingle Creek Parkway, and turn left at Freeway centers. Boulevard. music NEW YEAR ome the Action ents & No Interest it January '96 itsubishi Products only. Subject to credit approval by MCCBG. Finance rue unless balance is paid in full by January 1996. for details. Offer expires January 29th, 1995. 30 8mm om lens for close-ups fader ■ Lightweight for easy handling tic for easy use exposure • Autofocus 95 REDUCED $100 Ask About Our Stylus Date Kit TYLUS OLYMPUS autofocusing educes red -eye for easy use Fee SCHMITTS IN BROOKLYN CENTER Copyright ®1995 by Schmitt Music Comp ny GS FREE CAMCORDER ACCESSORY KIT with the purchase of a new camcorder. Includs extra camcorder battery, carrying case, 2 video tapes and 2 tickets to our Video Class. CANON REBEL X KIT • Includes Canon 35-80mm Type II zoom lens • 3-point ultra -wide autofocus ■ Compact • Ultra -quiet operation ■ Canon USA warranty rl SAVE $20 95 Touch GREAT VALUE Nikon. $37995 COUNTERPOINT Eagan had good reason to turn down housing development In recent articles, the Star Tribune has con- demned a city of Eagan decision to disap- prove a subsidized housing development, ac- cusing the City Council of discrimination and portraying residents of Eagan as elitists who Ia& social responsibility. The disturbing part i$ that the Star Tribune has withheld impor- tapt facts in order to create the illusion of discrimination, thereby sensationalizing the story, while ignoring the central issue. As -the hearing records indicate, the Eagan City Council's decision was not based on paranoia or discrimination as portrayed by the Star Tribune's headline, "Eagan rejects low-income housing." The truth is, Eagan has a higher percentage of affordable housing than most Twin Cities suburbs. The council's decision was based 4 solely on the belief that other sites within the city could better serve the needs of the resi- dents of the proposed development. The Star Tribune also failed to mention that Eagan has been willing to consider other sites for the development in an attempt to assist the Dakota County Housing and Redevelop- ment Authority (HRA) in placing additional low-income housing in the city. This would help attract businesses which, in turn, would increase Eagan's tax base. The HRA has been unwilling to consider other sites because of the cost of doing additional site assessments, though this cost is relatively insignificant. The site evaluation criteria calls for such developments to be within walking distance of amenities such as grocery stores. City planners, in their original site evaluation, had mistakenly ruled that the proposed site meets this criteria, even though the nearest conven- ience store is close to a mile away and the nearest grocery store even farther. Also, the surrounding land use is not compat- ible with the proposed development. Imme- diately to the south is an elementary school, while the site to the north has been proposed for a new post office. Consequently, the HRA's proposal would wedge a housing de- velopment between two public service facili- ties, essentially isolating its residents. A new, similar HRA development in Burns- ville is surrounded by apartments, condo- miniums and a business park and is within three blocks of a grocery store and retail outlet. In other words, the site in Burnsville meets the criteria established for such a de- velopment, whereas the site the HRA is con- sidering in Eagan does not. Hence, criticism from Burnsville officials is unwarranted, as they did not have to deal with similar site considerations for their HRA development. The HRA has now become vindictive and is irrationally fixated with this one location while losing sight of its mission. HRA's con- cern must be for meeting the needs of resi- dents, not for vindication. Rather than reach- ing an accord with the city on an alternate site, HRA wants to hastily ram this site down the city's throat through public pressure, me- dia involvement and threatened litigation. Taxpayers take notice: In the face of funding cutbacks in their program, the HRA would rather spend hundreds of thousands of dol- lars on,1litigation for the wrong site than a few 4 thousand dollars on an assessment of a better site. Who is the real villain here — the city of Eagan, which wants to locate this develop- ment where it would best serve the needs of its residents and maintain a rational zoning plan, or the HRA, which is intent on spend- ing our tax money on litigation rather than on the needs of the people for which this housing is intended? Perhaps the real villain is the Star Tribune. By unjustly labeling Eagan residents as snobs instead of presenting the facts, the Star Trib- une is the only entity in this entire matter truly guilty of discrimination. Peter A. Yacukowicz, Eagan. 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Prices good through January 12, 1995 1 r 1 2 council members refuse to budge on vote against low-income project BILL GARDNER STAFF WRITER The two Eagan City Council members who blocked a proposed low-income housing project refused to reconsider Tuesday night despite Mayor Tom Egan's criticism that they had "tarnished" the city's image. Council Member Ted Wachter angrily defended his vote and called "childish" a threat by the Dakota County Housing and Redevelopment Authority to sue the city over its refusal to rezone land for the project. "I don't know where America is com- ing to today," Wachter said of the threat- ened lawsuit. "That's where I stand. I will not change my vote." Wachter insisted he would be happy to talk to the HRA about finding a different location for the 42-unit town house pro- ject that would rent primarily to families with incomes from $16,000 to $20,000. "I'm willing to find a place in Eagan for this," Wachter said. The HRA proposed to build the town houses on eight acres of land southeast of Johnny Cake Ridge Road and Diffley Road. Neighbors objected, claiming the project would lower their property val- ues and attract crime. Ironically, the land is currently zoned for higher -density rental property and the HRA could build a low-income high - density project without seeking rezoning. Rezoning requires a four -fifths vote of the council. Council Members Wachter and Pat Awada voted no at the Dec. 7 meeting. The action attracted considerable news media attention, and the mayor said Tuesday that "the image of Eagan has been tarnished over the last 30 days." HRA executive director Mark Ulfers said he is considering two options: Sue the city or propose a higher -density, low- income project on the site. Egan said the city has a poor chance of prevailing in court. "We were advised time and time again, every way but which way, that we did not have a legal right to deny this," the mayor told council members. Council Member Sandra Masin said the nearby residents' fears of crime and low- er property values are not justified. "I also don't believe that because somebody makes $20,000 a year they are going to be violent and are not going to take care of their property," Masin said. HOUSING ♦ CONTINUED FROM 1C mation, which it had previously request- ed, so it can address the problems. "If there are dire problems with what's been done with the money, we'd like to know what it is before the same prob- lems happen again," Thune said. "The way I guess it got publicly aired last week at a press conference is a horrible way to do policy before the HRA re- ceives a report." In his assessment, HRA executive di- rector Larry Buegler said that due to bad loans, lowered values for city -owned property and a larger reserve for antici- pated future losses, the city will have to make an $18.4 million adjustment in its balance sheet. In light of that, the mayor said the city will use new procedures to ensure that loan proposals are properly reviewed and tracked. The City Council acts as the HRA, the city's economic development arm set up to develop blighted areas and make hous- ing available for low- and moderate -in- come residents — especially when those projects are considered risky and would have difficulty qualifying for convention- al loans. Coleman said he isn't pointing fingers, but implicit in his announcement is that some members of the current board are partially responsible for loose oversight. Many of the loans were made while Thune and Council Member Janice Rett- man were on the board. What irks board members is that the issues involved are ones members have worked on for the past few months. The mayor has no oversight with the HRA. The incident is the latest in a recurring rift between the council and the mayor, apparently because council members think their ideas are being stolen and their authority usurped by the oft -quoted, much -photographed mayor. Thune said the board has heard that loans are bad, but doesn't know whether the problem is endemic or whether the loans should have been called grants from the start. "We have not gotten the information," Thune said. "We have no way of doing self-analysis. This does not help the way we do development in the city. Are we irritated? Yes, we are." Thune said the board wants to know whether certain organizations or individ- uals are getting loans and habitually de- faulting, whether particular types of loans seem to be in trouble more than others, and whether some loans ought to be called grants. beef, cooked d mozzarella cheese aetti sauce rmixture into a9inch )eef and spaghetti ee oven for 25 minutes. 1 &A • . . aries rode, 80 1986 photo), a atonal football iho helped blaze mis of black film day. He recently Quick and the r with Gene Hack - Stone. Westerns Professionals" Upon a Time In figured proml- f lmography. His s'ed In "Posse" :it he portrayed r s' grizzled narra- one of the first to National Foot- ig the 1940s. In sons" documen- )d to the adversl- e lacks faced. "If 1 :e heaven," he to go." Ales, Eagan Council reaffirms vote to block low-income housing By Dennis Cassano Staff Writer The Eagan City Council on Tuesday reaffirmed its Dec. 7 vote to block construction of a 42-unit townhouse project for low-income families, leav- ing open the possibility that the city may be sued or that a 100-unit low- income apartment building be built instead. The next move appears to be with the Dakota County Housing and Re- development Authority, which al- ready has authorized its attorneys to sue the city. Authority director Mark Ulfers said that this past fall, the agency pur- chased an option to buy the 8-acre parcel and developed plans to build the townhouses based on a unani- mous vote by the City Council in August to approve the project. The land is north of Oak Ridge Elemen- tary School near Johnny Cake Ridge Rd., next to a neighborhood of houses valued at up to $300,000 and townhouses valued from $100,000 to $1 50,000. Fire/ Woman independent, `loved life,' daughter says Continued from page 18 He said subzero weather hampered about 45 firefighters who "were un- able tb, get ill the front door becadse' Ulfers said Tuesday night that the city code does not define the word "apartment," so the townhouse proj- ect might be permissible under cur- rent zoning restrictions. He said he will discuss those issues with the city. Last month, the council voted 3-2 for the townhouse plan, but four votes were necessary for approval be- cause it required a zoning change. Pat Awada and Ted Wachter voted against it. At the public hearing Dec. 7, neigh- bors of the project complained that the low-income families, who would earn about $20,000 a year, would bring crime and lower the property values of existing homes. Wachter said Tuesday night that he is not opposed to low-income hous- ing in Eagan, but that the townhouses should be built elsewhere in the city, and he objected to the housing auth- ority's attempt to force him to change his vote by threatening to sue. Council Member Shawn Hunter, who voted with Sandra Masin and Mayor Thomas Egan to approve the project, said the decision to prevent it is "blatantly discriminatory at worst and it's illegal at best. Egan was even more caustic, saying no one should be proud of the city being criticized across the metropoli- tan area, where the supply of housing for low-income families has become a major issue. The votes of Awada and Wachter, he said, are "hypocritical to the point of being mean -spirited." The land now is zoned for apartment complexes of 100 to 200 units. The housing authority had sought a low- er -density zoning to permit the 42 units. By refusing to change the zon- ing, the City Council has left the way clear for the authority to build a large apartment complex there. That would bring to the neighborhood two to four times more low-income fam- ilies than would be placed in the townhouses. Star Tribune/Wednesday/January 4 / 1995 Apple Valley woman admits to abuse, loses day care license By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer The Minnesota Department of Hu- man Services has revoked the family day care license of an Apple Valley woman who told authorities that she had physically abused three children in her home last summer. State authorities also have revoked the licenses of two other day care providers and a couple that provided foster care, according to reports re- leased Tuesday. Jeanette Lynch of Apple Valley told Dakota County authorities in August that she had slapped and pushed three children, in some instances causing bruises and scratches. That began an investigation by county social services officials and Apple Valley police. According to the report, Lynch told authorities that one child had suf- fered a rug burn after she pushed the child out of the way. She said that the child at another time was scratched after she slapped the child and caused the child to fall on a Dement slab. She said she slapped another child when the child spilled milk. Lynch said Tuesday that she knew what she did was wrong and that she called the parents of the children and told them what happened. She said that she is a single parent of two children and that she also cares for her elderly father. At times, she said, she was caring for eight or nine children. "I have a lot of responsibility, and I obviously don't have the do day eare,'st he esi Hennep District Sentencing* or Hennepin County criminal dispositioi via fax in advance published in the Sta new sentencing info as it becomes avails Tribune Fax service follow the recorded category number County criminal co The cost is $1.98 Pt your credit card. Names, addresses of are taken from Nemo tract Court records. T pie were seMeitoed l November. Allen, Albert, 23, 321 MlnneapoNs, flllh-deg months at 8t Cloud,' John Sommerville. Anderson, James An session of burglary or months at 8t. Clams s yea , me yeas' pr Baker, TyrwN Law Wry, three years' pro treatment. 61 days in Judge Andrew Daniel Bleck, Terry Jerome, N., Brooklyn Park, cap without a permit, two restitution, treatment, Stanch. Bobo, Terry Schnell, Av. S., MinneapoNs, Sault. 38 months at Si Robert 8chieteibein. Bolton, Bury Los, 36 ah Lane N., Plymouth goods, escape from c at Stillwater, credit 29 probation, restitution, care, six months in th credit 68 days, Judge BowdIIch, Todd Lao River Rd., Anoka, 9Iery,10 years' pro In the late 1940s, Husby and his broth- er, Joseph, started the Falcon Oil Co., an independent chain of nine gas stations, and built the Ambassador Motor Hotel at U.S. 12 and Minnesota 100 in St. Louis Park, and the Ambassador East on Ex- celsior Boulevard and France Avenue in St. Louis Park. The brothers also owned the Holiday Inn in Albert Lea, and start - men; two sisters, t;ertrude Husby and Ingebor Smith, both of St. Paul, and brother Joseph of St. Paul. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Como Park Lutheran Church, 1376 Hoyt Ave. W., with private burial. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the Holcomb - Henry -Boom North Chapel, 515 W. Min- nesota 96, Shoreview. 2 council members refuse to budge on vote against low-income project p BILL GARDNER STAFF WRITER The two Eagan City Council members who blocked a proposed low-income housing project refused to reconsider Tuesday night despite Mayor Tom Egan's criticism that they had "tarnished" the city's image. Council Member red Wachter angrily defended his vote and called "childish" a threat by the Dakota County Housing and Redevelopment Authority to sue the city over its refusal to rezone land for the project. "I don't know where America is com- ing to today," Wachter said of the threat- ened lawsuit. "That's where I stand. I will not change my vote." Wachter insisted he would be happy to talk to the HRA about finding a different location for the 42-unit town house pro- ject that would rent primarily to families with incomes from $16,000 to $20,000. "I'm willing to find a place in Eagan for this," Wachter said. The HRA proposed to build the town houses on eight acres of land southeast of Johnny Cake Ridge Road and Diffley Road. Neighbors objected, claiming the project would lower their property val- Des and attract crimeL Ironically, the land is currently zoned for higher -density rental property and the HRA could build a low-income high - density project without seeking rezoning. Rezoning requires a four -fifths vote of the council. Council Members Wachter and Pat Awada voted no at the Dec. 7 meeting. The action attracted considerable news media attention, and the mayor said Tuesday that "the image of Eagan has been tarnished over the last 30 days." HRA executive director Mark Ulfers said he is considering two options: Sue the city or propose a higher -density, low- income project on the site. Egan said the city has a poor chance of prevailing in court. "We were advised time and time again, every way but which way, that we did not have a legal right to deny this," the mayor told council members. Council Member Sandra Masin said the nearby residents' fears of crime and low- er property values are not justified. "I also don't believe that because somebody makes $20,000 a year they are going to be violent and are not going to take care of their property," Masin said. HOUSING ♦ CONTINUED FROM 1C mation, which it had previously request- ed, so it can address the problems. "If there are dire problems with what's been done with the money, we'd like to know what it is before the same prob- lems happen again," Thune said. "The way I guess it got publicly aired last week at a press conference is a horrible way to do policy before the HRA re- ceives a report." In his assessment, HRA executive di- rector Larry Buegler said that due to bad loans, lowered values for city -owned property and a larger reserve for antici- pated future losses, the city will have to make an $18.4 million adjustment in its balance sheet. In light of that, the mayor said the city will use new procedures to ensure that loan proposals are properly reviewed and tracked. The City Council acts as the HRA, the city's economic development arm set up in rinvnlnr. hlirtY, ,,l o...,.,.. ....a .....6.. n,...... but implicit in his announcement is that some members of the current board are partially responsible for loose oversight. Many of the loans were made while Thune and Council Member Janice Rett- man were on the board. What irks board members is that the issues involved are ones members have worked on for the past few months. The mayor has no oversight with the HRA. The incident is the latest in a recurring rift between the council and the mayor, apparently because council members think their ideas are being stolen and their authority usurped by the oft -quoted, much -photographed mayor. Thune said the board has heard that loans are bad, but doesn't know whether the problem is endemic or whether the loans should have been called grants from the start. "We have not gotten the information," Thune said. "We have no way of doing self-analysis. This does not help the way we do development in the city. Are we irritated? Yes, we are." hour prior to services at church. Interment Cot- tage Grove Cemetery. Memorials preferred to the church. Baker Dora J. age 90 of Pres- byterian Homes on 1/1/98. Complete notice later. Arrangements Bradshaw Ustoe-Wold 698-3878 Bauer George C, age 88, died on Jan 1, 1995 of Fos- ston, MN. Preceded in death by his wife Mari- on. Survived by son Thomas (Ginger) of Fah Church, VA; daughter Joanne (Arnold) Faus of Brooklyn Park; grandson Michel. Funeral Service Thursday, Jan 5, 2pm at Kingo Lutheran Church In Fosston. Arrange- ments by Carlin-Hoial- men Funeral Home, Fos- ston, MN 218/435-1144 Bostrom Mae (Dahl), age 79, of Stacy, died Monday at Chisago Lake Hos., after a lengthy battle with Cancer. Survived by hus- band Wilfred; daughter Laurel (Sheldon) Ander- son of Stacy; sisters Bessie Balsimo of St. Paul, Margie Lids of 8t. Paul; brother Donald Szymanski of 8t Paul; grandchildren Jerol (Ju- dy) Anderson, Trudy (Robert) Lundeen, Gregg (Rib) Anderson; 5 great- grandchildren Lucas, Jeremy, Nicole, Kara, Jade. Preceded in death by first husband Laur- ence 8 daughter Judy Humble. Funeral Service, 1lam, Thursday at ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH, Stacy. Friends may call 5-8pm, Wednesday at MATTSON FUNERAL HOME, Forest Lake. Interment Stacy Cemetery. Brown Donald M., age 77, of Oregon, formerly of No. St. Pad. Preceded In death by wife Els Mae. Father of Lawrence R. & alike Joaai•.. of Oakdale, Donne Mee Tamowskd iL husband Dietrich of CA. Ronald M. & wife Mary of Washington, Darla Brown of No. St. Paul; grandchildren Shawn, Wanda, Wendy, Shelley, Ryan, Kirsten, Eric, & 3 great-grandchildren. Fu- neral Service at SAND - BERG MORTUARY, 7th Ave. & Charles St., No. St. Paul, Thursday, 10:30am. Interment Na- tional Cemetery. Visita- tion at the Mortuary, Wednesday from 4-8pm & 1 hr prior to service. Member of American Le- gion Post 39. Sandberg Mortuary 777-2600 Carlson Gerald, age 82, Malay, Deo. 28 in alier, NO, formerly OP. Paul. Survived by loses wife Yvonne; step- daughter Robin Brandt, Cavalier, ND; & st Jay Mitchell & Cheryl, Frankfurt, Ng - many; 5 step-grandddl- dren; 1 sister Card. Dustrude, St. Paul & 1 niece Linda Blomquiat, Torrance, CA. Memorial Service. Thursday, Jas. 5, 3om ROSELAWN CEMETERY CHAPEL, 818 W. Larpenteur Aura, Roseville. Dolezal Vitolene M., age 84, of St. Paul. Survived by son Grant M.; 2 brothers Russell & Vernon Tout - vile, both of St Par4 $ sisters Virginia Vida" Winona Voelker & Lydia Dahlgren of St Path Bernice Wolinski, Kaiup mazoo, MI & Sylvia mire, Colon, MI. Men al Service, Satur 10am in THE HOL HENRY -BOOM HOME, 536 N. Snelling Ave. Private Intermits* was made to Resurreo. tion Cemetery. Dougherty James G., on January $ age 27, of Little Caned* Beloved father of Brittle ny & Patrick Dougherty; beloved special friend of Can Jacobowitch. Sur- vived by mother Linda Hamer (Duey DuBois); father Richard G. Dow gherty (Evelyn); sister Rebecca Konze (Ways brothers Barry (Bonnie. Jo), Richard & Christ*. pher, also survived by grandparents, aunts, un- cles, nieces, nephews, - other relatives a friends. Funeral Service at MUELLER-BIES FUNE AL HOME NORTH CHA- PEL, 2130 N. Dale at County Road B., Rose - vie, on Thursday, Jan. 5 at i pm. Interment Rose - lawn Cemetery. Visitation from 3-9pm, Wednesday (TODAY). Memorials pro- faned. 487-2550 Forsberg Theodore F., age 88, of 8t. Paul. Survived by wife Clarice; father of Jerry & wife Pat of Ne- vis, MN, Teddy Hayne & husband Tom of St. Paul, Tom of St. Paul, Denny & wife Kathy of Little Canada, Gary, Pe- quot Lakes; grandfather of Mary Kay, Scott, De- nise, Daniel, Bryan, Dawn, Todd, Joshua, & T.J.; great-grandson Zachery; brother of Bill & wife Doris & Mildred. Service, 12 noon, Thurs- day at OUR SAVIOR'S LUTHERAN CHURCH, 674 Johnson Parkway at Margaret. Visitation 8- 8pm, Wednesday at AN- DERSON FUNERAL HOME, 1401 Arcade St. at Sherwood & at church preceding the service. Memorials pre- Metro/Region Star Tribune 4i . Sunday .11 ,anuary 1 /995 ease readand recycle 1 B. 1 be •i akota County's too rich for its employees' blood By bennis Cassano S1af Writer Ivvore than half of )akota County's workers leave every 1iy for jobs else- where that provide household in- cqmes among the hi ',hest in the met- rgpolitan area and t_ e wherewithal to r urn to the state': most expensive homes. Pay too low to afford highest cost of living in metro area On the other hand, people with jobs in Dakota County are among the lowest paid in the metro area, and many can't afford to live there with- out subsidized housing. According to 1990 census figures, more than 40 percent of the people who work in Mississippi power project would take a bow to the past $5 million venture would generate electricity, create tourist attraction sy beau AeWaal Staff Writer Gten Olsen, Al Smith and Tom Grif- f;tare 50-somethin@ guys with a S5 m lion idea: using :he Mississippi j .i ier in downtown Minneapolis to ceacrate power. It' ► not an original idea. Minneapolis � A& upon the rower from St. Falls the on v major water - "If this works, it would supplement our incomes but we partners wouldn't be able to live off of it," Olsen said. "But if someone with a long view wants to buy this project from us, it would be a very safe investment." The instrument for carrying out the trio's plans is their partnership, Crown Hydro Co., which seeks a federal licence to pent rat' elrrtririty Dakota -County live elsewhere. Al- most 13 percent live in Hennepin County and 10 percent in Ramsey County. In the metro area, only people who work in Scott County are paid an average income less than those who work in Dakota County. The irony in these statistics compiled by the Dakota County Community Services Department is being drama- tized in Eagan, the fastest -growing city in the fastest -growing county of the metro region during the 1980s. The drama over a proposed low-in- come housing development will have a third act Tuesday in Eagan City Hall and also may emerge as a part of another long -running play in the Leg- islature this year. When the Dakota County HRA pro- posed building a 42-unit townhouse project in Eagan for people who make about $20,000 a year, about. 100 people who live in nearby homes' valued in six figures jammed the City, Council chambers to declare that. .1 Eagan continued on page 2B • J 2B.. Sunday/January 1/1995/Star Tribune Eagan/ Townhouse plan drew criticism they don't want those other people for neighbors. That really burns Kelly Johnson. "It's really upsetting for somebody who tries really hard," she said. She and her husband, Marcell, both in their mid-20s, are spending half of his $13,000 income as a cook on their two -bedroom apartment on Rahn Rd. in Eagan. That leaves about $540 in gross income and about $300 in public assistance pay- ments a month to raise their two children, aged 2 and 5. In June, their $540-a-month rent is to be raised to $620. Marcell Johnson was discharged six months ago from the Navy after serving as a signalman aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. Part of his tour was spent .R the Somalia relief effort. They. met in Eagan se /en years ago, and - when they retu led from the Navy decided they wa' ted to go back because "it is a nice t,uiet suburb," Kelly Johnson said. "T it it's changed a lot over four yea: . The people have changed." She is angry that per le oppose the townhouse project w h its rents of about $450 a month ecause "we're not here to cause har t. We just are trying to get by. We v nt to live in a nice neighborhood just like they do. Just because we're not blessed with as much money doesn't mean we should be shied away from. We try just as hard as the people do who own their own houses." Jessica Cook, the HRA's director of property management, said the $90 a month the Johnsons would save if they lived in the townhouse project "is a big deal when you're marginally making it anyway." Like the Johnsons, most of the fam- ilies who would qualify for the town- houses are in clerical, service or retail jobs. HRA officials said that North- west Airlines, the county's largest employer, reported that of its em- ployees who live in Dakota County, 1,900 earn less than $30,000 a year. At Blue Cross Blue Shield, the coun- ty's second-largest employer, one- third of the work force is paid less than $24,000 a year. People who live on Clemson Circle and Wexford Way near the proposed project in south-central Eagan told the council that they worried that outsiders from the central cities would move in, lower their property values and raise crime rates. HRA Director Mark Ulfers replied that 290 families now living in Eagan are on subsidized housing waiting lists. Also on the lists are 57 elderly people. But the people on Wexford and Clemson won. Because the project required a zoning change, it needed the votes of four council members. It got only three: Mayor Tom Egan and council members Sandra Masin and Shawn Hunter. The entire council had approved the site in a preliminary vote in August. But when faced with a room full of voters opposed to it Dec. 7, council members Pat Awada and Theodore Wachter voted no. The decision so upset state Rep. Ken Wolf, IR-Burnsville, that he fired off a letter to the two dissenters. He warned that they were playing into the hands of legislators from the cen- tral cities and older first -ring suburbs. That faction, led by Rep. Myron Or - field, DFL-Minneapolis, has been ar- guing for years that the spiral of ur- ban decay will continue if the devel- oping suburbs soak up growth and public investment while shirking their share of the social costs. In two sessions, Orfield has won pas- sage of legislation calling for the sub- urbs to lower financial and zoning bars to low-income housing. Both times, IR Gov. Arne Carlson vetoed the bills. Orfield said he will be back with another bill this month, but Eagan IR Rep. Tim Pawlenty said that it will be a dead issue before it's even tiled. That's because Independent -Republi- cans have 13 more seats in the House than last session, Pawlenty said, al- though they do not control either chamber. A former member of the Eagan City Council, Pawlenty said: "Eagan has done more than its share in afford- able housing, particularly in compari- son with other developing suburbs." Ulfers disagrees. The townhouse pro- ject is the first that Eagan has consid- ered in more than 10 years, he said, while Apple Valley, Burnsville, Inver Grove Heights and Lakeville have recently accepted new projects. "That's why the HRA thought this was a good time [to propose the project for Eagan] because not much has been done there lately," Ulfers said. He said older Dakota County sub- urbs such as West St. Paul and South St. Paul have more subsidized hous- ing partly because the buildings there can be purchased by the HRA for less than in newer suburbs. Dan McElroy, in his last days as Republican mayor of Burnsville and about to take a seat in the Minnesota House, would not criticize Eagan for failing to take on subsidized housing while his city has. "That's a judg- ment they have to make," he said. But he also said suburbs that want to avoid quotas for low-income housing "must take on the responsibility... . I think Eagan will find a way, if not Housing the poor in Dakota County Subsidized housing units are a small percentage of the homes in most Dakota County cities, despite sizable waiting lists for such units. City Apple Valley Burnsville Eagan Farmington Hastings Inver Grove Heights Lakeville Mendota Heights Rosemount South St. Paul West St. Paul Total Number of Subsidized housing subsidized as pet of units units total units 12,902 21,124 20,750 2,350 5,865 8,916 9,854 3,887 3,491 8,316 8,853 297 854 628 183 353 534 165 14 207 593 362 2.3% 4.0 3.0 7.8 6.0 6.0 1.7 0.4 5.9 7.1 4.1 Note: Subsidized housing inciudes units for the handicapped, senior citi- zens and families. Source: Metropolitan Council for total housing units (April 1993 estimate); Dakota County Housing and Redevelopment Authority for subsidized units (totals as of October) and waiting list (as of December). ram: Wafting list for a• subsidized housing 406 a, r 441 347 72 179 196 93 , 16 106 124 i tv 370 i, .to .-t !fie, there, then maybe elsewhere." But Dakota County Commissioner Patrice Bataglia said: "This is not about banishing poor people to an industrial area next to a railroad track and thinking we done good." Bataglia, the County Board's liaison to the HRA, pointed out it was the Eagan council that decided in August where the townhouse project should go after reviewing 10 possible sites. On Dec. 20, the City Council decided to vote Tuesday to affirm or recon- sider its decision. A reconsideration Hilary ►lans to repay about half of gambling -related debts Associated Press A Hennepin County commissioner has , tided to repay ; vleast some of her pambiiog debts. up to half of those obligations in the next three years. The first step in that process oc- curred Friday when Hilary and a der Chapter 13, which allows her to set up a repayment schedule for cred- itors. Her attorney, Mark Vaught, said change course. Vaught said the Chapter 13 plan will require Hilary to make regular pay- ments to a court -appointed trustee, her gambling addiction. Last summer, the U.S. bankruptcy trustee asked that Hilary's Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition be dismissed, r.1.,nn rhr. mnlir rnnnnh mnnev to • • • • • • • • • • • • • Star Tribune Graphic motion would have to be made by Awada or Wachter. The Metropolitan Council staff, while seeking information from HRA and city staff members, has been publicly quiet on the subject al7 though the council pronounced in September that one of its primary goals is to see low-income housing distributed throughout the suburbs. Jim Solem, the council's chief of staff, said the council has to "struc- ture a more detailed policy on when it's appropriate to make comments' on housing issues. •••••••••••••••••••••••••� The 6emone presents.... • • • • • • i • • • • • 5. NMI Mir■ ■■ \i\/i \ Ili♦ From Previ Our N iewpoint Eagan housing decision lads moral or legal basis The poor may always be with us, but some folks in Eagan don't war t them as neighbors. Recen Ly 100 residents turned out to voice their opposition to a 42-u lit low-income townhouse project near Diffley and Johnny ' ake Ridge roads. Some said low-income housing • would be inconsistent with the existing neighborhood, which boasts hones in the $200,000 to $300,00 range. Others said they'd m ,ed to the suburbs specifically to escape such inner- city prob ms as poverty. The of ,cry they raised was little more than a knee-jerk re- action ag inst the leas fortunate — a reaction born of stereo- typing ar ignorance. The per r are not some faceless mass of criminals and dead- beats. Mr iy are single mothers, desiring the same bright fu- tures for ieir children as the offspring of privilege. Some are the work tg poor, struggling to survive in a system that dis- proportic ately distributes wealth to a few at the top. Some :ople in Eagan would rather ignore that reality in favor of c. ss-based bias. The poor, they seem to say, have prob- lems, ant they'd rather let somebody else handle those prob- lems. Pol, rty, they suggest, is contagious: It might drag down the value f their expensive homes. But m ay in Eagan and other suburbs can't afford expen- sive hom, . Just finding a place to rent is a challenge. A hou ng study recently published by the University of Minnesot s Humphrey Center shows that many of our sub- urbs havf twice as many poor as affordable rental units. Burns. !le, for instance, has 734 very low income house- holds, bu only 376 housing units those people could afford without s ending more than a third of their income on rent. Eagan ha 300 people on a waiting list for subsidized housing. The pot • are already with us. Any expansion of the low-income housing at• ck is likely to be filled by people who live here now. But thr residents who spoke against the proposal are to be faulted le I than some officials who voted against it. Coun- cilmember ; Pat Awada and Ted Wachterbowed to constituent pressure v ith neither moral nor legal ground to stand on. Their d cision was socially irresponsible and it exposes the city to unn 3cessary litigation. It's also likely to provide fodder for state lfgislators such as Myron Orfield, who believes the suburbs al ould be forced to expand their low-income housing stock. That would represent an unfortunate loss of local control. If the Eagan pity Council wants to avoid that scenario, it should promptly a pprove the project. p Are we living in a free society? To the editor: I am writing this letter in re- gard to the article that was in the Dec. 14 issue. I have to agree wholehearted- ly with the residents on this issue. I bought my first home in a very low crime area of south Minneapolis in 1973. We had planned to live there at least until we retired. But in about 1990 the HRA started buying homes in this area. These homes were being sold to low income families for a lot less money than the current market rate. This was bringing the value of the homes in the area down. The crime rate in this area also started going up. In 1973, when we moved into this house, there was virtually no crime in this area. The crime rate started to rise in about 1986, and from what I have heard, is still climb- ing. So, in the beginning of 1990, we decided to sell our home and move. We decided that Eagan was the place we would make our new home. We moved here in April of 1992. My family couldn't believe how friendly and courte- ous the people were around here. My point of view is that peo- ple should not be forced to do things that they don't want done to them. We are supposed to be living in a free society. But are we? Tony Mahowald Eagan Is city becoming exclUsiona To the editor: Last week I was shocked to proposed HRA housing project. How is it that our city, with so much to be thankful for, can be so selfish when it comes to our obligations to those leas fortu- nate than ourselves? How could the presence of this group of neighborhood residents sway the sound recommendations of your own staff to support the project and influence council members against it? Are the people who spoke at the meeting really representa- tive of our community? I cannot believe they are. They seem to believe they could "move away" from or "build barriers" against criminals or criminal activity. Income should not be isolated as the only indicator of criminality. Is this Christian "morality?" No one could profess to being a Christian (or member of any major religion) and stand against the housing project that was proposed. People may say, "You aren't from the neighborhood, so no wonder you'd favor the project.' Well, I'm not from that neigh- borhood but if you didn't bother to ask questions about the future development of property sur- rounding where you chose to live, then low-income housing candidates shouldn't suffer for it. I believe the city zones prop- erty well in advance of develop- ment so the information is read- ily available. Now we all have to wonder whether this is such a great city after all. The next day the media did a great job of advertising just what kind of city we are, I'm wondering who we're going to try to exclude next. Greg Carlson Eagan Mayor says thanks; looks to 1995 To the editor: As we celebrate the holiday season, I am eagerly looking for- ward to the new year and the be- ginning of another four years as your mayor. LETTERS: To Next Page EAGAN Sun'Current EfIl��RicYded raPer u4c0A South St. Heights, stove Heiy,, Wee St Pwl/Mmdou Heights Sun'Current Newspapers, 1209 E. Cliff Rd., Burnsville, MN 55337 890-4456 HARI.AND HIEMSTRA Aristant Managing Editor 8904156 LORI HAUOEN Community Editor 890-1456 BRIAN BUROB Sports Editor 890-4156 01995, Published Weekly By MINNESOTA SUN PUBLICATIONS &, Sun•Current n•Poet 6um6Nbr 7831 East Bush Lake Rd., Bloomington, MN 55439 896-4700 DONALD T IJRL IW EDWARD FL SHUR PAUL JOHNSON TOM LOSEY Mike Emotive Editor/General Munger Advertising Director Marketing Director iLr larAsellY A4vertilgoll/ 026/76t classifieds / $31-1382 Circulating / 106•411N - - ; ,0 Su AA-Alanon- Step, also at 7 p. coholics (ACOA) Trail, Rosemou 3622. Caring and and separated, 7 435-8102. Singles Orga p.m., Prince of Pe and 7, 200 E. Nicoll formation: 435-81 1 Twelve Steps 9:50 to 10:25 a.m., Church, 3650 Willis Information: 890-45 Mon Classes Helping Child' vorce, ages 7 and 1 p.m. and ages 9 to 1 six sessions, $10 f Covenant Church, 1 S., Burnsville. Inforl (Annette Bodmer). I Quit Smoking Mondays, $85, 14955 Galaxie Ave., mation: 227-8014. Clubs Dakota County Mentally III, 7:15 p. Church, 1930 Diffley formation: 458-7273. Dakota County (Mothers Against p.m., Mendota Heigh way 110 and Lexin 898-3553 (Barb Ho Jaycees-Bumsvil warmerBob's, 254 W. way, Burnsville. In Knights of Gryi1$, 740 pm., Church. Aftelliflillot From Page 1A I want to the your tremendous vember's election working together that Apple Valley the kind of Comm want to live, wor families. I would esp thank those of y so hard on my energy and corns overwhelming tc As I have saii be justifiably pr have built in onl our job is to gi quarter centur, this foundation and bigger visic Please accept r 148 pllor gold 3.1 with 1-1/2 CT cha 14K nasato pill rue with 1.0o CT prin Man follows paper trail to find family Newsstand Price Wildcat icers earning respect EAGAN Suii'Current 3 ections January 4, 1995 Vol. 20, No. 2 HRA may sue Eagan over development ° By Lori Haugen , Stab Writer Eagan's City Council gave it: r self a tew extra weeks to consid- er what to do with a low-income townhouse development the HRA wants to build, despite a large and vocal group of neigh- bors wl'o oppose it. Mea iwhile, the Dakota County Housing and Redevelop- ment Authority (HRA) is buying the land and preparing to sue the city, if necessary, to develop Low-income project thrusts city into spotlight the 42-unit townhouse project. The council struck a nerve when, at its Dec. 7 meeting, it de- clined to rezone the property and in doing so, halted a proposal by the HRA. The vote was 3-2 in favor of the rezoning, but to change zon- ing, a vote of 4-1 is required. At the council's Dec. 20 meeting, it postponed taking the final step that would make the denial offi- cial. It needed time to consider the fact that the day before, the HRA board met and decided it would prepare to file a lawsuit. At the Dec. 7 meeting, council members Pat Awada and Ted Wachter voted against the re- zoning. Awada said she wanted owner -occupied developments in that area. Wachter said he want- ed to do what the people wanted, and that he thought it was an improper location. Mayor Tom Egan supported the proposal, saying the loca- tion, near the corner of Diffley Road and Johnny Cake Ridge Road,, is far from ideal. But many Eagan companies have employees in the income range targeted by the development. And he said similar HRA de- HRA: To Page 10A Proposed Oakrldge Family Housing Development Rape raises concerns nn fe2mnsis 4 >5 velopments in Apple Valley and Burnsville were well-built and well -run. The development would con- tain two- and three -bedroom at- tached -garage townhomes and is aimed at families of four who make $30,600 or less a year. The average annual income for resi- dents would be $20,000. Egan said the proposal is bet- ter for the area than the current zoning, which is for high -density apartment& The site is now surrounded by an elementary school, owner -oc- cupied townhomes and $200,000 to $300,000 single-family homes At about 3.5 percent of its total housing stock, Eagan has a lower percentage of subsidized housing than most cities in Dakota County, where the aver- age is slightly more than 4 per- cent. Only three cities — Men- dota Heights, Apple Valley and Lakeville — have less. Burnsville, the city most sim- ilar to Eagan, is slightly more than 4 percent. Egan said he was disappoint- ed about the lawsuit, but not to- tally surprised. "You cannot deny a develop- ment based on whether it is owner- or renter -occupied, or on income criteria," Egan said. "De- spite tremendous political pres- sure from residents, we still did not have sufficient legal reason to deny this." He said before :his, Eagan had a good repute - ion as a community that accept- !d subsidized housing without >rodding. Results from the Jan. City Council meeting, where ley were to address the issue gain, were unavailable at press am`Zfrehotils. bocanm of ming, the vote prompter ar inor uproar. In the last two ate legislative sessions, Rep. yron Orfield of Minneapolis is attempted to push through JJR4: Issue' will not t o away From Page IA :i::i.>: :7ii.\':::i-77.::: M:'..wvr..kr rwrrv. Dakota County percent of total .bOuatni units subsidized 2 1 0 legislation that would require suburbs to carry a larger share of the metropolitan area's low in- come housing The Minneapolis Star Tri- IfEagan Eagan doesn't do what is deemed socially responsible, our choice will be taken away. —Tom Egan bune and St. Paul Pioneer Press covered the council's decision and gave council members ver- bal spankings for not approving the proposal. Egan agreed. "Cities such as Eagan are being watched by the governor and Legislature. If Eagan doesn't do what is' deemed socially responsible, our choice will be taken away, and the Legislature will mandate that we make room for more af- '*Ti in ocaTcon_ trol,' said Egan. "And we won't be able to if we don't take some responsibility.' Dakota County Commission- Announcing1.211P -27 % 'afv Mortgage Rate For First Time Home Buyers You Purchase An Existing Home�n Dakota county ..- . It's the Dakota n HRA First Time Home: Count Buyer Program. ,sett,4",:64:9%, ........... M.C. Lea Editorial Artist er Patrice Bataglia, a non -voting member of the HRA board, re- buked the City Council at a County Board meeting. "The need for this kind of housing has been proscribed,' said Bataglia. "Eagan has a waiting list of people already in the community who need it.' Bataglia said the HRA has a sterling reputation for building and maintaining its properties, and approving this would be the right thing to do. She said the ideal form ofsub- sidized housing is scattered -site, but that requires money from the federal government, and is hard to come by. If the HRA does sue, it will be solely to get that property, not to make a point, Ulfers said. "We feel there are legal grounds to sue. Without rezon- ing, we could go ahead and de- velop apartment buildings right now. But our idea is that low - density townhomes are better. They are more attractive, and they fill our needs better." Egan said the council can Wacntei`'mattes a'mbtte - consider, and that vote would be taken at a later council meeting j "Beyond that, it's a legal mat- ter." t Program Specifics: •0 points are needed to obtain Ti4%• mortgage rate •existing homes, town homes and condominiums qualify •first time home buyers only •gross annual household income limit is $51,000. •. • - Fern Appold Fern L. Appold, Burnsville died Dec. Fairview Ridges Burnsville. Appold was bo 1929, in Pontiac, Mich., and Ada (Perry) Eri was raised in Pontiac married Roderic Paul June 29, 1957. She had been a Burnsville for the past If moving from Cincinnati Preceding her in deatl her parents and one broth( Survivors include he' band, Rod; daughters, Ma pold of Shakopee and Jane of Burnsville; son, Paul oil ington; sisters and broth, law, Norma and Gerald ( haver of Pontiac, Mich., an and Jim Richards of N. Mich. Services were Dec. 17 Martha and Mary Epi: Church in Eagan with fh George Martin officiating. was at Resurrection Cemet Mendota Heights. Arrangements were b Burnsville Funeral Hoin Nicollet Ave. S., Burnsville. Mable A. Bevis Mable A. Bevis, Burnsville died Dec. 15, 19 Ebenezer Ridges Care Cen Burnsville. Preceding her in death her husband, Charles, an brother. She was born Dec. 2, 19 Minneapolis, to Carvin sac (Williamson) Crouch. She raised in Minneapolis and moved to Kansas City, Ka where she lived until 1963, she moved to Burnsville. _.4, Survivors include her son: daughters-in-law, John and lyn of " dy, Utah, and Lahr Mary ., vis of Burnsville; dF ter and son-in-law, Sandra an Ron Riley of Wichita, liar seven grandchildren. A memorial service was & at the chapel in the Christian Center Building of Prince o(F Lutheran Church with the Bonnie Nash officiating. A pri family burial was at Fort Sae National Cemetery. Arrangements were by Burnsville Funeral Home, 11- Nicollet Ave. S., Burnsville. Anthony Comas Anthony James Comas, 8. Burnsville died Dec. 14, 199' his residence in Burnsville. ,, Comas was born Aug. 5, 1! in Minneapolis, to James Olga (Johnson) Comas. He UK to New Richland, Minn., whir was raised On May 22, 1948 married Ethel Kraemer i bank, Minn. He was a v World War 1I, serving in Army and worked for with the Auto Club and nesota AAA He retired in Comas moved from Bl. ton to Burnsville in 1979- Ha nt increase means ould raise a total Ilion in property ;6.1 million more levels. About that would pay )n costs for a new gomery, school er, said, "Next wing to be cutting There is no fat." ent Curman nounced his sup- ncrease Monday I his recommen- t the increase to that recommen- -1st, I was much is that we were the state spend- ied," he told the night. "I do not ► afford to levy commended." v. Arne Carlson percent across - spending cut to nds, in response ling by the U.S. . That decision tesota Supreme orderin* the 7 million in tax s over the next rict could lose on in state aid is approved, t, assistant su- expressed dis- the board's de- ol board needs re sensitive to said Mayor "We're all all need 10 with less." nbers empha- light that St. a smaller per- ty taxes than •opelitan dis- Under pressure from state and coun- ty officials, the Eagan City Council delayed final action Tuesday on its rejection of a 42-unit townhouse pro- ject for low-income families. The council voted to postpone action for at least two weeks after holding a closed session and being lobbied by a conservative Burnsville legislator and a member of the Dakota County Board. The project developer, the Dakota County Housing and Redevelopment The five -member Eagan council is in Authority (HRA), has threatened to an awkward position because a ma - sue the city if it does not reverse its jority favors the proposal, despite action of two weeks ago. strong opposition from people who live nearb. But cause te town- Mayor Tom Egan said the council homes required a site rezoning, four White Bear voters again say no to tax levy hike for schools Voters in the White Bear Lake School District Tuesday defeated for a second time in less than two months a controversial $3.8 million tax levy proposal. The rejection likely will result in $4.1 million program cuts for the next academic year, including the dismissal of teachers and staff, cuts in academic, athletic and extracur- ricular programs, and reorganization of elementary schools into different grade levels, school officials said. With 23 of 26 precincts reporting, 7,166 opposed the levy and 5,349 voted for it. The official tally is expected today. During the earlier Nov. 8 vote, about 60 percent of voters opposed the levy. The proposal sparked heated debate among parents, stu- dents, teachers and 1111 rn%1Tr 11r1MtjW tG vy punt. "Its a very responsible budget, a very conservative budget and one which the board can live with," Commis- sioner Warren Schaber said. All county departments except crimi- The total change in taxes depends on which city and school district you live in and the change in your home's market value, Samuel said. Washington County As part of approving a $37 million or apartment building that had no change in assessed value, budget ana- lyst Brendan McLaughlin said. About one-third of Washington County's operating budget will be spent on criminal justice; 26 percent of the budget will go to health and r ne levy covers part of a total operat- ing budget of $362 million in Ram- sey County, $89.3 million in Wash- ington County and $176.7 million in Dakota County. Most of the overall budget comes from state and federal funds and from county service fees and fines. Eagan council delays action on townhouse project By Dennis Cassano and Jim Adams decided in closed session that there Staff Writer was insufficient votes are needed to approve it. The their part. But if similar bills are public notice to re- council also knows that the 8-acre introduced in the next session of the consider the HRA proposal last site is zoned for 100 to 200 units, Legislature, he said, "I could no long - night. The council then unanimously although the HRA would prefer to er argue that all the suburbs are being voted to postpone the matter until its build lower -density townhomes. responsible." Jan. 3 meeting. Song cricism of The HRA board decided Monday to 7 decs nUcame f omestate Rep. council's Dec. sue the city while at the same time Wolf, IR-Burnsville, in letters to the proceeding to design a 100-plus unit two council members who blocked apartment building for the site. HRA the proposal, Patricia Awada and officials hoped that the city would Ted Wachter. Wolf said in an inter - agree to the townhouse project and view Tuesday before the council that legal action wouldn't be neces- meeting that he broke his own rule sary, said agency director Mark against "interfering in local affairs Ulfers. because it was so serious." He has fought against bills by Rep. Myron Orfield, DFL-Minneapolis, to withhold state funding from suburbs that refused to allow the develop- ment of low-income housing, partly by saying that the suburbs are doing Wolf was a member of the Burnsville City Council for 10 years and said he voted to approve similar projects there. "[The Eagan council) didn't do the right thing by turning the project down," he said. He said he had re- ceived no response to his letters. Wachter said before last night's meet- ing that he opposed the proposal be- cause the project was next to an ele- mentary school and neighbors feared it would bring increased crime. "I would like to do what a majority of the people want," he said. Breathalyzer Continued from page 1B Katherine Burke Moore, director of the pub- lic safety department's driver and vehicle services department, says that's fine. The department's technical requirements, she points out, apply only to vendors who want to participate in the state's pilot program. "There's nothing to prevent treatment cen- ters from initiating their own programs," she said. They could also ask judges to make them a condition of probation, she said. Twenty-six states use the devices on at least a limited basis, mostly to enforce probation- ary orders to abstain from drinking and driving. Muscala and Burke Moore agree that the ignition breath analyzers have limitations as law enforcement tools. While the computer- ized devices can record engine starts and blood alcohol levels, for the most part they can't tell who is hlnwine into them C„o.,.,,, tems of Iowa, which installed a lock device in Muscala's car, said his company can't meet a Minnesota program requirement that the device operate as an enforcement tool guaranteeing that the driver has totally ab- stained from alcohol. "The information we provide does not nec- essarily support the conclusion the state wants us to draw," he said. Such questions have left the technolotgy, at least in Minnesota, in search of a suitable application. State Sen. Tom Neuville, IR-Northfield, who authored the legislation creating the pilot program, said he will seek to extend it to first and second time offenders. He also wants to extend the program beyond its t.atuw tttcy utu against society." Intervention wort mitted parents, sh► Her biggest need is to intervene wher willing to be respo cause of a historl chemical abuse or illness. Sanders said he's bling increase in tl by some under-10 members his first about a 9-year-old degree criminal st was quite startling, ly, that's grown," hi He attributes the of crimes by kids older children and mitted against the c er vulnerability of to media violence. The county study some basic efforts numbers ort all of fenders. "We don't have a tem that has isola of children," said Ji sistant county atton The study will lot fenders have had with county social see if they have ok criminal justice sys rental behavior and cess of current inlet fenders and their fi "We lack a routine "We need to develc dictable method of population to see t opportunities they 1 don't miss opportt prevention." rFREE sI LINE AVE JNE bout 8 i5 JMNIST nal am to 400 4rnnn1 The council did not indicate whether it would reconsider the project, but the ear- liest reconsideration would be at the Jan. 17 council meeting. The council had rejected a proposal by the Dakota County Housing and Redevel- opment Authority to build a 42-unit town - home project that would rent primarily to families with incomes in the $16,000 to $20,000 range. The HRA board voted Monday to sue the city and to exercise its option to buy the eight acres of land southeast of John- ny Cake Ridge Road and Diffley Road. Ted Wachter, one of two council mem- bers who voted against rezoning the lands for the townhomes, said Tuesday that the city should find a different site for the project. But HRA director Mark Ulfers said after the council meeting that the HRA plans to close on the property Dec. 29 and that there isn't time to come up with a different site. The rezoning is needed because the HRA wanted to build lower -density rent- al townhomes where the zoning calls for high -density apartments. "We'd like the council to reconsider," Ulfers said. "We can proceed on a multi- family plan, but we think it would be more sensible to have low -density town - homes rather than high -density apart- ments." ST. PAUL ♦ Body found in park A group of boys finds the body of an unidentified young man, who apparently was beaten to death, in the snow in Lilydale Park. 2B POLITICS ♦ Welfare cuts opposed U.S. Sen. Paul Wel!stone attacks possible cuts in federal nutrition programs, calling them "mean -spirited." 313' WASHINGTON COUNTY • County board gets a raise County Board members say an increased workload Justifies a 4 percent pay increase for commissioners OK'd Tuesday. 5B 2 1 sT DECEMBER 1994 WEDNESDAY SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS ETR DB SECTION 6 PAGES EDUCATION ♦ North High School adopts four -period school session North St. Paul's North High School will go to a four -period day beginning next fall, a move administrators say will increase choices for students who can't fit electives such as band into their schedules now. 4B INDEX LOTTERY RESULTS TB DEATH NOTICES SS Eagan council delays action on housing project • Neighbors oppose low-income homes BILL GARDNER STAFF WRITER The Eagan City Council on Tuesday put off until next month further action on a proposed low-income housing project that the council turned down two weeks ago after neighbors complained about po- tential crime and lower property values. A slushy kickoff SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS 6B C THURSDAY. APRII. 27, 1945 SUBURBS EAGAN • Panel decides home, business zoning issues BILL GARDNER STAFF WRITER An area of light industries in the mostly undeveloped southeast part of Eagan should be rezoned single-family residential unless the business owners there can make a deal with the City Council, the city's Planning Commission recommends. For several weeks, the commis- sion has been trying to decide what to do about a 42-acre area just to the east of Minnesota 3 near the southern border of Eag- an. Most of the area is zoned in- dustrial, but residential develop- ment is expanding to the edges of the hodgepodge of small indus- tries. As the commission considered rezoning the area multiunit resi- dential, opposition came from both the business owners and nearby residents who did not want high - density residences in the area. If the land is rezoned residen- tial, the businesses would be a nonconforming use and could not be expanded or improved. The owners think their property would lose value. After listening to the complaints earlier this month, the commission voted Tuesday to recommend re- zoning the land as single-family residential. It also responded to the business owners by suggesting that the City Council and the in- dustries prepare a planned indus- trial development, which would leave the area zoned for industries and bar residential development. The industries, which include a towing service and auto body shops, have no'water or sewer ser- vice. Peggy Reichert, the city's eco- nomic development director, said the planned industrial develop- ment would be a contract between the city and the business owners and would place certain limits on the businesses. It would also re- quire a commitment and schedule tot lake certain improvements. Reichert said:Rhe and other city officials will meet with the busi- ness owners today to explain the recommendations and see whether -the owners are interested in a -planned industrial development. The Planning Commission de- ; cided not to recommend rezoning an adjacent 20-acre parcel owned by the West End Hunting and Fishing Club, which has a firing range on the land. A study group had suggested the land be rezoned residential. Some neighbors are upset about noise from the club. • • i hts son or ;he of iot rs. ike for no ;er ng en en .11- ;er ife ng if or to 0 g as Iin m- he of ed te- City Council members should work together To the editor: The Eagan City Council and its dealing with the HRA proposal has caught the interest of many. The media coverage and the responses from the mayor and others is contemptuous. Public name calling is never ap- propriate. The Eagan council is a group of five people elected by the people as a voice of the residents. When members of the Eagan council and other organizations resort to public name calling, it is disgusting and shows a lack of willingness to work together to resolve problems. The idea that we can threaten each other and taunt one another is appalling. The council should work together as a team. Not everyone is going to agree on every issue. That's why the Eagan City Council is five, so one cannot dictate policy. If my memory serves me right, in the late '70s and early 'ROs we, as a city, held numerous public hearings and wrote a comprehen- sive plan for the city. That plan, as I recall, has a section that was written with input from the HRA. The plan states how and what Eagan would do in addressing these issues. It seems to me that we need to find that guide/plan and revisit it. Eagan should work together as the Lord would want us to do and stop the hack biting. Going to court is not the way to handle this type of quarrel. We should always try to get along with one another. BEA BLOMQUIST Eagan ants were hospitalized for smoke in- halation. Police said Thursday that the blaze was deliberately wt. ,/..r •, •••••I • • ,••bl.. NNi `V11% ., to be none of that around here. He told me he was getting his life beck together." They arrested two men and were Investigation continued on page 28 Rezoning to build Iow-income housing voted down in Eagan • sa/ By Deanis Come day's vote could return W haunt the Staff Writer ; city, Faced with 100 angry Eagan residents "If we don't voluntarily show our opposed to low-trtocme housing in social responsibility" by approving their neighborhood, the City Council more afordabk housing, he said, leg - ignored legal advice from its attorney islators will "cram it down our and blocked plans to build 42 town- throats." houses near it dev lopptent of omen - (lye tomes. But those who fought the project Wednesday said they were afraid — "i was just floored," said Mark of crime, of increased traffic, of de- Ulfers, director of the Dakota County dining property values. The 8-acre Housing and Redevelopment Au- site is near a neighborhood of mar- thority (ERA), of Wednesdays refits- ket-rate townhouses and of single al to approve a zoning change neces- family homes valued at S200,000 to sary for the project near Oak Ridge S300,000. Elementary School and Johnny Calve Ridge Rd. Other Dakota County cit- "What I'm looking at is the people," ies have approved similar projects, one man told the council. "1 hate to Ulfers said, "because they feel re- say that because that sounds like I'm sponsible to provide affordable hous- being prejudicial here, but I'm look- ina. I'm just antaeltd.r. ins at the caliber of the neighbor- ' hood. Not only the aesthetic looks of He said the irony is that the HRA it. but the people that are coining in." may respond by building 100 to 300 low-income apartment units at is But Ulfers said many of those new - site instead of this ;townhouses, a comers probably already are living in move that would not tequiro puma Eapn: 300 Eagan families ' already approval of a zorula4 change. t. + me on waiting lists for low-income flowing units. Mayor Tom Egan, who supported the tx41cct, also warood that Wedipta, tNapalms continued on page 5B With the help of Randy Christman and Bob Anderson of the Raptor Resource Project, a team of students from the Marcy Openr y Elementary Schoollotkor Minneapolis helped* p__roJv-i/dne aahha t '; During 'a field trip Thursday le the grounds of the Lee and Rose Warner Nature Center,.••. west of Marine on 8t. Croix.. the 10 sixth- through eighth - graders built an osprey neat mounted on a 30-foot pore. They used alunlnum krigation tubing, which was easy to carry into the field and Tight enough for them to put into a 6-foot foundellon hole. Christman helped out as they hoisted the nest into the hole for final positioning. After erecting the nest, students athered around the ehucturs finish filling in the lion concrete, and Christman signed his name on the nest next to the manes of students on the teent He arranged the opportunity for the students, while Anderson directed the students during the hip. The Twin Cities area Is now horse to only 10 pairs of osprey The roPtor Prol•idinpat hopes that, by nesting areas k wIN tbapt more peke el the bin* Staff Photos by Bruce Bisping . 4n, certain interpretation *No c,nsensus on GOPCongress found • "air /? t of the ar lasses. I Valaau.,.", r •, •• v.,, uy511 1 FV W ,• months of home detention and placed on five yeah' probation by Judge Robert Renner in U.S. District Court in St. Paul. They also were ordered to pay restitution of $38,908. iI They and four other people were in- serving Pennington, MA/ La.., ...,— water and eastern Polk counties. Indicted with the Johnsruds were the director of the program, Rodney Bjerklie, 43, of Trail, and Richard Tharaldson, 58; Darwin Eidelbes, 44, son was sentenced to three years' supervised release, 300 hours of com- munity service and $5,549 in resti- tution. • Housing/ Legislator criticizes council Contleraed from page 18 ' Yvette Quarfot, HRA finance coordi- ' nator, said the people living in the ' proposed project would have in- comes averaging about $20,000 a , year, the maximum income for a family of four would be S30,600- • ' She said half of the people who work at Blue Cross Blue Shield, the city's • second-largest employer, make less • than $30,000. The largest employer, Northwest Airlines, has 1,800 work- ' ers who make less than S30,000, she said. Egan said his daughter, Shannon, is a nt college graduate who fits that me description. "I don't want y daughter to move back to some Ilium in the core city because she lean't afford to live in the town she 4rew up in," he said. 'Of the 15 people who spoke Wednes- :iOay, two supported the plan. One • said that one way of reducing 1'olence in America is to get people live next to each other "and begin get to know each other and live d work together." n and Council Members Sandra asin and Shawn Hunter voted for '4$1e plan, but Council Members Patri- ttia Awada and Ted Wachter voted )gainst it. The measure required four a rotes for passage. Wachter said the proposed site "is 'tie improper location for this one. 'm not being prejudiced against Inybody „ wada said she prefers owner-occu- °pied housing to rental property. Al- though the city has been rezoning for years so that fewer apartment build- ings with fewer units will be built in Eagan, she said she prefers more • Poll !Continued from page 1B ;On the other hand, those who ,thought that the Republican coup marks the advent of long-term GOP 'control were slightly outnumbered, ;43 percent to 48 percent, by those ,who thought it did not. 'And while 40 percent think the Re- ' publican takeover will mean that "things will finally start to get done," another 49 percent said they believed that "gridlock in government will just get worse." Clio Rd. Star Tribune Map owner -occupied condominiums rather than fewer rental apartments. Egan said the opponents' reasoning violates the legal advice that council members were given by their own staff. That advice was that they could not make zoning decisions based on whether units would be owned or rented, that they cannot make deci- sions based on the income of poten- tial residents and that decisions have to be consistent with previous deci- sions to "downzone." Awada said in an interview later that she wants low-income housing to be on scattered sites in the city, not in large. State Rep. Myron Orfield, DF -Min- neapolis, criticized the council's ac- tion Thursday. Orfield, who has successfully spon- sored bills two years in a row to force suburbs to build more affordable housing only to see the measures vetoed by IR Gov. Arne Carlson, said Eagan should not reject low- income housing proposals when its own residents need housing. "It should take care of its poor peo- ple. The central cities shouldn't have to do it" Orfield said he was inaccurately quoted by people at the Wednesday meeting who claimed that he said Eagan has enough affordable housing. "Eagan is doing better than most cities," he said in an interview Thursday. 'It's doing better than Ma- ple Grove, the super -restrictive cities." The Maple Grove council recently rejected a low-income housing pro- posal because of neighborhood oppo- sition, but later approved a similar plan in a different location. The 8-acre site proposed for the Ea- gan project is now zoned for 12 to 24 units per acre, or 100 to 200 units. The HRA had asked the council to reduce the zoning to five units per acre. Ulfers said the HRA is considering three options: dropping the matter, suing the city or building an apart- ment building. Egan said that the issue will be dis- cussed again Dee. 20. 'Good thing' or gridlock? The elections have created an un- usual situation for the and years: a Democratic president a Republican Congress. So do Min- nesotans see it as a good thing or a bad thing for the country? The last time the poll asked that question was in 1959, when Repub- lican ent Dwight Eisenhower f, idDemoocrCongress for the last two years of his term. At that time, nearly a quarter said the situation wouldn't make any dif- ference. That suggest that the na- QDo you think having a Democratic (Repub1- can) president and a Republican (Democratic) Con- gress for the next two years will, on the whole, be a good thing or a bad thing for the United States?" 1959 1994 Good thing 37% 47% Bad thing 28 39 Doesn't matted no difference 23 4_ While At Forthe first tiff in America's '. pen. The We every year for th World Wars, a d during the Great live on in there year for Major L On a Precious Each year t' the only Officli official 1994 to before the sti unique, once -in - the official bus that wasn't. - A Corded Me As an off • • • • 4 • • ••f • • ••4 • • • • 4 gtaous action by the 1-euetat s t I • Board, this nation now is in the fourth ery ylrar of a remarkably steady re tb1 ation is low and growth is continu- iSig even as the economy approaches full employment and full use of its industrial capacity. That's a portrait of prosperity which makes most nations of E6 -c. pagan I\ vote against community self-interest in 1996 politi;a, and ruining an 0.0 nomic recoven in the process. That's a bad bargain for all Americans, including the middle class. Get a grip, Washing- ton; the Nov. B election wasn't meant to encourage ezonornic suicide. I}a,( Tribune. \Z�1'o A the 1995 Legislature needed further search and West Publishing. reason to require more affordable hous- ing in Twin Cities suburbs, two omem- I have - Fes of the EaganCity llgnded it to them on a silver platter. Better make that tarnished silver plat- t r, because in bowing to pressure from overwrought neighbors to block alow- iht'ome rental townhouse project, ciOuncil minority shamed their city and themselves. ••C1 ••C •• • • (; ••:: • • ( ••;. y Molly Ivins reators Syndicate the two council members also showed alprofound lack of wisdom in voting to Rill a zoning change that would have i flowed the Dakota County HRA to build the 42-unit project. Failure 10 give the rezoning proposal the four votes it needed probably means that the site will instead be developed as already zoned — with high -density low-income apart- 41thts. Neighbors who succeeded in b.pcking the townhouse development outr pro oer fevalues maylike the alternatir of crime and concern ve property less. To support those valuedcommercial- industrial taxpayers, Eagan di- verse housing stock for all economic levels. The city's official plan has called for such housing diversity since 1980. The mayor's point is one too often missed. It's generally understood that concentrating the poor in the central cities and a few, mostly northern, sub- urbs only serves to magnify the social and other problems that often go with poverty. Less well understood is that most suburbs — including Fagan — have poor people of their own: people who work at low-level jobs in the com- munity, young adults who grew up there or women who have divorced there but often must move to the central cities to find affordable living quarters. here are other ironies as well. Eagan has been relatively receptive to low- income housing in the past, and the runty HRA has built similar town- house projects in neighboring cities without significant problems. And as Mayor Tom Egan emphasized in voting along with two other council members for the zoning change, most occupants the townhouses would have been ple who already hold steady, if not h-paying, jobs with stich major Ea- gan -based employers as Northwest Air - fries, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Cray Re- I read with interest and ern buchar's Dec. 6 column, "(_o ommendations won't help'L On a Thursday in October of prepared to start my 27th gar safety, the American Literati with whom I studied inquire my aloof nature was due to c ing loss to Michigan. Thus while the fear is that providing low-income housing in suburbs like Ea- gan will merely trigger an outward mi- gration of poor people (and poor peo- ple's problems), the reality may be just the opposite. The chief result of afford- able housing dispersal might instead be to slow the inward migration of subur- ban poor people that contributes to the existing poverty concentrations. The Eagan City Council might still be able, at a future meeting, to muster the fourth vote needed to pass the town- house rezoning. For the sake of social responsibility, community self-interest and just plain common sense, the issue should not be allowed to die. My point? It is not about a c making anything easier for z about improving the system lowering the GPA requirem offering academic programs young athletes. Consider: T Michigan's varsity football ing in physical education ar information, you know, yoi want coaching positions lat to stay in the game somehc the instructors are'? The Ur nesota does not offer these instructors. Please do not r for I was inspired by "The wonder what might have t inspired by the professor. Juggle requirements? No.' scope? Yes. Simply do wh do: Give the 250-pound li chance to excel on a level George Adti An EBD diagnosi In response to your series special education and on emotionally and behavio (EBD) students in partici this country are the need put ahead of the needs o' As a paraprofessional wt children in a psychiatric I've experienced firsthar disrespectful and how vi dren can be. Even with z ment and numerous trai dren can be unmanagea how a teacher with 28 o teach, let alone rnaintai one of these children in I also feel that it is an is teacher and the other s? dren who are verbally z cally assaultive can ren have their antisocial be cause they have a " disz ion it is the fact that sc dren's behavior is exci their "disability." OTHER POIN Iders' firinIecltoE gsterna thatYhe First Amendment should be it's silly to say that we cofo t from countries that are conccrn'd proach to dnrgs. God Elders fist jarred the sensibilities of the right certainly isn't working- se ht,la Texas correctness by snyir s that it might be a good idea to latestestvictim of politicallt vo doubt it This cies mmedia elYdecriminalizing twisd lrnto (nn he a swiers. The oto a tximate cause r .... _ _ .__ r:.; ..,� ••che en- nosium of hqueealth-ciora Call for information about recycling in your area. ■ St. Paul: 644-7678 ■ Ramsey County: 633-3279 • Dakota County: 438-4636 • Washington County: 430-6655 25 TH JANUARY 1995 WEDNESDAY SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS ETRO DB SECTION 10 PAGES ui Mc CC Is LO DE Eagan faces sult over housing CityCouncil deniedwith .legal action," said HRA executive '�`aviator Mark Ulfers. "We hope to have rezoningfor homes the suit prepared next week." The HRA contends Eagan had no legal reason for turning down a proposed 42- BILL GARDNER STAFF WRITER unit townhouse project that would rent primarily to families with incomes from The controversy over a proposed low- to $16,000 to $20,000. income housing project in Eagan appears The City landCoudcil afterat month complaintsrefufrom m headed to court after a decision this rezone the from week by the Dakota County Housing and area residents that the project woulde Redevelopment Authority to sue the city. bring increased crime and would lower "We made a decision to move forward —why propertyembevalues. Three of the rove cettneil members approved the rezoning. Zity officials taking appeal for arena aid to businesses ■ `$12 million bogeyman' holds up team purchase PATRICK SWEENEY STAFF WRITER Top officials of the city of Minneapolis today will make a last-ditch plea to I down* nurn hnc;nnva The current zoning allows apartments with 12 to 24 units per acre, and the HRA wanted to build rental townhomes of six units per acre on the eight acres of land southeast of Johnny Cake Ridge Road and Diffley Road. The HRA could build a high -density, low-income project without seeking re- zoning. Rather than do that, the HRA board voted Monday night to sue the city in an effort to build a lower -density pro- ject. "We concluded, if the objective is to provide good -quality homes for families uml consistent with the other developments in that neighborhood, then low -density townhomes was the way to go," Ulfers said. / Mayor Tom Egan, who voted for the rezoning and has criticized the two coun- cil members who opposed it, said he was "personally disappointed it is coming to this." Egan said the proposed site meets the city's criteria and he is unaware of any other site that would be better. Fears of crime and reduced property values are unwarranted. he said. 1' C IT n. ■ JIM 111 rot trey. ing tog€ N horn 10-a In for l as t land Tc the a11o‘ choo. build lowe sota ner a tre: press Ha' cient rural "It hu;lrh We Take The Time To Listen Children and Apprehensive Adults Especially Welcome Our caring staff is devoted to providing you with a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. We are a preventive oriented practice recognizing each individual's unique needs, fears, and concems. Dr. Shelley Wakefield, Dr. Sharon Tvrdik, Dakota Dental Clinic, P.A. 431-5774 16020 S. Cedar Ave., Rosemount Located just South of Target Greatland NEW • DEMO • RENTAL RETURNS • BAND INSTRUMENTS Saxs • Clarinets • Flutes • Oboes • Frencn riorns Piccolos • Trombones • Trumpets & Drums Discounts up to 40% OFF* - Choose from: Conn • Bundy • Artley • Vito • Bach • Armstrong • Yamaha • Ludwig ▪ CO iv a) d m C O ,�CZ fC as ..-.� " as s. HRA: City may still be taken to court From Page IA "I'm trying to make a rational decision," said Ulfers. "I'm gath- ering all I can so I can make an informed decision." He said he plans to decide what to do by the end of the week. Along with considering legal action against the city, Ulfers said he has consulted his archi- tects to check out other options that would fit within the current zoning and would still be suit- able for the area. He said they will not build a three-story walkup building with an elevator, but there may be a non-traditional kind of structure they could build. "This also gives us additional time to pursue whether or nut another site is possible," Ulfers said. "I'm not saying we will, but we're looking." To change the Council's deci- sion, one of the two councilmem- bers who voted against it origi- nally, Ted Wachter or Pat Awada, would have had to call for a reconsideration of the vote. Instead, the two defended their votes and the criticism they've faced. Wachter said he was not op- posed to a development per se, but doesn't believe that particu- lar site is proper. "I'm willing to talk to the HRA," Wachter said. "There are lots of areas this could go, and I can't see why this is the only place. To stay out of court, why can't we discuss this rather than be childish?" he said. If it goes to court, Mayor Tom Egan, who supported the devel- opment, said the council doesn't have a case. "We were advised we didn't have a legal basis to deny this," Egan said. He said no one wins by leav- ing the decision as it is. "Every- one will be much less happy with the fruits of this decision," he "If higher _... _-ty ct said. 11 u density project goes in, that's not a victory. If we get involved in an embarrassing lawsuit, that's not a victory." The HRA had planned to take over the property the last week of 1994, but the property owner discovered the land first had to be subdivided, which gives the HRA more time. The development, near Oak Ridge school and the intersec- tion of Johnny Cake Ridge Road as „to he � � b o0 a.) C o ^ob vy3oa) Q a3 m +x-' CU. aD Gz.b- 3c;a om 'oWy0c „•OD �O;C�o.iiUp ¢•m GG) rO i 1 EOry ^Su a7G',m b o co • C y'0 A o a w 4 c •0,D d o 3 .a o ..c v .a o4,c c ^C d d -, +> hp ca 0 G y O as y CL-� a o w v f_ C u C s..0 'Z7 •m C W P Z> u v co.- CUil. COI) 8..e `o O N G co IIRA: To Page 8A and Diffley Road, has met vocal opposition from its would-be neighbors, and the council has met criticism from politicians and the media. Nearby residents, though, are pleased with the decision. "I think Wachter and Awada made the right choice," said Scott Holm, who owns a home on Drexel Court. "They represented the people. They chose to go with the majority. It was nothing against poor people." Robin Ruegg, who lives with her family in a home on Mallard Place, said the HRA hasn't done enough to educate the neighbors about the development or to allay their concerns. She said she wrote to the HRA and they responded with three-p-g010t- ter that reassured her some- what, but she is still concerned about unsupervised children of single parents running around. "Who's going to be supervising the kids?" she asked. In talking to her neighbors, she said they. are not unsympathetic - 'ma y of them could have been consid- ered low-income at one time or another — but she says there must be a better place. rIj Starli'ibui 22A Friday/January 6/1995 OUR PERSPECTIVE Affordable housing Metro future may lie in the balance First of two editorials with poor people, some- , -• IIRA By Lori Haugen plans to sue Eagan Stag' Writer A controversial decision over a townhouse development, turned down by the Eagan City Council in December, may land the city in cow, The Dakota County Housing and Redevelopment Authority voted last week to sue the city over its decision to deny a rezon- ing request that would have al- lowed the HRA to build a 42-unit townhouse development near the Oak Ridge Elementary School and ,the intersection of Diilley and JoitliA7, Cake Ridge roads. Our only route was a legal one said Mark Ulfers, director of the Dakota County HIM. "We feel strongly that townhomes are better for the families and By Lori Haugen Staff Writer Services provided for all ages By Lori Haugen Stag Writer About 40 percent of the funding went to the elderly and In rte4w °ta handicapped, and the rest to County427 ing some type of aasistBnCe — families. Dakota Coun the elderly, o to subsidies o which is a local organ zal heron' ty housing you t A- run housing — from the Dako- independent of other County to County Housing and Rede-Iitself, m and Dakota range of velopment Authority maintains a n vari- about 1.5 percent of the ccoune horsing to help people f ty's Population. better for the neighborhoods" The land is currently zoned for high -deity apartments - "I am very disappointed,' said Eagan Mayor. Tom Egan, who supported the measure. BRA: To Page 7A Egan said he thought the city's legal position is "precari- ous.' He said many concerns raised LAWSUIT; To Page 9A eams come true for girds The captain was more than a little disappointed after the team's first practice. Some players had never worn skates before — they Rere stum- bling across the ice and had only a vague idea of what the game was about. But months later, it's a differ- ent story. Like a real -life, Eagan version of the Mighty Ducks, the players, all girls, have learned to skate and shoot and play as a team and are beginning to win some games. Eagan's first foray into girls hockey has come a little bit later than most Lastofis turban neigh- bors. October, it fired up with a somewhat wobbly group of 14 Squirts and 15 Pee Wees (Squirts are 12 and under and Pee Wees are 13-15 years old.) The,teams were• organized The Eagan Perlis in art girls' hockey team practiceaat Squirt Bill J onea/Staff Photographer) we have vestand up on skates Now real good Squirt captain Ellen De. said Both teams had a wide range Goat Hill sion of hockey), and others had Played boys hockey in Eagan or girls in other cities„ Doyle family has two padding southwestern job bases that t might provide many of them a way to r raise their economic status. i ;A11 of this imposes an evident human ;and social cost. Because poor people :often are burdened with other prob- lems, and because concentrating people with problems tends to compound those problems, parts of the inner cities arid' some northern suburbs have be- come not only poverty -ridden but 'crime- and blight -ridden as well. ,1s it any wonder that some suburbanites --t such as the two recalcitrant Eagan City Council members and the constitu- ents on whose behalf they cast their misguided votes — might equate pover- :ty, with crime and with diminished 'property values? Or that they might want to maintain the legal barriers that help keep the urban poor out of com- munities like Eagan and in their central - city and northern -suburb "place"? 'Yet :as Mayor Egan and others have argued, restrictive housing codes can hurt the communities that impose them. National studies have shown that in metropolitan areas where the eco- nomic gap between central city and sub- urbs is wide, the overall regional econo- my tends to be less healthy than in :metro areas where the city -suburban .gap is less pronounced. For this reason, iT no other, the housing issue may be the most fundamentally critical one now facing the Twin Cities region. ,.,ui.g w,wut Inc u„nnuu�uuy. t rat it would also avoid adding to existing concentrations of poverty in o• her cities is a further potential benefit. Even if it can be shown that allowing a balanced economic housing mix can work to a community's benefit, experi- ence — reaffirmed by this week's action in Eagan — indicates that marry subur- ban governments will not take such action unless pushed into it by some overriding metropolitan policy, backed by state law. Yet for the past two years, h'gislative efforts to produce such a law have been frustrated by bitterly personalized de- bate and gubernatorial vetoes. The need for positive action is widely acknowl- edged — even in the governor's office. But what has emerged instead is a parti- san political standoff that serves no one's interests — least of all the poor, whose housing choices remair limited and whose lives, therefore, remain hos- tage to forces they cannot contrll. With the 1995 Legislature now in ses- sion, it's time to try again — this time with a new approach, one that offers an opportunity for both compromise and effective results. Fortunately, some promising ideas are in the works. This Legislature and this governor should not be allowed to go home unt°1 one of them is signed into law. Tomorrow: Can two good metro ideas be rolled into one? • i :ea an had good reasl)n to turn down h In recent articles, the Star Tribune has con- demned a city of Eagan decision to disap- prove a subsidized housing development, ac- cusing the City Council of discrimination and portraying residents of Eagan as elitists who IaCk social responsibility. The disturbing part is that the Star Tribune has withheld impor- taiat ,facts in order to create the illusion of discrimination, thereby sensationalizing the story, while ignoring the central issue. • As -the hearing records indicate, the Eagan City Council's decision was not based on paranoia or discrimination as portrayed by the Star Tribune's headline, "Eagan rejects Iow-income housing." The truth is, Eagan has a higher percentage of affordable housing than most Twin Cities suburbs. The council's • decision was based solely on the belief that other sites within the city could better serve the needs of the resi- dents of the proposed development. The Star Tribune also failed to mention that Eagan has been willing to consider ocher sites for the development in an attempt to assist the Dakota County Housing and Redevelop- ment Authority (HRA) in placing additional low-income housing in the city. This would help attract businesses which, in turn, would increase Eagan's tax base. The HRA has been unwilling to consider other sites because of the cost of doing additional site assessments, though this cost is relatively insignificant. The site evaluation criteria calls for such developments to be within walking distance of amenities such as grocery stores. City planners, in their original site evaluation, had mistakenly ruled that the proposed site meets this criteria, even though the nearest conven- ience store is close to a mile away and the nearest grocery store even farther. Also, the surrounding land use is not compat- ible with the proposed development. Imme- diately to the south is an elementary school, while the site to the north has been proposed for a new post office. Consequently, the HRA's proposal would wedge a housing de- velopment between two public service facili- ties, essentially isolating its residents. A new, similar HRA development in Burns- ville is surrounded by apartments, condo- miniums and a business park and is within three blocks of a grocery store and retail outlet. In other words, the site in Burnsville meets the criteria established for such a de- velopmi side, ing from B they die conside, The HR irrationt while k cern mu dents, ni ing an t site. FIR the city'; dia invo Tax pay( cutback! rather s lars on, I Yet as Mayor Egan and others have argued, restrictive housing codes can hurt the communities that impose them. National studies have shown that -in metropolitan areas where the eco- nomic gap between central city and sub- urbs is wide, the overall regional econo- my tends to be less healthy than in ,metro areas where the city -suburban ,gap is less pronounced. For this reason, T no other, the housing issue may be the most fundamentally critical one now facing the Twin Cities region. ar w lse lives, therefore, remain hos- tage to forces they cannot contro?. With the 1995 Legislature now in ses- sion, it's time to try again — this time with a new approach. one that offers an opportunity for both compromise and effective results. Fortunately, some promising ideas are in the works. This Legislature and this governor should not be allowed to go home until one of them is signed into law. Tomorrow: Can two good metro ideas be rolled into one? COUNTERPOINT Eagan had good reason to turn down In recent articles, the Star Tribune has con- solely on the belief that other sites within the det::ned a city of r,4„ uccisiuu to disap- city could better serve the needs of the resi- prove a subsidized housing development, a.- dents of the proposed development. cusing the City Council of discrimination and portraying residents of Eagan as elitists who The Star Tribune also failed to mention that ;lack social responsibility. The disturbing part Eagan has been willing to consider other sites i$ tbat the Star Tribune has withheld impor- for the development in an attempt to assist 'tabt facts in order to create the illusion of the Dakota County Housing and Redevelop - discrimination, thereby sensationalizing the ment Authority (HRA) in placing additional story, while ignoring the central issue. low-income housing in the city. This would • hattract businesses which, in turn, would elp :As -the hearing records indicate, the Eagan increase Eagan's tax base. The HRA has been City Council's decision was not based on unwilling to consider other sites because of paranoia or discrimination as portrayed by the cost of doing additional site assessments, the Star Tribune's headline, "Eagan rejects though this cost is relatively insignificant. .low-income housing." The site evaluation criteria calls for such The truth is, Eagan has a higher percentage of developments to be within walking distance affordable housing than most Twin Cities of amenities such as grocery stores. City suburbs. The council's decision was based planners, in their original site evaluation, had i t the jr n11e1 that site the r,rn esed _ ,...,p., site meets this criteria, even though the nearest conven- ience store is close to a mile away and the nearest grocery store even farther. Also, the surrounding land use is not compat- ible with the proposed development. Imme- diately to the south is an elementary school, while the site to the north has been proposed for a new post office. Consequently, the HRA's proposal would wedge a housing de- velopment between two public service facili- ties, essentially isolating its residents. A new, similar HRA development in Burns- ville is surrounded by apartments, condo- miniums and a business park and is within three blocks of a grocery store and retail outlet. In other words, the site in Burnsville meets, the criteria established for such a de- housingdevelopment vclopment, wheicas the site the riKA is con- dollars on an assessment ofa better sidenng in Eagan does not. Hence, criticism from Burnsville officials is unwarranted, as lr _ they did not have to deal with similar site considerations for their HRA development. The HRA has now become vindictive and is irrationally fixated with this one location while losing sight of its mission. HRA's con- cern must be for meeting the needs of resi- dents, not for vindication. Rather than reach- ing an accord with the city on an alternate site, HRA wants to hastily ram this site down the city's throat through public pressure, me- dia involvement and threatened litigation. Taxpayers take notice: In the face of funding cutbacks in their program, the HRA would rather spend hundreds of thousands of dol- lars on,litigation for the wrong site than a few thousand site. tt Who is the real villain here — the city of Eagan, which wants to locate this develop- ment where it would best serve the needs of its residents and maintain a rational zoning plan, or the HRA, which is intent on spend- ing our tax money on litigation rather than on the needs of the people for which this housing is intended? Perhaps the real villain is the Star Tribune. By unjustly labeling Fagan residents as snobs instead of presenting the facts, the Star Trib- une is the only entity in this entire matter Petertruly ��Yacukowicz, discrimination. worker. Eagan.h Apple Valley/Rosemount, Eapnt HRA: Services help people at all stages, changes in their lives From Page lA oua stages of life. It offers low -interest loans for qualifying families to help them buy their first home; offers a growing stock of townhomes for working families, senior apart- ments for the qualifying elderly and programs for first-time home buyers. Some housing stock was pur- chased by the HRA after foreclo- sure, which allows HRA to offer good -quality property for rea- sonable prices. "We try to provide an array of services for people at different stages of their lives," said Jessi- ca Cook of the HRA. The townhouse developments in Apple Valley and Burnsville are similar to the one proposed in Eagan, the development that is now the subject of a lawsuit against the city. The townhouses are an at- tempt to help the working poor, people like Denise and Paul and their three children, who live in the Apple Valley townhome de- velopment. Paul had lost his job as a restaurant manager and taken a job that paid only half his previ- _ ous salary. The family was living in a -tvPo-bedroom apartment in Burnsville when Denise became pregnant with their third child. Under their lease, they were al- lowed only five people in the apartment, so they were forced to move. Denise said the timing could- n't have been better — the town - homes in Apple Valley were just being built when they needed them, and they qualified to live there. She said they are treating the place as transitional housing until they can afford a house. In the meantime, the place is very nice, Denise said. 'It's nice - looking, and everybody here has to be working, so there aren't a lot of people sitting around on welfare," she said. "It's a good group of people." "We carefully screen our resi- dents on several different crite- ria," said Cook. She said they have evicted people for not pay- ing rent or for having pets, and tow away junk cars in the park- ing lots. In recent years, with decreas- es in funding from government sources, the HRA has been forced to become more creative in its financing. The townhome developments in Apple Valley and Burnsville, and one still under construction in Inver Grove Heights, were funded through a private -public partnership, and are run on a for -profit basis. Unlike most pri- vate apartments or townhomes, the turnover in Dakota County's townhouse stock is very low. The turnover in the Glenbrook town - homes in Apple Valley was about 10 percent, compared to a mar- ket -rate average of about 50 per - BUSINESS LINEI cent. But like a privately -run apartment, the HRA is strict about its tenants. We enforce our leases,' said Cook. We have caretakers on site who ars our eyes and ears, and make sure the place looks good.' The Burnsville site, built in 1991, also received opposition when it was proposed. Neigh- bors asked that the units include plenty of storage so residents wouldn't store things outside, and that a fence be put up be- tween the developments. The HRA complied. 'I think we're good neighbors," said Cook. Police in Burnsville and Apple Valley say they have no more calls to the HRA town - homes than they doto similar, market -rate developments The second development in Apple Valley, Glenbook Place, was built on a larger piece of property. The 39 units on that site are spaced farther apart, and include a larger play area for children. About half the units are occu- pied by single parents with chil- dren, Cook said. In recent years, funding for new construction has plummet- ed, but demand has continued to rise. say HRA officials. That has forced the HRA to use creative measures in order to continue to meet the needs of residents. ROMAN WITHOL THE CH heaulaoa 1923 W. BURNSVILLE Pi( VALLEY RIDGE SHOPPER CTY. RD. 5 & BURNSVIIL E F DENTISTRY W We Take TI Child Adul Our cacti with a corm a preventn individual': Dr. Shelley Walt Dakota I 43 16020 S. Ce Located just Sc Owls of Minnes Saturday, February 11; 7 SPer and Star Tribune/Sunday/January 8/1995 One of Newt Gingrich's stirring contributions to social justice in the Republican revolution is a scheme to reduce the miseries of the poor. He says this can be done by making it easier for them to buy laptop computers. give them a roof later. First let them access the Internet. ytaybe Newt can join the debate in Eagan. Newt wants to give the poor a tax credit so they can take their minds off unheated sleeping rooms and charge into the information superhighway. The Internet will give :hem instant access to a jobless pen par in London. iney can exchange lagoons. Geod. This is a start. What the poor ;,r kmerica need is more ROM. Netvt's crowd promised pizazz when it took over. Here it is. The way to get.the poor out of their hangups over food boxes is to give them electronic mailboxes. What do you mean give them a ent health higher mir mum wage. care and ? of? See, there you go again at ' 'e hackneyed old `deed •e. -co -'ime, giving poor people : c g more money. The way gi their backs is togive th i i • to buy j The columnists: Doug Grow/C.J./Jim Klobuchar . it h his planfor the poor, Newt could sin Eagan's fight -_. with the problems of poor people and powerful are being demonstrably civic attitudes that by and large look road on one side, a vacant lot on ..,,.;.. what's been happening in Eagan. narrow-minded, selfish and bigoted. progressive. With 600 low-income another and a school on a third. units already built in Eagan, the city There are more expensive homes that In Eagan, you're probably aware, the It's very doubtful that the Eagan is no novice in the field, with reason: aren't adjacent, and most of those are' , housing authority of Dakota County neighbors would describe themselves Approximately half of the Blue Cross in the $200,000 to $250,000 range. wants to broaden the housing that way. What they are, they say, is employees, for example, make in the But it was pretty fierce. The 1.. el opportunities for low-income afraid of poorer neighbors bringing neighborhood of $20,000. neighbors didn't want it. They were ...,; families. It wants to do this by crime and violence with them when intimidating. It can get that way in ^•-a� building 42 townhouses in a part of they settle in. And, of course, lower That's a figure where you qualify for City Council politics." �� the suburban community where a property values. low-income housing. r. number of people — hereinafter Two of the council members voted • - called "the neighbors" — don't want These arguments and the intramural "In fact, that would be a typical with the neighbors, three against. The ,T, them to come. brawling are not unique to Eagan. resident of this low-income project 3-2 vote wasn't enough to carry the They occur everywhere. Sometimes — a single woman with family," townhouse project because rezoning • "The neighbors" is a term used by the arguments are justified. Often Hunter said. She would still have to was required. But it's enough to carry one of the council members, Shawn they're not. Sometimes they reveal produce nearly $500 a month to pay an optional 100-unit low-income "` cellular phones. Cope with poverty Hunter, a computer professional, the unscenic conflict between how the rent. The government would help apartment building of even higher ,, -,.. - by lining up a conference call. who doesn't agree with "the the comfortable see themselves and with another $100 or so. Practically density. "The housing authority is neighbors." Hunter doesn't use this what the camera candidly shows, as all of the residents would have jobs. right on the law," Hunter said. "If - Thus the new revolution begins. term derisively. He uses it more in it does in the Eagan dispute. When they sue to put in the townhouses, sadness re'ngni7ine that neighbors the bones of it are exposed, they "And yet we get so much stereotype they'll win. If they don't sue, the A veteran of an older revolution was tend to be human and sometimes come to this: "We really like the idea tninidng,- iiuuLc1 aa„i. i,uui. t a tmc... bui•..ire ii in. It's • — a well -coifed French noblewoman, they reflect the part of being human of [fill in the blank with home for the of the neighbors came to the council pretty much that simple, and it ought • - probably Marie Antoinette. Her that is least flattering. That part retarded, halfway house, low-income meeting where the vote was taken to be." contribution to creative democracy, includes such qualities as narrow- housing]. It makes sense. Just put it and they just spit nails. They said the what Newt calls "going beyond the mindedness, selfishness, bigotry and someplace else." site ought to be near bus lines So the low-income housing will go in., norms," was equally rousing a few irrational fear. because most of the would-be tenants Nobody sounds triumphant. The hundred years ago. Allowing for that, there are a few don't drive. But a survey showed that town has taken a beating, and a lot of • Most of us qualify for these things we ought to know about about 95 percent would drive. That "the neighbors" are not convinced Her prescription was cake. It wasn't unloveable qualities at one time or Eagan. It's prosperous, energetically site is better because we don't want that they might have taken a more quite as jazzy as laptops, but it did another. But it's awkward when they rustic and well-connected. Tick off to put all of the low-income housing generous view of the needs of people offer a few more calories. get into a town squabble over the big industries that do business together and stigmatize people. who get doors closed on them. ,, .,... housing. After all of its historic there: Northwest Airlines, Blue Cross What makes this relevant on the messing -around with rights and Blue Shield, West Publishing, "The neighbors said this project was A church service where they rejoiced prairie this weekend is Tip O'Neill's privileges, this country has decided Unisys, Coca-Cola, Cray Research. It `surrounded' by expensive homes. on Dec. 24, in fact, might not have- ' proverb about all politics being local. on a proposition something like this: has 56,000 people, which makes it But the only homes that are really been a bad time to consider the 0.91 �` If you follow local politics, it's hard The citizens who have no power one of the biggest cities in adjacent aren't much different from possibilities. 9' not to find some passing brotherhood should be legally protected from Minnesota. Mixed in with the the new low-income ones that would between Newt's proposal for dealing those who do have power when the protectionism of "the neighbors" are be built. Otherwise, there's a major ..3B Jim Klobuchar Romani an couple pave s way fown American drearn''' `Jtey named 'heir baby .America. ; and her family's struggle to flee that I decided then. I wanted to grow to Ceausescu were merely warmed- West Germany. And on July 30, Romania and come to :he United up to be :he president of the United over Communists and tyrants. 1992, they arrived at Kennedy 1 "lik‘ 'auicia-Amen• States in an article I'd written. States." airport in New York.ve ....A 1.:� C ...:Iv ,vars.:n rianaar• Awada, Wachter stand by By BRENDA HAt7GEN Despite the warnings of the mayor and fellow Eagan City Council members, Pat Awada and Ted Wachter stuck to their guns Tuesday and didn't ask for a reconsideration of a Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) townhouse proposal. a decision that may well find the city in court. The findings of fact for denial of the project, which basically 2— the reasons that substantiz denial, were before the coup 0 r c a) ." >' t0.�>'. K c y C A' E d O• , 0 . m 0. E C 0e a� E v,•—z 0 3 E+ •y as E 0 o.) - � . e) eo cEas:°� yiox>Q 'u. " o cr0c .0 c' d .s4"3�`� o .a c a • a t a •7;S N oc O a. ac .5./2ti c ca', cn y x a 0' y a) •c a) :c..• 76 •^ c s no V n c co C. C . 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Under the proposal approved would be located somewhere by the board, voters will be asked to OK two new, 800-student (See Schools, p.3A) Low-income housing project is denied Neighbors cite concerns about crime and safety By BRENDA HAUGEN Fear of crime led many residents, who would be neighbors to a proposed low - incoming housing development, to vehemently oppose the project. After participating in nearly two hours of discussion with the residents who packed the council chambers Dec. 7, the Eagan City Council voted 3-2 in favor of the Dakota County Hou ing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA)-sponsored project, but the proposal failed because a four - fifths vote is needed for approval. The proposal included 42 townhouse units on 8.1 acres located on the east side of Johnny Cake Ridge Road, north of Oak Ridge Elementary School. Under the HRA proposal, the townhouses in question would be owned by a private, limited part- nership with the Dakota County HRA as the general partner. The HRA would be financially liable for the ongoing performance of -- the development and ensure the limited partner tax needs are met. The HRA would be the de- veloper. manager and lender. According to Kerry Gill. of the HRA, the townhomes would be a mix of two- and three -bedroom and would ueip meet the continually growing need for af- fordable family housing in Dako- ta County. According to Gill, the average income of those living in the development would be bet- ween $18,000 and $20,000. Rent would be $475 for a two -bedroom townhouse and $525 for a three bedroom. (See Council, p.20A) CAROLERS FROM St. Thomas Becket Church sang Christmas songs and Mayor Tom Egan plugged in Christmas lights during a special lighting ceremony Dec. 2 in Eagan's Town Centre. The area was turned into a winter wonderland this weekend with holiday hayrides. a candy cane hunt and a variot s other activities. Photos by Rick Ornderf itwsiarquu SUVWSSO.I9 <.6I6I apu►S (1.pa£ajul puo apinlas 'suip8.ing„ rd, LETTERS I Orf eld's latest is simply socialism To the editor: I am a City Council member in Eagan, one of the suburbs that socialist lawmakers contin- ue to bash and portray as isolat- ed areas that are paved with gold, containing people that don't care about the economic health of the metro area, and don't "pay their fair share." I am sick of it. The latest socialist initiative was recently unveiled by Myron Orfield, who has yet another misguided and backward plan to siphon money out of suburban homeowners and transfuse it into the core cities. Suburban homeowners and businesses are once again bracing for an "Inter- view with the Vampire." The so-called "Metro Area Fair Tax Base Act" is so unfair that it is ludicrous. This act is the third major initiative to pun- ish suburbs that have been sue - letters cessful in attracting and keeping high quality businesses and res- idential developments. The first travesty, called fiscal disparities, punished homeown- ers and businesses in cities that have successfully grown their commercial base. Punishment comes in the form of extracting millions of dollars in tax rev- enues and shifting them to cities which have not been as success- ful. The "Metro Area Fair Tax Base Act" is nothing new, it is more of the same socialist redis- tribution of wealth that was started years ago. The taxpayers of Eagan and other suburbs will not stand idly by and watch their taxes go up by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. I am representative of many if not most of the voices of 57,000 Eagan residents when I say that I demand that the Act be buried quickly and surely. Shawn Hunter Eagan council member m Orfield's latest initiative is ludicrous To the editor: I am a council member in the city of Eagan, one of the suburbs that socialist lawmakers continue to bash and portray as isolated areas that are paved with gold, containing people who don't care about the economic health of the metro area, and don't "pay their fair share." I am sick of it. The latest socialist initiative was recently unveiled by Rep. Myron Orfield, who has yet an- other misguided and backward plan to siphon money out of suburban homeowners and transfuse it into the core cities. Suburban homeowners and busi- nesses are once again bracing for an "Interview with the Vam- pire." The so-called "Metro Area Fair Tax Base Act" is so unfair that it is ludicrous. This act is the third major initiative to punish suburbs that have been suc- cessful in attracting and keeping high quality businesses and residential developments. The first travesty, called fiscal disparities, punished homeowners and businesses in cities that have successfully grown their commercial base. Punishment comes in the form of extracting millions of dollars in tax revenues and shifting them to cities that have not been as suc- cessful. Sound familiar? The "losing" cities have no choice, of course, but to levy higher taxes on their residents and businesses to replace the lost revenue. On top of it all, state formulas dramatically reduce the amount of local government aid these cities receive from the state (Eagan has been receiving none for years). What could be more unfair? What incentive does this provide for struggling com- munities to increase their stan- dards and attract quality busi- nesses? Should we not be implementing policies that en- courage high -quality growth rather than punish it? The "Metro Area Fair Tax Base Aet" is nothing new. It is more of the same socialist redistribution of wealth that was started years ago. The taxpayers of Eagan and other suburbs will not stand idly by and watch their taxes go up by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. I am representative of many if not most of the voices of 57,000 Eagan residents when I say that I de- mand that the act be buried quickly and surely. SHAWN HUNTER Eagan By Doug Erickson Staff Writer The southern suburbs are getting "Orfielded" again. That's the lament from many Dakota County officials as they gear up to again rebut legisla- tion proposed by Minneapolis Rep. Myron Orfield. The DFL legislator, a well- known critic of some suburbs' lack of affordable housing, has proposed a property tax -base sharing plan that would force 4 the wealthiest 30 percent of W Twin Cities suburbs to con- tribute revenue to a seven-coun- spnoA lo2lo.zd pinoM nnuj maN :n/ot° 566 t 'S . 'qua Itepseup8Muann3•ung ue6e3 `:unowasoa/.aIIeA eiddd Suburbs prepare to block tax sharing legislation Eagan residents would pay more By Lori Haugen Eagan," said Shawn Hunter, a If the bill succeeds, Hunter member of the Eagan City said, the average Eagan home - Staff Writer Council and a vocal opponent owner's tax bill would go up by of the legislation. about $500. "We'll have to "The answer is not to just raise taxes and cut services," take money from more suc- Hunter said. rPQFfttl communities and The legislation would hurt throw it at the less -successful TAX: To Page 5A ones." Myron Orfield's proposed Metropolitan Area Fair Tax Base Act would be anything r ..:don* but fair Col Eagan • �� -, say local officials. "It would be terrible for ty metro area pool. The money would be redis- tributed to fund public services and social needs in the other cash -poor 70 percent of the re- According to Orfield, region- gion — primarily middle -income alizing the tax base would help and blue-collar suburbs in the curb urban sprawl, reduce north and the central cities. "wasteful competition" for in- dustry, create equitaile public create public services among suburbs, and chip away at the concentration of poverty in the core cities and inner -ring suburbs. But opponents say Orfield's idea would undermine his own goals by raising the cost of living in wealthier suburbs, thus in- creasing the disparity between affordable and unaffordable sub- urbs. "Overall, his proposal is cock- eyed," said Burnsville Sen. Dave Knutson, IR-36. "It's not going to provide what we thought he wanted." ORFIELD: To Page 6A Orfielcl: Upponents say it won i ao wndl IL 111LciluN SOME THINGS GET MORE IMPORTANT EVERY YEAR As a woman grows older, her risk of breast cancer increases. For information about a facility in your area offering low cost mammograms, or free mammograms to eligible women, call 1 -800-ACS-2345 gip/AMERICAN HIPnnew*o DM$10,1 Inc in partnership with the Minnesota Dept. of Health, Cancer Control Section From Page 1A The outcry has been pre- dictably loud from suburbs such as Eagan, Burnsville and Rose- mount, which stand to lose mil- lions of dollars in net tax capaci- ty. But even "winners" like South St. Paul have serious reserva- tions. "I always appreciate when someone comes up with an idea that gives us more money to work with," said Doug Reeder, city administrator for South St. Paul. "But I don't think I agree with the basic kind of revenue shifts he's proposing." The disparity in industrial and high -income residential de- velopment results in a newer suburb like Eagan producing $2,555 of property tax revenue per household per year, while aging South St. Paul can only produce $1,393, Orfield said. His plan would ensure every city at least $2,102 per household. Wherever people live, "they ought to have schools that are as good, they ought to have parks that are as good, they ought to be as safe in their homes," he said. "Just because they can't cluster a bunch of expensive homes and commercial/industrial [proper- ty] doesn't mean that they should have to pay higher taxes and get worse service than any- one else." Orfield made the comments during a spirited but gentleman- ly debate with Eagan Rep. Tim Pawlenty, IR-38B, on a recent Wes Minter talk -radio show on WCCO-AM. Pawlenty, who's known Orfield since college, has become a leading ideological op- ponent of the Minneapolis legis- lator's ideas — the latest of NEW! KINKO'S1 r Property tax sharing plan E L SERSf Litydale —$1175 NNERS . Mendota Mendota Heights +S277 —S952 Savage +S240* Burnsville —$499 Eagan —$554 Apple Valley +$84 Lakeville —S25 Sunfish —S4,930 Inver Grove Heights +$62 South St. Pau; +$608 'Figures indicate the average amount per household of property tax revenues that would be gained or lost. SOURCE: Minnesota House of Representatives Research which he terms "overreaching and bad public policy." "It undermines the historical rationale of a property tax, which is intended as a local tax, for local services, with local ac- countability," Pawlenty said in an interview. With fiscal disparities and the state's educational funding formula, "we already have tax - base sharing to a very substan- tial degree in this region," he said. "In fact, we're one of the leading areas in the country in this regard" (Orfield's plan would replace fiscal disparities, an existing tax -base sharing program that attempts to equalize the metro - area commercial and industrial tax base only.) Pawlenty insists his opposi- A__.a _L M.C. Lee/Staff Artist ment by computer printout," he said. Sen. Knutson represents both a loser (Burnsville) and a winner (Apple Valley), but his opposi- tion is unbending. Burnsville would need to in- crease its property taxes to maintain its current level of ser- vices, thus increasing land de- velopment costs, he said. "It decreases the ability of some suburbs to provide afford- able housing," he said. Orfield's response: The wealthier suburbs would need to raise taxes only if they wanted services above the average. Knutson said that's unrealis- tic because a suburb like Burnsville — home to Burnsville Center, large industries and major thoroughfares — has -A -Ia. -...1.1;" o- of.. arrnntc Onfl fish Lake, said Orfield's,propos- al is too blunt of an,jnstrument thatpunishes indiscriminately. Residents of his suburb, a whop- ping loser under the plan, are "deeply involved in social issues, so we're not sticking our thumbs in our armpits and saying it's someone else's problem to solve." But Sunfish Lake is almost completely developed and does- n't offer municipal services like sewer and water, so developing affordable housing is extremely difficult. "Don't beat up on us for some- thing we can't help," he said. Philosophical arguments aside, t e fr&r- maw,: comes down to the issue of redis- tributing wealth. Perhaps no one puts it more bluntly than Farm- ington Sen. Pat Pariseau, 11{-37, who has constituents, she said, who are puzzled by the propos- al's implications. "They say, `I don't under- stand, why would it be good for me to pay more taxes for some- one else's benefit?'" Orfield's opponents often de- scribe his ideas as socialistic, a: term that causes him to bristle in an interview. "It's certainly not socialism," he said. "There's no big govern- ment program, no big redistrib- ution of income, no bureaucracy that runs it." Calling it socialism is a "scare tactic," he said. His proposal ends unfairness and provides powerful developmental stabili- ty to the entire region, he said. "I think it's very likely to pass.".. _ If it does, Independent -Re- publican Gov. Arne Carlson, who has twice vetoed Orfield's afford- able housing legislation, ap- pears eager to kill it. "It's extremely unfair and' nothing less than social engi- neering," said Cyndy Brucato, Carlson's chief of staff. "In our mind, the suburbs are already navinn their fair share." LETTERS Residents want an apology from HRA To the editor: The HRA proposes low-in- come housing on the site north of Oak Ridge School in Eagan. The HRA owes the neighbors of this site an apology! How arrogant; it is for Mark Ulfers, director of the Dakota County HRA, to tell us that he was floored that the proposed zoning was rejected. Doesn't the 11 RA see its re- sponsibility in all of this? Hasn't it had community resistance to HRA projects in the past? In short, the HRA did not do its homework! While one could "argue" that "everyone" was informed be- cause the City Council's pro- posed agenda was published in small letters in the local paper, I disagree. I read the proposed agenda, but it was not at all ob- vious what was proposed on this site. Instead, some neighbors spent the time, energy and money to hand deliver a factual package concerning the HRA's proposal to the homeowners in the area. I appreciate that! What did the HRA do to inform me? And now, the HRA wants to blame or sue to "get back" at Eagan for saying no to its pro- posal. This sounds like a young child who stamps his foot and takes his toys away when he doesn't get his way. There is a better way. Inform the neighbors. Take seriously their concerns. We are not un- caring people; in fact most of us have been in "low income" times of our lives. Did you listen to the stories from the neighbors who spoke at the City Council meet- ing? They too have struggled economically. We have had some negative experiences with low -or moderate -income housing in the past. Do not dismiss them, but address them. Only by openness, honesty and refusing to stoop to name-calling and disrespect will we be able to work together as a community to address some of the needs. Robin Ruegg Eagan Officials need to 2 council members refuse to budge on vote against low-income project BILL GARDNER STAFF WRItER The two Eagan City Council members who blocked a proposed low-income housing project refused to reconsider Tuesday night despite Mayor Tom Egan's criticism that they had "tarnished" the city's image. Council Member Ted Wachter angrily defended his vote and called "childish" a threat by the Dakota County Housing and Redevelopment Authority to sue the city over its refusal to rezone land for the project. "I don't know where America is com- ing to today," Wachter said of the threat- ened lawsuit. "That's where I stand. I will not change my vote." Wachter insisted he would be happy to talk to the HRA about finding a different location for the 42-unit town house pro- ject that would rent primarily to families with incomes from $16,000 to $20,000. "I'm willing to find a place in Eagan for this," Wachter said. The HRA proposed to build the town houses on eight acres of land southeast of Johnny Cake Ridge Road and Diffley Road. Neighbors objected, claiming the project would lower their property val- ues and attract crime. Ironically, the land is currently zoned for higher -density rental property and the HRA could build a low-income high - density project without seeking rezoning. Rezoning requires a four -fifths vote of the council. Council Members Wachter and Pat Awada voted no at the Dec. 7 meeting. The action attracted considerable news media attention, and the mayor said Tuesday that "the image of Eagan has been tarnished over the last 30 days." HRA executive director Mark Ulfers said he is considering two options: Sue the city or propose a higher -density, low- income project on the site. Egan said the city has a poor chance of prevailing in court. "We were advised time and time agaii, every way but which way, that we did not have a legal right to deny this," the tnayor told council members. Council Member Sandra Masin said the nearby residents' fears of crime and low- er property values are not justified. "I also don't believe that because somebody makes $20,000 a year they are going to be violent and are not going to take care of their property," Masin said. HOUSING V CONTINUED FROM IC mation, which it had previously request- ed, so it can address the problems. "If there are dire problems with what's been done with the money, we'd like to know what it is before the same prob- lems happen again," Thune said. "The way 1 guess it got publicly aired last week at a press conference is a horrible way to do policy before the HRA re- ceives a report." In his assessment, HRA executive di- rector Larry Buegler said that due to bad loans, lowered values for city -owned property and a larger reserve for antici- pated future losses, the city will have to make an $18.4 million adjustment in its balance sheet. In light of that, the mayor said the city will use new procedures to ensure that loan proposals are properly reviewed and tracked. The City Council acts as the HRA, the city's economic development arm set up to develop blighted areas and make hous- ing available for low- and moderate -in- come residents — especially when those projects are considered risky and would have difficulty qualifying for convention- al loans. Coleman said he isn't pointing fingers, but implicit in his announcement is that somE members of the current board are partially responsible for loose oversight. Mane of the loans were made while Thune and Council Member Janice Rett- man were on the board. WI at irks hoard members is that the issue; inv"Ived are ones members have worked or for the past few months. The mayor has no oversight with the }IRA. Th ? incident is the latest in a recurring rift between the council and the mayor, apparently because council members think their ideas are being stolen and their authority usurped by the oft -quoted, mucl -photographed mayor. Thane said the board has heard that loans are bad, but doesn't know whether the problem is endemic or whether the loans should have been called grants from the start. "We have not gotten the information," Thun? said. "We have no way of doing self-analysis. This does not help the way we do development in the city. Are we irritated? Yes, we are." Thiine said the board wants to know whether certain organizations or individ- uals are getting loans and habitually de- faulting, whether particular types of loans seem to be in trouble more than others, and whether some loans ought to be called grants. Lawsuit ......... (Continued from front page) Though the City Council vot 3-2 in favor of the necessa rezoning for the project Dec. the proposal failed because four -fifths vote is need for a proval of a rezoning. According to the site's presen zoning, up to 200 apartm could go on the site, Egan out. In discussing pointed HRA did look at a housing 'the that would locate 66 a plan units at the site but decided the townhouse option best fits the needs of those the housing would be built for, he said. Much has been said about look- ing for different sites for the HRA proposal. But, Egan pointed out, the HRA ha§ invested a►,,,.ut j40,11110 in land acquisition and development costs in the site at issue and doesn't want to just ab- sorb that as a loss. Moving the proposed de- velopment creates other prob- lems as well. According to Egan, the present landowner also has the right to sue the city if he were s to lose the sales transaction with the HRA. And, he added, if the city Were ti to move the project to another neighborhood, those living there would have the same rights as • ....................... those living in the neighborhood ed from which the proposal had been Ty moved. The city would have to 7, demonstrate "tangible evidence" a detailing why the project could be p- located in the second neighborhood but not in the one t originally slated to be home to the u developm---• Egan said he doesn't believe there is "demonstrable criteria" that the site proposed by the HRA isn't an appropriate site for this development, especially with its proximity to such amenities as schools and parks th He added that moving the de- velopment to another area could be seen as "creating class sites" in Eagan. The e city-s next move is to review the HRA's claim with the city attorney and determine if the council's action is defensible and what the city's strategy should be, Egan said. According to Egan, the City Council doesn't want to spend money on untenable actions, but ome sort of settlement is just one of the options open to the council. e pointed out that whatever ac- on is taken will come as a result of the council collectively making e decision. •''s-.•ram .� .. 2wspaper February 5,1995 Woman battles chemical sensitivity p.4A Local students travel via computers....p.12A Wildcats get boys' hockey victory p.28A HRA files lawsuit against city of Eagan By BRENDA HAUGEN In a move that didn't come as much of a surprise, the Dakota County Housing and Redevelop- ment Authority (HRA) opted to take the city of Eagan to court over a proposed low-income hous- ing development. According to Mayor Tom Egan, the suit was filed Jan. 30 in Dako- ta County District Court. The suit basically asks the court to move the City Council to approve the HRA's proposed development, and further asks that the court find that the city was inconsistent and unfair in its decision. "We knew that they would claim our action was arbitrary and capricious," Egan said. At issue is an HRA proposal for 42 townhouse :nits to be built on 8.1 acres located on the east side of Johnny Cake Ridge Road, nor- th of Oak Ridge Elementary School. The townhouses would be home to low-income families. Many of the area's residents have come out against the pro- posal. Fear of crime as well as loss in ; ,_-operty values seem to be the main reasons for their objec- tions to the development. The proposed townhouses would be neighbors to other townhomes, mainly owner -occupied, valued at around $100,000, and single- family homes generally valued from $200,000 to$300,000. (See Lawsuit, p.20A) THREE SECTIONS News • Sports General Section Real Estate Section Classified Section 52 pages Eagan THIS WEEK Your Community Newspaper Volume 15, No. 43 Council continues findings on low-income development HRA threatens lawsuit against city By BRENDA HAUGEN With the threat of a lawsuit looming, the Eagan City Council has opted to continue to Jan. 3, further action on denial of a con- troversial Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) plan to build low-income housing east of Johnny Cake Ridge Road, north of Oak Ridge Elementary School. The plan, brought before the City Council Dec. 7, includes 42 townhouse units on the 8.1-acre site. At that time, the HRA asked the council to rezone the property to allow for the townhouse units. According to the site's present zoning, R-4, up to 16 units per acre .JiidcPfin d fnr f;n+ 1nc could be placed at the site. The HRA's proposal was for 5.2 units per acre. Although three of the five coun- cil members voted in favor of the rezoning, the motion failed because a vote of at least four - fifths is needed to change zoning. (See Council, p.3A) School districts hire diversity coordinators p.I1A Dance ensemble offers fun, education p.14A Wildcats come up just short in gym meet p.28A _ Burnsville legislator: Eagan vote compromised suburban position State Rep. Ken Wolf blanched when he read that the Eagan City Council had denied the HRA's low-income townhouse project. An Independent -Republican from Burnsville, Wolf suspects many colleagues were also dismayed: "I would guess that a lot of Republican legislators who saw that article said, `Oh, no.' " Wolf feared that Eagan's action would light a fire beneath Rep. Myron Orfield, DFL-Minneapolis, and his allies who want to set (See Wolf, p.8A) &Muff Arilak i Council (Continued from front page) Council members Pat Awada and Ted Wachter voted against the proposed rezoning. According to City Ad- ministrator Tom Hedges, the HRA decided in a Dec. 19 meeting to pursue suing the city for its decision. City Attorney Jim Sheldon said the HRA sent the city a letter say- ing they're "commencing litiga- tion." He added that the HRA asked the city to wait on making a decision on the findings of fact for denial of the project, which were on the council's De:. 20 consent agenda, so the HRA can present its information to the council. The City Council held an ex- ecutive session before the regular council meeting Dec. 20 to discuss the pending lawsuit. Executive sessions are closed to the public, and, as is the us case with pending litigation, the council declined to discuss t e contents of the meeting. During the regular meeting, the council voted to continue the decision on the findings of fact un- til its Jan. 3 meeting. At that meeting, the findings of fact for denial again will appear on the consent agenda, according to Awada. Included in the findings of fact for denial of the project, are: • The type of residential de- velopment proposed is incom- patible with the higher valued residential units adjacent to the property. • The existing R-4 zoning is more appropriate than the pro- posed planned development zon- ing to meet the city's multiple - family housing needs by preserv- ing R-4 land to allow a full range of housing types. • The property, as currently zoned, provides a viable economic use of the property. In agreeing to continue the fin- dings of fact decision to the next City Council meeting, Mayor Tom Egan said the issue does warrant further deliberation. Wachter agreed, saving he'd like to see more information. Ile said he may he conducive to mov- ing this project to another area. County Commissioner Patrice Battaglia told the council later in the meeting that the HRA is pur- suing the purchase of the proper- ty in question. Many of the area residents who would neighbor the proposed de- velopment spoke against the pro- ject Dec. 7, because they said they fear crime would increase with the low-income housing. Many again showed up at the Dec. 20 meeting, some possibly because of a flier distributed in the area saying the proposed de- velopment was going to be discussed again, but it wasn't. According to Awada, the issue won't be rehashed Jan. 3 either. Only the findings of fact will be discussed, she pointed out. If the council decides Jan. 3 that it wishes to move to reconsider the action, the soonest that recon- sideration could occur would be the council's Jan. 17 meeting, she explained. In the days since its initial deci- sion, the council members voting against the development have been blasted in the media as well as by a scattering of others who believe Eagan is lending fuel to the fire of those who say the suburbs don't do their part in offering low-income housing. Ac- cording to Awada, the city received an HRA report that Eagan has 607 assisted housing -units. "The vast majority are scat- tered," Awada said. "And they work." WE BUY [Don't give your gold nd diamonds away to a PAWN SHOP. Stop in Today! pple Valley EWELERS 432-7777 t n r_.anarfa Au0 W Captain Kangaroo appears on cable TV Wildcat icers earning respect HRA toplans sue Eagan By Lori Haugen Staff Writer A controversial decision over a townhouse development, turned down by the Eagan City Council in December, may land the city in court. The Dakota County Housing and Redevelopment Authority voted last week to sue the city over its decision to deny a rezon- ing request that would have al- lowed the HRA to build a 42-unit townhouse development near the Oak Ridge Elementary School and the intersection of Diffley and Joimnv Cake Ridge roads. "Our only route was a legal one," said Mark Ulfers, director of the Dakota County HRA. "We feel strongly that townhomes are better for the families and Services provided for— . • s By Lori Haugen Staff Writer In December, 4,427 Dakota County residents were receiv- ing some type of assistance — housing vouchers, subsidies for the elderly, or low -rent HRA- run housing — from the Dako- ta County Housing and Rede- velopment Authority. That's about 1.5 percent of the coun- ty's population. better for the neighborhoods." The land is currently zoned for high -density apartments. "I am very disappointed," said Eagan Mayor Tom Egan, who supported the measure. About 40 percent of the funding went to the elderly and handicapped, and the rest to families. The Dakota County HRA, which is a local organization independent of other Minneso- ta HRAs and Dakota County itself, maintains a range of housing to help people in vari- HRA: To Page 7A Egan said he thought the city's legal position is "precari- ous." He said many concerns raised LAWSUIT: To Page 9A • --� Look for A Beautiful Beginning inside today's Lifestyle. Page I D Iu Apple Valley/Rosemount, Eagan Sun•Current/Wednesday, Feb. 1, 1995 74 HRA: Services help people at all stages, changes in their lives Prom Page 1A ous stages of life. It offers low -interest loans for qualifying families to help them buy their first home; offers a growing stock of townhomes for working families, senior apart- ments for the qualifying elderly and programs for first-time home buyers. Some housing stock was pur- chased by the HRA after foreclo- sure, which allows HRA to offer good -quality property for rea- sonable prices. "We try to provide an array of services for people at different stages of their lives," said Jessi- ca Cook of the HRA. _ _ " -- The townhouse developments in Apple Valley and Burnsville are similar to the one proposed in Eagan, the development that is now the subject of a lawsuit against the city. The townhouses are an at- tempt to help the working poor, people like Denise and Paul and their three children, who live in the Apple Valley townhome de- velopment. Paul had lost his job as a restaurant manager and taken a job that paid only half his previ- ous salary. The family was living in a two -bedroom apartment in Burnsville when Denise became pregnant with their third child. Under their lease, they were al- lowed only five people in the apartment, so they were forced to move. Denise said the timing could- n't have been better — the town - homes in Apple Valley were just being built when they needed them, and they qualified to live there. She said they are treating the place as transitional housing until they can afford a house. In the meantime, the place is very nice, Denise said. "It's nice - looking, and everybody here has to be working, so there aren't a lot of people sitting around on welfare," she said. "It's a good group of people." "We carefully screen our resi- dents on several different crite- ria, said Cook. She said they have evicted people -Tor not pay- ing rent or for having pets, and tow away junk cars in the park- ing lots. In recent years, with decreas- es in funding from government sources, the HRA has been forced to become more creative in its financing. The townhome developments in Apple Valley and Burnsville, and one still under construction in Inver Grove Heights, were funded through a private -public partnership, and are run on a for -profit basis. Unlike most pri- vate apartments or townhomes, the turnover in Dakota County's townhouse stock is very low. The turnover in the Glenbrook town - homes in Apple Valley was about 10 percent, compared to a mar- ket -rate average of about 50 per- cent. But like a privately -run apartment, the HRA is strict about its tenants. "We enforce our leases," said Cook. "We have caretakers on site who are our eyes and ears, and make sure the place looks good." The Burnsville site, built in 1991, also received opposition when it was proposed. Neigh- bors asked that the units include plenty of storage so residents wouldn't store things outside, and that a fence be put up be- tween the developments. The HRA complied. "I think we're good neighbors," said Cook. Police in Burnsville and Apple Valley say they have no more calls to the HRA town - homes than they doto similar, market -rate developments. The second development in Apple Valley, Glenbook Place, was built on a larger piece of property. The 39 units on that site are spaced farther apart, and include a larger play area for children. About half the units are occu- pied by single parents with chil- dren, Cook said. In recent years, funding for new construction has plummet- ed, but demand has continued to rise, say HRA officials. That has forced the HRA to use creative measures in order to continue to meet the needs of residents. ROMANCE WITHOUT THE CHASE • 14 Buming Displays of Gas & Wood Fireplaces„ • Financing Available • Design & Installation SNOWNOOSI LOCATION ��.av�ws�ay.w■ � � D 71 � 7XePut twine c«, epeaees TOTALA\I �L= 1923 W. BURNSVILLE PKWY • BURNSVILLE 894-7472 VALLEY RIDGE SHOPPING CTR. HOURS: M, W, F 9-6 C7Y. RD. 5 & BURNSVILLE PARKWAY T,TH 9-8:30, Sat. 9-5 DENTISTRY WITH A DI F.ERENCE We Take The Time To Listen Children and Apprehensive Arliiltc F.crwecially Welcome r Our caring staff is devoted to providing you with a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. We are a preventive oriented practice recognizing each individual's unique needs, fears, and concerns. -Dr. Shelley Wakefield., Dr. Sharon Tivrdik, Dakota Dental Clinic, P.A. oast 431-5774 16020 S. Cedar Ave., Rosemount Located just South of Target Greatland • • • Owls of Minnesota Saturday, February 11; 7 p.m. Sponsored by the Wild Bird Center and presented by Dianne Rowse and Under the proposal approved would be located somewhere by tho+board, voters will be asked .to OK two new, 800-student (See Schools, p.3A) Low-income housing project is denied Neighbors cite concerns about crime and safety By BRENDA HAUGEN Fear of crime led many residents, who would be neighbors to a proposed low - incoming housing development, to vehemently oppose the project. After participating in nearly wo hours of discussion with the •esidents who packed the council Chambers Dec. 7, the Eagan City :ouncil voted 3-2 in favor of the )akota County Housing and tedeveropment Authority HRA)-sponsored project, but the iroposal failed because a four- ifths vote is needed for approval. The proposal included 42 )wnhouse units on 8.1 acres )rated on the east side of Johnny 'ake Ridge Road, north of Oak 'idge Elementary School. Under the HRA proposal. the Iwnhouses in question would be owned by a private, limited part- nership with the Dakota County HRA as the general partner. The HRA would be financially liable for the ongoing performance of the development and ensure the limited partner tax needs are met. The HRA would be the de- veloper, manager and lender. According to Kerry Gill, of the HRA, the townhomes would be a_ mix of two- and three -bedroom Units_ And wenilii hcan 1412 continually growing need for af- fordable family housing in Dako- ta County. According to Gill, the average income of those living in the development would be bet- ween $18,000 and $20,000. Rent would be $475 for a two -bedroom townhouse and $525 for a three bedroom. (See Council, p.20A) CAROLERS FROM St. Thomas Becket Church sang Christmas songs and Mayor Tom Egan plugged in Christmas lights during a special lighting ceremony Dec. 2 in Eagan's Town Centre. The area was turned into a winter wonderland this weekend with holiday hayrides, a candy cane hunt and a variety of other activities. Photos by Rick Orndorf L f • • D TD n MIN UHTrn o rrcm----^^-��-- Council (Continued from front page) A second 111tA representative talked about the need for affor- dable housing locally, saying 300 families in Eagan are on HRA waiting lists. Those eligible to live in the Eagan development could earn up to $30,800 for a four - member family. She pointed out that 50 percent of the employees at Blue Cross and Blue Shield earn less than $30,000 and about 1,800 of Northwest Airlines employees fall into this same category. Meanwhile, Eagan has the second highest two- and three - bedroom rents in Dakota County, she said. An attorney for the Trails of Thomas Lake Homeowners Association said such a de- velopment isn't compatible with the neighboring properties. Neighboring townhomes, most of which are owner -occupied, are mainly valued at about $100,000 while single-family homes in the area are valued at around $200,000 to $300,0)0. Such a de- velopment could diminish these property values, he said. Area resident Jenny Taylor said she is concerned about possible overcrov ding such a de- velopment could create at Oak Ridge Elementa -y School. She also expressed traffic and safety concerns about the extension of Clemson Drive. Public Works Director Tom Colbert pointed out the city has always intended to extend Clem- son Drive to Johnny Cake Ridge Road to form a four-way intersec- tion. Taylor said crime associated with low-income housing also is a concern for her. Many audience DECEMBER SPE DIAL! rr•mwi•lins•norail COUPON ��.•�•��..��y 2 FOR 1 SALE On Skate Sharpening or Knife and Scissor Sharpening Regularly 5200 With Coupon Only a • We Sharpen just about nything and sell Freud saw blades and tools • We Service snowblowers, chainsaws, lawn & garden equipment and small engines Authorized Dealer of Jonsered, Homelite, McCulloch, Lawn -Boy, Ariens, Briggs & Stratton and Tecumseh Since 1972 ROSEMOUNT SAW & TOOL Downtown Rosemount, 14650 So. Robert Trail (Hwy. 3) 4 Blks. North of Co. Rd. 42 OPEN WEAPICKUP 423-2822 WEEADAYBSz8-5 DELIVER members applauded in agree- Council Member.,Shawn Hunter said he only remembers 1alkini about three sites, and Gounci Member Awada added the coun cil never encouraged any of then Glenbrook Place in Apple Valley, sites. the HRA would conduct rental Egan said residents shouldn' history checks, criminal records kid themselves and think the cit checks and credit checks of those can just downzone the property t living in the Eagan development, single family. Gill said. Arrest history as well as "1 want it abundantly clear, conviction history are checked, he said. "That's Ths iing ofthin the caity's ids. she added. egi According to Community De- counsel, the owner has vesting velopment Director Peggy the property, andtodownzonetl Reichert, Eagan Police Chief Pat property would mean the cii Geagan talked with officials in would probably have to pE Apple Valley and Burnsville and damages, Egan said. found police calls to either of With the information the cou these IIRA sites weren't a big cil has, amount Colose as muchasc u concern. 1. Eagan resident Bill Dubisar according to Ilunter. Ie sa e ci said potential crime is a concern many people believe tfor him. Police calls will increase "can wave their magic wait with this development, and van- and downzone properties, i dalisra also is a concern, he said. that isn't the case here. "It's our homes. It's our According to the site's press families. It's our dreams," he zoning, R-4, and an agreemc said. Dubisar said he's seen other with the developer, up to 16 un places, similar to the proposal, per acre could be placed at i deteriorate. location in question, Reichi But, resident Barb Bloomer said. The proposal before said the HRA property would be a council is 5.2 units per acre, good neighbor and that it doesn't added. let its housing deteriorate. "He could come in and deve "Its record speaks for itself," an apartment tomorrow," she said. said. Reichert said requirements can Council Member Sandra Ma be added to ensure the property is said she places her faith in maintained at a certain level. HRA and believes this prop( Dubisar added he's not looking would be better than what cc at the people who would be living be sited at the location. in the proposed development, but "R-4 scares me," she said. that he feels the city could find a Egan said he was reluctantl better place for low-income hous- favor of the proposal as well. ing. Council Member Ted "I don't do it with the grea Wachter agreed. of glee," he said. "I'm not being prejudice Egan said he wants to do against anyone," Wachter said, socially and legally correct th adding that this site just isn't a Citizens have to look at rea good location for this de- and this proposal is better velopment. what could go in there, he said Mayor Tom Egan said the HRA Ile also pointed out the nee( and city looked at 10 locations for such housing for those earl this development, and the city Tess than $30,000 at local ( decided this was the most panies. He added that he has suitable. Wachter said things look sonal feelings about it as well different after this discussion. "Ido that'smy daughter,"t know you f but said. ment. As it does in similar de- velopments such as Parkside Townhomes in Burnsville and Big or Small, We Ship It All' 1 Fear of crime led many residents, who would be neighbors to a proposed low - incoming housing development, to vehemently oppose the project. After participating in nearly nership with the Dakota Coun PIRA as the general partner. The HRA would be financially liable for the ongoing perbrmance of the development and ensure the limited partner tax needs are met. The HRA would be the de - plugged in Christmas lights during a special lighting ceremony Dec. 2 in Eagan's Town Centre. The area was turned into ninlu. n.rf,.*land tfti' According to Egan, she m less than $20,000, and he do want her living in a slum because there isn't afforc housing elsewhere. .11 applauded in agree - does in similar de - Its such as Parkside es in Burnsville and k Place in Apple Valley, would conduct rental leeks, criminal records id credit checks of those he Eagan development, Arrest history as well as history are checked, ng to Community De- nt Director Peggy Eagan Police Chief Pat liked with officials in ley and Burnsville and ice calls to either of A sites weren't a big resident Bill Dubisar tial crime is a concern :lice calls will increase levelopment, and van- ) is a concern, he said. Jr homes. It's our is our dreams," he ar said he's seen other filar to the proposal, ident Barb Bloomer to property would be a ')or and that it doesn't mg deteriorate. rd speaks for itself," -said requirements can ensure the property is at a certain level. idded he's not looking e who would be living sed development, but s the city could find a for low-income hous- [cil Member Ted .eed. t being prejudice one," Wachter said, this site just isn't a lion for this de- n Egan said the HRA ed at 10 locations for ment, and the city is was the most 2hter said things look ter this discussion. Council Member Shawn Hunter said he only remembers talking about three sites, and Council Member Awada added the coun- cil never encouraged any of these sites. Egan said residents shouldn't kid themselves and think the city can just downzone the property to single family. "I want it abundantly clear," he said. "That's not in the cards." According to the city's legal counsel, the owner has vesting in the property, and to downzone the property would mean the city would probably have to pay damages, Egan said. With the information the coun- cil has, those damages could amount to as much as $320,000, according to Ilunter. He said many people believe the city "can wave their magic wand" and downzone properties, but that isn't the case here. According to the site's present zoning, R-4, and an agreement with the developer, up to 16 units per acre could be placed at the location in question, Reichert said. The proposal before the council is 5.2 units per acre, she added. "He could come in and develop an apartment tomorrow," she said. Council Member Sandra Masin said she places her faith in the HRA and believes this proposal would be better than *hat could be sited at the location. "R-4 scares me," she said. Egan said he was reluctantly in favor of the proposal as well. "I don't do it with the greatest of glee," he said. Egan said he wants to do the socially and legally correct thing. Citizens have to look at reality, and this proposal is better than what could go in there, he said. He also pointed out the need for such housing for those earning less than $30,000 at local com- panies. He added that he has per- sonal feelings about it as well. "I don't know about you folks, but that's my daughter," Egan said. According to Egan, she makes less than $20,000, and he doesn't want her living in a ei-,-. -Iunter warned the council not to Jelly this project because of the income issue. Council Member Pat Awada said she's not con- vii iced R-3, which would allow the townhomes, is better than R-4. Hunter countered that that's in- consistent with what she's done before as a council person, and is "e ;tremety inconsistent" for the council in general. Hunter said that if the council decides to put a higher -density development at this site instead of going with the townhouses, "We better mean it and stick to it in future deci- sions." Awada argued that she has always said single-family de- velopment is better than multi- family, and that owner -occupied developments are always pre- ferred. City Attorney Jim Sheldon pointed out the council doesn't have authorization to make owner -occupied or rental stipula- tions with its zoning. Egan told residents this pro- posal is different from the Wescott Commons, a trouble spot in Eagan, and HRA personnel pointed that they didn't develop Wescott Commons, which in- cludes about 160 units under mul- tiple management. Egan added he is building a home closer to the Wescott Com- mons area than residents at the meeting would be to the proposed }IRA development. "I'm putting my money where my mouth is," he said. Residents pointed out that that was Egan's choice, and they didn't choose to be located next to low-income housing. Gill said those who would be liv- ing in the proposed development also want a nice, safe place to live as well, and that good property management is the key to crime prevention. Not all area residents spoke in opposition to the proposal. John Soderberg said the people living in the proposed development would be the people he works with and worships with, and they need to be welcomed to build a sense of community. Living next to each other and getting to know each COOPER TION AGREEMENT • • This Agreement entered into this /,576 day of / C ✓e /J 19 77, by and between the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Dakota County (herein called the "Local Authority") and the City of Eagan (herein called the "Municipality"), witnesseth: In consideration of the mutual covenants hereinafter set forth, the parties hereto do agree as follows: 1. Whenever used in this Agreement: (a) The term "Project" shall mean scattered site low -rent housing approved by Resolution of the Dakota County Board of Commissioners on May 10, 1977, and hereafter developed or acquired by the Local Authority with financial assistance of the United States of America acting through the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (herein called the "Government"); excluding, however, any low -rent housing project covered by any contract for loans and annual contributions entered into between the Local Authority and the Government, or its predecessor agencies, prior to the date of this Agreement. The scattered site low -rent housing units developed or acquired by the Local Authority in accordance with this agreement shall be individually designated, for the purpose of being identified as part of this project, with the code "SFS". (b) The term "Taxing Body" shall mean the State or any political sub- division or taxing unit thereof in which a Project is situated and which would have authority to assess or levy real or personal property taxes or to certify such taxes to a taxing body or public officer to be levied for its use and benefit with respect to a Project if it were not exempt from taxation. (c) The term "Shelter Rent" shall mean the total of all charges to all tenants of a Project for dwelling rents and nondwelling rents (excluding all other income of such Project), less the cost to the Local Authority of all dwelling and nondwelling utilities. (d) The term "Slum" shall mean any area where dwellings predominate which, by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangements or design, lack of ventilation, light or sanitation facilities, or any combination of these factors are detrimental to safety, health, or morals. 2. The Local Authority shall endeavor (a) to secure a contract or contracts with the Government for loans and annual contributions covering one or more Projects comprising not more than 7 units of low -rent housing and (b) to develop or acquire and administer such Project or Projects, each of which shall be located within the corporate limits of the Municipality. The obligations of the parties hereto shall apply to each such Project. 3. (a) Under the statutes of the State of Minnesota, all Projects are exempt from all real and personal property taxes levied or imposed by any Taxing Body. With respect to any Project, so long as either (i) such Project is owned by a public body or governmental agency and is used for low -rent housing purposes, or (ii) any contract between the Local Authority and the Government for loans or annual contributions, or both, in connection with such Project remains in force and effect, or (iii) any bonds issued in connection with such Project or any monies due to the Government in connection with such Project remain unpaid, whichever period is the longest, the Municipality agrees that it will not levy or impose any real or personal property taxes upon such Project or upon the Local Authority with respect thereto. During such period, the Local Authority shall make payments (herein called "Payments in Lieu of Taxes") in lieu of such taxes and in payment for the Public services and facilities furnished from time to time without other cost or charge for or with respect to such Project. (b) Each such annual Payment in Lieu of Taxes shall be made at the time when real property taxes on such Project would be paid if it were subject to taxation, and shall be in an amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the Shelter Rent actually charged by the Local Authority in respect to such Project during the 12 month period ending December 31 before such payment is made. (c) No payment for any year shall be made to the Municipality in excess of the amount of the real property taxes which would have been paid to the Municipality for such year if the Project were not exempt from taxation. • II/ • (d) Upon failure of the Local Authority -to rake any Payment in Lieu of Taxes, the provisions of Minn. Stat. 462.455 and 462.571 shall apply. 4. If by reason of the Municipality's failure or refusal to furnish or cause to be furnished any public services or facilities which it has agreed hereunder to furnish or to cause to be furnished to the Local Authority or to the tenants of any Project, the Local Authority incurs any expenses to obtain such services or facilities then the Local Authority may deduct the amount of such expenses from ;iny Payments in Lieu of Taxes due or to become due to the Municipality in respect to any Project or any other low -rent housing projects owned or operated by the Local Authority. 5. During the period commencing with the date of the acquisition of any part if the site or sites of the scattered site Project and continuing so long as either (i) such Project is owned by a public body or governmental agency and is used for low -rent housing purposes, or (ii)-any contract between the Local Authority and the Sovernment for loans or annual contributions, or both, in connection with such ?roject remains in force and effect or (iii) any bonds issued in connection with this Project or any monies due to the Government in connection with this Project remain inpaid, whichever period is the longest, the Municipality without cost or charge to the Local Authority or the tenants of such Project (other than the Payments in Lieu of Taxes) shall: (a) Furnish or cause to be furnished to the Local Authority and the tenants of such Project public services and facilities of the same character and to the same extent as are furnished from time to time without cost or charge to other dwellings and inhabitants in the Municipality; (b) Vacate such streets, roads, and alleys within the area of such Project as may be necessary in the development thereof, and convey without charge to the Local Authority such interest as the Municipality may have in such vacated areas; and, in so far as it is lawfully able to do so without cost or expense to the Local Authority or to the Municipality, cause to be removed from such vacated areas, in so far as it may be necessary, all public or private utility lines and equipment; (c) In so far as the Municipalitymay lawfully do so, (i) grant such deviations from the building code of the Municipality as are reasonable and necessary to promote economy and efficiency in the development and administration,of such Project, and at the same • • • (d) Upon failure of the Local Authorlty•to make any Payment to Lieu of Taxes, the provisions of Minn. Stat. 462.455 and 462.571 shall apply. 4. If by reason of the Municipality's failure or refusal to furnish or cause to be furnished any public services or facilities which it has agreed hereunder to furnish or to cause to be furnished to the Local Authority or to the tenants of any Project, the Local Authority incurs any expenses to obtain such services or facilities then the Local Authority may deduct the amount of such expenses from any Payments in Lieu of Taxes due or to become due to the Municipality in respect to any Project or any other low -rent housing projects owned or operated by the Local Authority. 5. During the period commencing with the date of the acquisition of any part Jf the site or sites of the scattered site Project and continuing so long as either (i) such Project is owned by a public body or governmental agency and is used for low -rent housing purposes, or (ii)'any contract between the Local Authority and the Government for loans or annual contributions, or both, in connection with such Project remains in force and effect or (iii) any bonds issued in connection with this Project or any monies due to the Government in connection with this Project remain inpaid, whichever period is the longest, the Municipality without cost or charge to the Local Authority or the tenants of such Project (other than the Payments in Lieu of Taxes) shall: (a) Furnish or cause to be furnished to the Local Authority and the tenants of such Project public services and facilities of the same character and to the same extent as are furnished from time to time without cost or charge to other dwellings and inhabitants in the Municipality; (b) Vacate such streets, roads, and alleys within the area of such Project as may be necessary in the development thereof, and convey without charge to the Local Authority such interest as the Municipality may have in such vacated areas; and, in so far as it is lawfully able to do so without cost or expense to the Local Authority or to the Municipality, cause to be removed from such vacated areas, in so far as it may be necessary, all public or private utility lines and equipment; (c) In so far as the Municipalitymay lawfully do so, (i) grant such deviations from the building code of the Municipality as are reasonable and necessary to promote economy and efficiency in the development and administration,of such Project, and at the same time safeguard health and safety, and (ii) make such changes in any zoning of the site and surrounding territory of such Project as are reasonable and necessary for the development and protection of such Project and the surrounding territory; (d) Accept grants of easements necessary for the development of such Projects and; (3) Cooperate with the Local Authority by such other lawful action or ways as the Municipality and the Local Authority may find necessary in connection with the development and administration of such Project. In respect to any Project the Municipality further agrees that within 2asonable time after receipt of a written request therefore from the Local uthority. (a) It will accept necessary dedications of land for, and will grade, improve, pave, and provide sidewalks for, all streets bounding such Project or necessary to provide adequate access thereto (in consideration whereof the Local Authority shall pay to the Municipality such amount as would be assessed against the Project site for such work if such site were privately owned); and (b) It will provide, or cause to be provided, water mains, and storm and sanitary sewer mains, leading to such Project and serving the bounding streets thereof (in consideration whereof the Local Authority shall pay to the Municipality such amount as would be assessed bgainst the Project site for such work if such .site -were privately owned). a • • • 7. No Cooperation Agreement heretofore entered into between the Municipality and the Local Authority shall be construed to apply to this Project coveredy by this Agreement. 8. No member of the governing body of the Municipality or any other public official of the Municipality who exercises any responsibilities or functions with respect to any Project during his tenure or for one year thereafter shall have any interest, direct or indirect, in this Project or any property included or planned to be included in this project, or any contracts in connection with such projects or property. If any such governing body member or such other public official of the Municipality involuntarily acquires or had acquired prior to the beginning of his tenure any such interest, he shall immediately disclose such interest to the Local Authority. 9. So long as any contract between the Local Authority and the Government for loans (including preliminary loans) or annual contributions, or both, in connection with this Project remains in force and effect, or so long as any bonds issued in connection with this Project or any monies due to the Government in connection with this Project remain unpaid, and so long as this Project is owned by a public body or governmental agency, including Government, and is used for low -rent housing purposes, this Agreement shall not be abrogated, changed, or modified without the consent of the Government. If at any time the beneficial title to, or possession of, this Project is held by such other public body or governmental agency, including The Government, the provisions hereof shall inure to the benefit of and'may be enforced by such other public body or governmental agency, including the Government. Otherwise, this Agreement may be terminated by the Municipality at any time. 10. The Municipality hereby gives prior approval of location of any site that may be selected by the Local Authority under this agreement, so long as no site is located within 200 yards of any other HRA owned site. The Municipality and the Local Authority agree that this action constitutes the approval of a Housing Project within the Municipality's boundaries by the governing body of the Municipality, as is required by Laws of Minnesota, 1971, Chapter 333, Section 3. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Municipality and the Local Authority have respectively signed this Agreement and caused their seals to be affixed and attested as of the day and year first above written. (SEAL) Attest: (Title) (SEAL) Attest: (Title) C_ 1 y C l L�` is rj (� l T y c` L 4<._ (Corporate Name of M.un Lc fl al i ty) By (Title) Azcis Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Dakota County BY l("ez.,1_. Chairman D • • 14dtziix_6;z P. M App•••••11 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF MOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT HOUSING ASSISTANCE PLAN TABLE IV — GENERAL LOCATIONS FOR PROPOSED LOWER INCOME HOUSING 1. NAME OF APPLICANT OMB No 63R 1U7: Dakota County Dakota County Government Center 1560 Wpst Highway No. 55, Ha511ngc. Minnocota_550.3.3 1 APPLICATION/GRANT NUMBER IBI—III-III-III-I I l l A. IDENTIFY GENERAL LOCATIONS ON MAP IN THIS APPLICATION a. ® ORIGINAL Q AYEN OM CN T, DATE: A. PROGRAM YEAR FROM.10/1/77 TO: 9/30/78 1. New Construction: Census Tract Numbers A11 of Dakota County — there are no areas of impaction in Dakota County 2: Rehabilitation: Census Tract Numbers .. cArLANATION OF SELECTION OF GENERAL LOCATIONS L New Construction In the development of Section 8 New Construction, there shall be a policy of deconcentration of families. This statement does not apply to elderly, but does apply to small and large families. In reviewing projects, there should be no more than 25 units in a project on one site which are 100 percent subsidized. If the proposed project exceeds 25 units, there shall be no more than 20 percent of the units in the project to receive subsidy. The County would prefer to see no more than 8 units per acre. We have not precluded any area of'the County. Z. Rehabilitation HUD-7015.11 117-75) is _ -a � 7 T It■ _ 1 I _ Hi .`:r)LUTI ON WHEREAS, the housing and Redevelopment Authority of Iakota County has been duly organized pursuant to Laws 1971, Chapter 333, Section 2, having all of the powers and duties of a housing and redevelopment authority under the provisions of the Municipal lousing and Redevelopment Act, Minnesota Statutes, Sections 462.411 to 4(,2.711, and acts amendatory thereof; and WHEREAS, the housing and Redevelopment Authority of Dakota County desires to assist low income elderly and families to obtain adequate housing in the City of Eagan at a price they can afford, and to accomplish this purpose desires to undertake a program of subsidizing rent payments to landlords who provide adequate housing to such individuals and families. tti , 7HEREFC•RE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF Eagan that the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Dakota County's program of rental assistance to low income elderly and families is hereby approved within the boundaries of the City of Eagan ADOPTED this 19th day of November ,1974. Hp tert H. Polzin, Mayor' Attest: Alyce tolke, City Clerk