A proposed fee on new development in Minneapolis dedicated to funding
parks appears to be on course to adoption this fall, according to the
Southwest
Journal. Discord between the park board and city
council over the fee has been repaired, and the fee reduced:
"With some
exceptions, the ordinance would require developers to create parks on
new project sites or pay a fee for the creation or enhancement of nearby
green space. The ordinance, similar to those used in many metro-area
suburbs to develop new parkland, is meant to help the financially
strapped Park Board meet the outdoor needs of the city's population as
it grows....
"Fee collections would be placed in a special Park
Board-managed fund and used solely for the acquisition, development and
improvement of green space and park connections within the neighborhood
the development is in or an adjacent neighborhood within a half-mile
radius.
"'The challenge is we are in very difficult financial
times and any additional costs you want to make sure that they're not so
great that they would limit any new development,' Erwin said. 'But the
Park Board wanted to make sure that the support was enough that they
could actually do something.'
"Developers of affordable housing
projects would be exempt from the ordinance ..."
Read the full
article
here.