Below is the picture of what Uptown is supposed to look like under the proposed Comp Plan. Nineteen 10- stories or taller buildings are planned for the north shore of Bde Maka Ska, including a 33-story building and four 22-story buildings.
This level of density violates the Shoreland Overlay District, an existing zoning rule that says that all development within 1,000 feet of a lake must not be taller than two and a half stories. This zoning was put in after the Calhoun Beach Club was built to protect our lakes. This zoning was designed to ensure access to light and air, avoid shadowing of parks and lakes, maintain a reasonable scale of buildings around our lakes and to preserve the views of open spaces and water bodies. (Minneapolis Code of Ordinances, 551.480) It also provides a buffer for run-off from large buildings, as there is no treatment of water running into the lakes.
The Shoreland Overlay District also recognizes the limitations of the transportation network around our lakes. We don’t have freeways near our lakes so all travel must be on city streets. The 2040 Comp Plan ignores the impacts of such a high density on the transportation network. Instead, it presumes that no parking would be built and everyone would use biking, walking and transit, something that simply would not happen.
This is bad policy that puts our lakes at risk. The Shoreland Overlay District was created with much thought and community input and needs to be preserved.