City Council rules that no EAW needed for 600 Main
The site in question is visually at the northern end of the Stone Arch Bridge. The proposed development would put a 70-foot wall of apartments at the end of the bridge, where the cars are parked in this photo.
On August 28th, the Minneapolis City Council recommended against completing an environmental review for a proposed 79-apartment complex at 600 Main Street SE.
The project, which would be built at the foot of the Stone Arch Bridge between Main Street and the Mississippi River, would require the City to provide discretionary zoning allowances for height and density. Given the sensitive nature of the sites location, and City plans for a park on the site, the development proposal has been met with significant controversy.
The Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) would have given the City and other stakeholders a chance to look in-depth at historic and environmental impacts in the area.
Many stakeholders were concerned about the potential for discovery of archaeological resources on the site. A number of early structures existed on the site, including a small Depot built by railroad pioneer James J. Hill. And for centuries, the area had served Native Americans and early Europeans alike as a canoe portage around St. Anthony Falls, creating a likelihood of archaeological resources.
The City Councils discussion around the EAW hinged on the issue of archeology. Council members were swayed against conducting the EAW by one assertion in particular. It was suggested that before the current parking lot was built, the top twenty feet of soil was cleared off the land. However, subsequent research casts this assertion in a less than convincing light.
FMR, along with National Park Service, Sierra Club, Audubon Minnesota, MCEA, and League of Women Voters Education Fund, had been supportive of the request to perform an EAW.
The projects proposed variance and Conditional Use Permit returned to the Councils Zoning and Planning Committee on September 3rd, where members forwarded the zoning changes to the full City Council without comment. The Committee once again deadlocked on a 3-3 vote.
The full City Council will vote on whether to approve or deny the zoning changes at their September 17th meeting.
For an overview of the proposed development visit FMR's 600 Main Fact Sheet page.