City puts Unprecedented Number of Conditions on Porky's

The city council's zoning and planning committee attached an unprecedented number of conditions to Porky's proposal on Monday November 27. With 16 conditions, no other development has been approved by Z&P with so many conditions this year. Even the highly discussed DeLaSalle football field on Nicollet Island had less conditions attached to it's approval: 12.

The question then becomes, if a fast-food drive-thru on a tiny lot needs 16 conditions, how can this really be a good proposal? And, who will monitor enforcement of the conditions? NAP somehow doubts that Alderman Ostrow will be stopping by twice a day to ensure that Porky's is picking up trash as condition 2 states, "The applicant will arrange for trash and litter pickup on and around the Porky’s premises each evening and each morning before noon."

The full city council will act on the Porky's proposal December 1 at 9:30.

--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

City Committee Overturns Porky's Denial

Through a condition laden motion, the Zoning and Planning Committee on the Minneapolis City Council voted to overturn Minneapolis staff recommendations and the Zoning Commissions repeated denials of Porky's application for a fast food drive-thru on Central Avenue.

CM Don Samuels made two motions supporting the rezoning of the 1851 Central (Porky's site) and the conditional use permit and land use plan. The rezoning passed 4-2 with Samuels, Goodman, Colvin Roy, and Remington in support; Schiff and Gordon voted against the rezoning. The second vote regarding the conditional use permit and land use plan passed 5-1 with only CM Schiff voting against the motion.

The full council will consider the matter on Friday at 9:30 am.

--Neighbors Against Porky's--neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

Contact City Hall Now!

The city council will review Porky's applications on November 27th and December 1st.

Please pick four city council members listed below and contact them about your concerns with Porky's. Mention the 159 police calls to the St. Paul Porky's, the drive-thru that exits onto a residential street, and that a fast food drive-thru business runs counter to numerous city goals. The city will take a step backward with this business.

Contact four of the listed council members below

Diane Hofstede: diane.hofstede@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Robert Lilligren: robert.lilligren@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Betsy Hodges
Elizabeth Glidden
Cam Gordon: cam.gordon@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Gary Schiff: Gary.Schiff@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ralph Remington: ralph.remington@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Don Samuels: don.samuels@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Lisa Goodman
Scott Benson: scott.benson@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Sandy Colvin Roy
Barbara Johnson: barbara.johnson@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Paul Ostrow: paul.ostrow@ci.minneapolis.mn.us

--Neighbors Against Porky's--

neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

Lawn Signs are In!

Request your lawn sign stating "No Porky's" today! A friend of NAP decided a more visible neighborhood presence was needed.

Email neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com to request your lawn sign today. A friend of Neighbors Against Porky's will put the sign in your yard.

--Neighbors Against Porky's--

neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

NE Neighbors React to One-Sided Porky's Article

Northeast neighbors expressed their displeasure with the Northeaster's one-sided Porky's article by writing letters to the editor published in the November 22 edition.

Chad Gillard took issue with article's lack of coverage of crime at the St. Paul Porky's. The Northeaster "did not include anything about Nora Truelson's (owner of Porky's parent company, Truco) misleading statement about no crime at the St. Paul Porky's site in the last 50 years (there was an immediate response by a neighborhood member who had the police report for Porky's address from the St. Paul Police Department, and it included 20 calls for 2006 and over 30 for 2005).

Dave Buchanan wrote, "I attended the meeting and those who spoke out against Porky's outnumbered those who supported it at least 3-1. Yet your article quotes six in favor an only one against."

Don Anderson writes that "as a senior citizen" he is a "faithful reader of the Northeaster and was appalled by the lack of reference to the (crime) side of the issue. I would have expected more evenly balanced reporting"

Finally, Adelheid Koski writes, "Building a drive-thru only a few blocks from an existing Burger King (both a drive-thru and that American food some think we more of) runs counter to the idea of pedestrian friendliness. If the developer let go of the drive-thru I'd bet the neighborhoods would be more than happy to work with them in the site development."

--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

Porky's Appeals Minneapolis Decision to Deny

The developers of Porky's appealed the Minneapolis Planning Commissions unanimous decision to deny their application.

The Minneapolis Zoning and Planning committee will hear the appeal on November 27th. They will issue an advisory opinion to the full city council who will hear the appeal on December 1st.

Contact your city council member now and say, "No Porky's on Central! The business does not fit the lot."

--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

St. Paul Police stated Porky's is "Undependable"

Speaking to City Pages, Michael Jordan of the St. Paul Police department stated , "Porky's proved to be undependable. They said they'd clean up and they didn't clean up."

There is already enough fast food trash blowing around the neighborhood. Do we really need more?

--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

Comment of the Day

An occasional feature, NAP debuts "Comment of the Day."

Here is a comment that a reader left:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I gotta be honest. For me, the problem's not crime, it's not the food, it's not the cars.

It's location, location, location!

Go look at the lot where they want to build this thing. It's too small for what they want to put there. I can see why neighbors are railing against it, and if more people would go take a look, they'd get it, too.

I'm all for nostalgia, but let's put it in the right spot. Look up Central avenue, toward 30th. That is where a drive in should go. NOT rammed onto a tiny corner for convenience's sake.

I am pleased to hear that the planning group at the City has the foresight to see the problem with the proposed site. Development shouldn't go in because it CAN...it should go in because it WORKS for and ENRICHES the area in the present AS WELL AS the future. Let's look down the road.

(And yes...I'm fine with the fact that there will be CARS on that road in the future.)

Drive-thru Exits onto Residential Street

Porky's proposed drive-thru funnels traffic onto residential streets.

Porky's drive-thru exits onto 19th Avenue: a street serving single family homes and small apartments. The site on Central Avenue is adjacent to a single-family home (942 19th Ave NE) and the drive-thru is less than 40 feet from its front door. Other drive-thru restaurants have attempted to direct traffic back to the main commercial street via residential street and have been unsuccessful.

To get back to Central, drivers will need to take a left turn crossing a lane of traffic, stop at traffic lights, and then turn onto Central. Due to the configuration of the drive-thru and the location of the stop light, only 2 cars will be able to wait at the light before the drive-thru will become blocked. Then, the option will be to turn right into the neighborhood.

Porky's plans to slightly angle the exit and post a sign stating left turn only. Similar measures have been unsuccessful at the Quarry shopping center and fast food drive-thrus in south Minneapolis. People will make a move to go the route that provides the least resistance. At Porky's on Central, the easiest move will often be to turn into the neighborhood.

In most towns and cities, drive-thru restaurants are typically found next to main highways (interstates) or in areas that surrounding by commercial areas to insulate neighbors from the traffic. Here, the drive-thru is directly next a single family home and shares a block with other residences.

In the end, Porky's bought the wrong site. They recognize that Central is vibrant and they want to be part of the action. However, they need a bigger lot that is away from residential areas that enters and exits off of a commercial street. A site with 9 parking spaces cannot accommodate the traffic that Porky's will attract.

--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

Neighbors Against Porky's in the News

The Neighbors Against Porky's blog has hit the big time.

First, the blog was mentioned in the Pioneer Press today and reports are coming in that Neighbors Against Porky's was mentioned on AM1500's Garage Logic today.

The additional publicity provided a bit more traffic to the site and more comments. Unfortunately, some of the comments are a bit vulgar. The filters have been turned on, so it may take a while for your comments to appear as they will now need to be reviewed.

--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

Mayor Rybak, The Issue is not Food!

What is Mayor Rybak thinking when he stated that he "would walk across glass on my knees for Porky's onion rings?" Perhaps this statement was said during some sort of post-fast food comatose, but he is simply ignoring the real issues. Yes, the onion rings are good, but the issue is bigger: TRASH, TRAFFIC, NOISE, and LAND USE.

Focus on the issues, Mayor Rybak!

Porky's is indelibly associated with a culture of cars. The hot rod groups seem to be filled with upstanding people. However, hot rods unfortunately bring out the crowds of idiots who like to drag race and want to be seen with the hot rods. This is the issue.

Drag racing, drinking, dumping bleach on the streets (creates a large cloud of smoke when pealing out), and being a nuisance are synonymous with this crowd. Central Avenue is on the up-swing; it does not need a weight around its neck.

--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

It's the Crime!!!

Drugs, fighting, drunkenness, disorderly conduct, & child abuse. In 2006, St. Paul police visited the St. Paul Porky's for all of these reasons and more.

If the St. Paul Porky's cannot control their existing business, why would we want to invite them to Northeast Minneapolis?

On October 26, the owner of Porky's stated that the Police hadn't visited Porky's in its 53 years of existence. The Truth: 22 visits in 2006 and 31 in 2005.

What other business on Central draws this kind of crime?

--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

One-sided Reporting from the Northeaster?

A friend of Neighbors Against Porky's shared that in the Northeaster's latest issue (November 8), the paper publishes a very unbalanced story supporting Porky's.

The meeting on October 26th is recapped by sharing comments from 2 residents against Porky's and a dozen for Porky's. Additionally, the paper quotes people without attributing quotes to individuals including "a neighbor who lives across the street from the development." Neighbors Against Porky's isn't certain what street was crossed to get to this street as across Central is a business and across 19th is the police station.

Let your friends know that this depiction is not accurate. A review of a video of the meeting definitively shows that for every 1 person speaking for Porky's, 3 spoke against Porky's Keep up the good work and keep an eye out for more ways you can help prevent this fast food drive-thru from being wedged onto Central Avenue.

--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

Fries for Signatures?

A petition to support Porky's was circulated at a residence near the proposed Porky's site. Neighbors Against Porky's has been told that some residents of Parker Skyview High Rise were told they could have free french fries, Porky's t-shirt, and/or a Porky's if they signed a petition supporting Porky's.

Some neighbors call this bribery while other call it a smooth campaign move. What do you think?

--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

Ostrow's History of Supporting Bad Development

Many wonder why CM Paul Ostrow would support the Porky's development, but perhaps looking back at his previous support for bad development will help all learn more about his rationale.

1. Cub Foods proposed demolishing the block between 23rd and 24th on Central Avenue in 2002 and putting up a window-less suburban style grocery store. This style of development in urban districts has been linked to increased crime as the window-less environment reduces the visibility to the streets from the inside of buildings. Crime often increases when criminals know they are less likely to be seen. The developer worked through CM Ostrow's office. Fortunately, neighbors prevented this bad development.

2. Sam's Club: On June 17, 2004, CM Ostrow was the only person to speak on behalf of a proposed Sam's Club to be built in Northeast at an appeal of the city's decision to deny Sam's Club's application. Small business owners were extremely concerned with the possible addition of a Sam's Club and yet CM Ostrow wanted to find a way to bring Sam's Club to Northeast.

Perhaps it is not surprising that CM Ostrow supports putting Porky's on Central Avenue. Although, Neighbors Against Porky's still can't determine why he supports this. Some have suggested he is building a portfolio of buildings in preparation to run for higher office (again).

--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com