Paul Zerby

Sierra Club Questionnaire & Responses:

1) Urban development is an important issue to our members. What role do you see for yourself as a central city council member to affect our region’s growth patterns?

I understand and agree that our region’s growth patterns are a most important issue for all of us. I believe our regions growth patterns will be most directly affected by the Metropolitan Council, the Minnesota Legislature and the availability or lack of federal funds. I would work to build coalitions with all of these, stressing the common grounds between first ring suburbs and the central city and the importance of Minneapolis to the region.

2) What urban design principles will you support for riverfront development?

The Mississippi River obviously is one of the most important natural resources in the world, not to mention Ward 2 of Minneapolis and the need to protect it should weigh heavily in the calculus of any urban planning in our city. Access to the river, green space adjoining it and greenways along it are all important. Historic preservation like that of the just opened Mill Ruins Park will benefit all of us for years to come. Any new development adjacent to the river should be carefully planned and controlled. Planning should lead development, not the other way around as has so often been the case. We don’t need more steam plants, 300 space surface parking lots, or Kondirators on the river. I believe that the city’s zoning and planning can have significant impact on these issues.

3) What will you do as City Council Member to reduce air toxic concentrations in our city?

All of the steps that we can take to limit or lower the use of motor vehicles powered by fossil fuels in the city would be the most important steps toward reducing toxic concentrations in the air. This would include working with the Metropolitan Transit Company to maintain clean, safe and timely bus service. The city could seek to use more “hybrid” energy efficient vehicles in its own fleet. Ultimately light rail transit might make an enormous contribution in this regard. Bicycle and pedestrian walkways such as the University Transit Lane and the Midtown Greenway set promising examples for future planning. Garbage incineration is a significant source of mercury and pcbs, and has been called by Justin Eibenholzl, Southeast Environmental Coordinator, “probably one of the worst nightmares from an air pollution standpoint.” Diligent monitoring of and control to the lowest possible levels of pollution would help, as would any ways that we can reduce incineration in the first place by steps such as source reduction and increased recycling efforts. Eibenholzl’s position itself, it should be mentioned, represents an interesting and promising combined effort by two Southeast Minneapolis neighborhoods (Prospect Park-East River Road and Southeast Como) to jointly inventory sources of air pollution affecting those neighborhoods and to seek to have the pollution reduced to the extent feasible even if that means stricter controls than the legally enforceable requirements.

4) What will you do to maintain and improve our parks and boulevards?

Work with the Park Board and seek adequate funding for the parks and boulevards. Boulevard beautification programs such as engaged in by the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood do a great deal to beautify a neighborhood. Gordon Kepner of that neighborhood has raised the interesting idea of getting neighborhood do-it-yourself “tree repair” kits to preserve existing trees longer. President Yudof’s efforts to beautify the University campus by such efforts as the flower garden now gracing the south end of the Mall, to mention one among many, have been successful beyond what many would have expected. It was also heartening to see the great turnout of students, neighbors and business people at the recent Beautiful U day working to clean up the area. As an aside, my first campaign promise, was to Seward skateboarders, including my grandsons Mark and Sam, to try to secure a skateboard park and I would expect to work with the Park Board toward making good on that.

5) With the increased commercial development of our downtown what will you do to help solve the growing transportation pressures into our city?

The transit measures mentioned above in response to question 3 would I believe also be helpful in easing the growing transportation pressures into our city. Staggered work hours and better coordination of traffic signals and traffic patterns would help. Livable neighborhoods that combine housing and amenities such as grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores within walking distance make for an overall more livable city. We are witnessing a significant increase of people now choosing to live downtown and avoid the “commute” altogether. With the housing developments along the river we need to continue to look for creative ways to facilitate transit along the river. Increasing the linkages between affordable housing and jobs on a region wide basis would help a great deal.

6) What will you do to deal with the continued airport expansion and transportation pressures related to increased airport traffic?

Hopefully the Hiawatha LRT corridor will help with transportation pressures related to (once again hopefully in light of current circumstances) increased airport traffic. If there were any doubt , however, it appears the current airport location and expansion are a “done deal” for the foreseeable future. The problem of noise from flight patterns over Minneapolis continues to affect many south and southeast Minneapolis neighbors. We can continue to work with the Met Council, the Metropolitan Airport Commission and the federal agencies on this problem by treating the symptom via insulation of homes. Perhaps we could also explore the possibility of encouraging Northwest Airlines to acquire quieter planes as it replaces its fleet. This may be a bad time, or some have suggested it might be a good time, to look into that.

7) Run off from impervious surfaces, roads, sidewalks, roofs and lawn chemicals are impacting our lakes, rivers, and creeks. What will you do to improve water quality in our city’s waterways?

I am advised that the storm water in Minneapolis flows into the Mississippi River and that the city lakes get surface runoff from their drainage basins and that the options are basically to reduce or to treat the runoff.

A) Would you support a citywide phosphorous fertilizer ban?

Yes.

B) Would you support a storm water treatment system?

Yes

C) Would you support building additional holding ponds to protect our city lakes?

Yes. I understand one possible model for doing this may be the “re-creation” of wetlands around the south side of Lake Calhoun

8) What would you do to promote bicycle and pedestrian transit?

We can create more bikeways and pedestrian transitways as mentioned above. I am told by Dean Abrahamson that in Sweden and Denmark there are many separate bike roads making up a “bike highway” system. Dean also suggests that “a little driver education” about courtesy, and safety, toward bicyclists on our existing roadways here wouldn’t hurt. Also as discussed above more livable neighborhoods with walking distance amenities will facilitate pedestrian transit. I understand that Metro Transit is ordering its new buses with bike racks to facilitate truly “multi-modal” transportation.

9) Do you believe central cities should accept a greater or lesser share of the Twin Cities projected population growth?

I believe, with Myron Orfield, that we should seek to limit urban sprawl and seek to reduce the “hidden subsidies” that the suburbs receive by tax supported infrastructure that make the sprawl possible. I also believe, as I’ve mentioned above, that we need more linkage between jobs and affordable housing and that this means we need more affordable housing in the suburbs. We can also not overlook the need to press for living wages in jobs throughout the region; we cannot afford the costs of competition between parts of the region that are actually borne by those least able to afford the costs. Moreover, I agree with those who argue that all of us in fact will benefit if the rich diversity of the central cities in our region is shared in by the suburbs also.

10) What if anything will you do to promote city level campaign finance reform?

There are lots of possible “tinkering” reforms on limits and of contributions and disclosure of them which might improve things somewhat. A more transparent and collegial decision-making process at the city council, and less deference to “ward privilege” might go a long way toward making it impossible for a councilmember to “deliver” a project and hence less likely to invite the possibility of corruption. But it seems to me that we ought to be able to do public financing of campaigns on the city level with reasonable caps on expenditures and thresholds on access to the funds. That, I think, would lead to the clean politics we all deserve.

11) How will you use your position as City Council Member to direct city procurement policies towards green products and buildings, such as super high efficiency vehicles, passive solar construction, chlorine free paper, recycled carpets and clean fuels?

Seek to see that these are embodied in city purchasing policies.

12) What will you do as a City Council Member to help protect Camp Coldwater Springs (Bureau of Mines Land) and the 27 acres of green space that surrounds the area?

I would try hard to facilitate a settlement of the pending dispute that protects Camp Coldwater Springs and the 27 acres of green space that surrounds the area.

A) Would you oppose the Metropolitan Airports Commissions efforts to build on the current land a parking facility or any other type of development that would disturb the current green space?

Yes.

B) Would you support turning the Bureau of Mines Land over to the either the Department of Natural Resources, State Park System or Minneapolis Park Board to be restored to it original natural state.

Yes.

===== Paul Zerby A DFLer for Change on City Council Ward 2 www.zerby.com/paul pgzerby@yahoo.com