PL MINUTES 02191980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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i � -5- 4 condemned and converted into a mini park area where parents could leave their children to play while they shop; -and also suggested a street be put in front of the business establishments on his side to create an image of a valid business community. Marie of- fered the services - of her Xerox machine to print flyers to keep the merchants aware of future developments. . In response to the Planner' s comments regarding the eastern portion of the shopping center, Jerry Kelly, of Kelly ' s Toys, saw some of Mr. Weber ' s conclusions as misleading. He differed with him that traffic through the area had diminished with t h e development of ! Highway 88. He -said some of the improvements suggested in the Plan have been made including the lighting and traffic circulation pat- terns and sidewalks are provided along Kenzie Terrace. Mr. Kelly corrected the assumption that the Merchants Association is only for businessmen in the eastern portion, -saying their meetings are open to everyone and he urged a meeting of all concerned to react to any changes. Dr. Charles Kirk, an optometrist whose office has been located at 2919 Pentagon Drive since 1953:, recounted the history of the center and types of operations which had not made it in that location. It was his opinion that the eastern section would remain a neigh- borhood center and was never intended to be an "Edina Galleria" which had been cited by Mr. Weber as an ideal shopping center re- flecting the affluence of its neighboring community. However , he' agreed the eastern merchants experience the same difficulties • as those in the western section when it comes to getting their landlords- to make any improvements. Jim Gahagen, of St. Anthony National Bank, cited the bank' s inability to negotiate with the absentee landlords and told of the survey made by the bank which led them to believe another location in the same area would be better for building a new facility. He suggested the other merchants might "find it best to move out of your area now" . Mr. Fornell explained the City' s interest is not mainly that of a j. tax recipient since only 12� of every dollar of property taxes + goes to the City, but that the City is interested in the develop- ment of healthy economic atmosphere in both areas. He cited past failures in interesting the merchants in improving the image of the St. Anthony Shopping Center and in recent efforts to organize a Chamber of Commerce. The. Manager suggested the merchants might have to unify and be willing to accept a raise in rents if they can force improvement, anticipating their revenues will increase as a result of the improvements . The Comprehensive -Plan is "no ulti- matum" , he told Ms. Scott, but rather "options being considered by the City for improving the economic viability of the area" . The City operates on a very slim budget and has only a part time Building Inspector to enforce code conformance and there is some question of whether new codes can be enforced for buildings which predate code development. Mr. Fornell also cautioned that code enforcement might result in drastic raises in rents.