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Ms. Tomas: <br />I have been a neighbor of Lowry Grove in NE Minneapolis for over ten years. Out family was fortunate to find <br />reasonably priced housing in this area, though we struggle, as this is a highly desirable area for families. <br />In this economy, the need for people who have homes to remain in them is of utmost importance. Replacing <br />affordable housing with anything else without providing reasonable alternatives harms not only the families that <br />live in Lowry Grove, but also the surrounding communities. <br />Asking the surrounding communities to bear the burden of adding all these families further widens the hole of <br />affordable housing for all of us. Not only will there be higher demand for for affordable housing in NE <br />Minneapolis, Columbia Heights, Roseville and other surrounding suburbs, children may be uprooted from their <br />school and so will their State subsidy. The school lunch program depends on government subsidized food for <br />low income students. St. Anthony is known for its excellent schools; not in small part due to the excellent <br />students, many of whom may leave the district. <br />We value our neighbors and our neighborhoods. We value them more than we value more business <br />development. I sincerely hope St. Anthony will keep affordable housing within its city limits. Like many <br />communities, you have the desire to keep improving and keep shining up your neighborhoods. Razing a <br />development and displacing our neighbors isn't an improvement. I urge the City of St. Anthony to either keep <br />Lowry Grove as is or plan to replace the affordable housing that will be lost. The unresolved court case should <br />be completely exhausted before any zoning changes are made. <br />Ms. Tomas, I hope you will consider the needs of tax paying citizens far above those of big business. Thousands <br />of square feet of land remain zoned for business where Walmart once stood. I imagine that was a big loss for <br />your city. Please consider the message you are sending by choosing to displace families instead of using <br />resource you already possess. <br />Your Neighbor, <br />Tia Weinand <br />1 <br /> <br />