More green space should be seen in the city of Brainerd. That’s Brainerd City Council President Mary Koep’s opinion anyway. Green space was a topic of the Aug. 20 council meeting with business owner Justin Imgrund’s request for a conditional use permit and a variance for less green space than required for the underdeveloped lot on Washington and Northwest Second streets.
Koep said that’s when she got thinking.
“I myself have a very sad time when we have businesses moving in and requesting variances for green space,” said Koep, noting the Tyrol Hills neighborhood that is currently against Imgrund’s request convinced her that some sort of action would be beneficial. “So I’ve been mulling it over since last Monday and thought the city should have some sort of green space program.
“There are some pockets in the city that would be perfect for green space.”
Koep sent a letter to council members, asking for consideration to discuss a possible special levy “to acquire and save green space within the city.”
Koep’s letter suggested an example of the phrasing for a dollar amount to be placed on the referendum but did not propose a specific dollar amount. She said that while she knows there are kinks to iron out, the issue will be placed on the Sept. 4 council agenda for further discussion.
“I know there are details that need to be worked out and we would have to look at negotiations,” said Koep. “But if they (council) approve, then I think we can move ahead and I think the people would approve.
JESSI PIERCE, staff writer, may be reached at 855-5859 or jessi.pierce@brainerddispatch.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jessi_pierce (@jessi_pierce).
Comments (10)
Add commentReally...A special levy for green space?
Mary - you really don't get it. I'm all for green space but you don't need a special levy. It's called zoning and planning and permitting. The city doesn't seem to have the capacity or will to maintain the current "green space" amenities and you want to create a special levy to provide more. How will you maintain those when you can't seem to handle what already exists? How about addressing some of the blighted property along Washington if you want to have a more appealing community? Maybe you could just get rid of the weeds growing on the medium or maybe you should let them continue to grow and call that your new green space.
Stop It
Mary, now you have crossed the line .
What are you talking about?
No more levies especially for green space.
Green space does not pay taxes
I love green space as much as the next guy. That's why we have parks. we need jobs. we need business. if we have these we have tax money to make our parks better everyone wins.
remember November 6th
when all of these looney
when all of these looney tunes get re-elected due only to name-recognition and a saturated field of hopefuls ... we should just revolt.
Koep does get it (kind of)
The more closely I've listened to Mary Koep the more that I've found that her gut instincts are right but they manifest in weird ways. This is a perfect example.
The way Brainerd does green space is ridiculous. A few extra feet of grass and shrubs around a service station is simply a nature-band-aid to make up for the fact that most new buildings in the city are hideous.
There should be green space, but it should be in contiguous blocks where it can have a meaningful purpose consistent with an urban design pattern. Gregory Park is a prime example of this. Nobody objects to the (modestly) high density around the park because the park itself provides ample green space (although it is poorly utilized today).
There is a north/south green space corridor that runs from Evergreen Cemetery to the fairgrounds that is also contiguous and under-utilized. There is a lot that could be done with this corridor to improve the quality of life for residents, not to mention their property values.
I think Mary is right; the green space standard, and the variances that come from it are a ridiculous burden that stifle business growth and functionally does little to mitigate the city's bad development. A green space tax/fee is not needed, however. We just need a more productive set of development codes - something well suited for a city like Brainerd - and a better understanding of how to use the greenspace we already have.
I cannot believe you deleted my post. There was nothing any
more offensive than what others have posted about Olson. Nothing like a one way street with the moderator!
If Koep is so concerned about Brainerd
why not bring her lazy (deleted word) a little further than downtown, and look at the run down rentals, lawns that haven't seen a cutting since June, trash in the gutters, broken sidewalks and streets, and empty storefronts. Stop yapping about little things and let's worry about bringing Brainerd out of the Dark Ages!
why have intelligent discourse
when you can call our elected officials names?
There's a reason pdnet's post got removed.
Ok, disagree with people, but try some maturity, civility and respect.
planning and zoning
Maybe some of the real problem for Brainerd and the Crow wing county is our Planning and Zoning. It looks like they make a lot of decisions that are not in the best interest of the local county. It seems to easy for the zoning to be changed without thinking about the future. Just pass whatever comes across the board. I don't know why our tax dollars went into any of the plans for zoning they are not used anyways.