City Briefs - Oct 2024

New carbon pollution fee
Mayor Jacob Frey has vetoed a unanimous city council decision to add a new Pollution Control Annual Registration (PCAR) fee for the largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the city. PCAR fees are a state-authorized program that the city has been applying for years to various air pollutants, but not CO2. He wrote that he supported the idea but that legal concerns raised by the city attorney convinced him that without a more formal study of costs to be recovered, it would be found to be unlawful. The new proposed fee would charge large facilities $452/ton of CO2e. The council could override the veto with a 9-vote majority.

Interstate 94
The Minneapolis City Council has passed a resolution updating priorities for the Rethinking I-94 project. Historic non-white and working neighborhoods like Cedar Riverside were targeted by state and city planners for highway construction as a mechanism to remove residents. The resolution opposes any expansion of lanes and supports highway removal that could include a “restored network” alternative with fewer lanes, which would “maximize the potential to repurpose highway land for new public housing, affordable commercial space, parks, community gardens, or other uses determined by surrounding communities.” It supports “studying options that repurpose the I-94 trench for high-speed connections between downtown Minneapolis to downtown Saint Paul and the broader region,” and halting “planning on bridge projects” within the project corridor until a preferred alternative is selected.

Fall street sweeping begins Oct. 22
City crews will begin the citywide fall street cleaning on Oct. 22 and continue through November. No parking signs should be posted at least 24 hours in advance so streets will be clear of cars when they are swept. The first signs will be posted Monday, Oct. 21. Cars parked in violation of the signs may be ticketed and towed. View the schedule on the city website.

Blue Line Light Rail Extension
Local governments of Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, Crystal, Brooklyn Park, and Hennepin County have all voted to give municipal consent, as required by state law, to Met Council’s plan to extend the Blue Line light rail. This means that all the cities along the route have formally reviewed and approved plans for station locations and track placement. The proposed route starts at the Target Field station and extends through north Minneapolis to Brooklyn Park.

Voting for the Nov. 5 Election
Early voting for the Nov. 5 2024 general election began Sept. 20. Minneapolis residents can vote early at Minneapolis Early Vote Center (980 E Hennepin Ave)  and Hennepin County Government Center. Visit hennepin.us/elections and https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/ for more information.

Hennepin County budget
A schedule of budget hearings and information on how to comment on the county budget can be found at www.hennepin.us/your-government/budget-finance/budgets. 

Airport Noise Oversight Committee
The Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport (MSP) Noise Oversight Committee (NOC) Fall Listening Session is scheduled to be held at the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) General Office Building at 6040 28th Avenue South at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Participants can also join remotely online or by calling (612) 405-6798 and pressing 371 924 890#.