Park fee on construction

Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Mpls) is “hoping the third time’s the charm” for a bill that would let the City of Minneapolis impose a fee on new construction to help pay for parks.

Sponsored by Hornstein, HF852 would piggyback on legislation he previously carried to allow the Minneapolis Park Board and the city to impose a fee on new residential housing and commercial and industrial developments. The fee would go to fund parks, playgrounds, trails or other facilities open to the public.

The House Government Operations and Elections Committee approved the bill March 8 and sent it to the House floor. Sen. D. Scott Dibble (DFL-Mpls) sponsors the companion, SF640, which awaits action by the Senate Local Government and Elections Committee.

In spite of the successful passage of previous bills, Hornstein said there’s still “one more technical tweak” that needs to happen before the law can be implemented. He noted that other communities in the metro area already have such a fee in place.

“At its core, this bill is about local control — simply allowing Minneapolis to have the same ability that other communities in the region have,” Hornstein said.

Erik Nilsson, assistant city attorney, explained that the proposed changes are technical in nature and would merely clarify the intent of previous legislation.

Opponents said they’re fine with the law the way it is. Steve Minn, vice president of Lupe Development Partners, said the bill would merely enable what he deemed a “dark-room deal” to tax developers.

Arnie Gregory, president of Greco Real Estate Development, said he is involved in four development projects that would likely not occur if the park fee is imposed. He said a new development in Uptown projected to cost $39 million would cost an additional $325,000 in park fees, under the plan.

“There is no city in the state of Minnesota that’s more expensive to develop in than Minneapolis,” Gregory said.