Grand Marais, the Vision: who will do it, and what will they do?

On April 9, True writes:
As expected the council voted to work with CGI, and in only 28 weeks with three public meetings to re-write the comprehensive plan and ordinances. The first public meeting, a two-and-a-half day walk-in seminar, will probably occur in May. If you have opinions or ideas or visions about the future of Grand Marais please try to attend or to write the consultants with your thoughts: Rudy Schoolderman, CGI, 394 South Lake Ave., Suite 401, Duluth MN 55802 or schoolderman@communitygrowth.net

Dear True,

Last spring, the Grand Marais City Council approved a new ordinance that allowed for condominium development on a rather grand scale in the small, jewel-like harbor and beyond… the word spread quickly among outside developers and, less than a year later, three gonzo condos are in place or in the works. Who put the word out? Or is there just some cosmic ooze among the greedy goofballs born to entitlement and trust funds and their wee bitty flunkies?

These dealers and wheelers have been going door to door, trying to get locals to sell their land for BIG BUCKS. Sadly, with some success. Rumor mill says the Harbor Inn is next.
The values defined by the town for future development in the 1992 comprehensive plan have been derailed repeatedly during the reign of the present city council, and their present plan to “update” the vision smells of the rotten fish.

Now, in mid-March 2006, the council plans to vote on a “downtown vision and plan” process at its next (March 29) meeting. Council has selected three finalists after an RFP stressing the importance of broad-based community input in a design plan that would replace the old Grand Marais Comprehensive Plan approved in 1992 and ultimately update zoning ordinances to comply with the revised plan. The finalists: Community Growth Institute (CGI), Short Elliott Hendrickson (SEH), and Center for Rural Planning/Center for Changing Landscapes (CRP/CCL).

Sounds good? Look again. Of the three finalists, councilors favor the one that provides the LEAST community input, and the most minimal time frame (not to mention the lowest cost). They even admit to it; they don’t really want a community process, although they advertised for it in their RFP. The favored planners also have old-boy ties to current council members, and compared with the other proposals, years less experience. Appearing before the last council meeting CGI said that the people need to be “forced” to face up to the rising property values in Grand Marais. Their idea of community input is to talk to “stakeholders,” i.e., downtown business owners, realtors and developers. Everybody else comes into the category of those who need to be “educated” about development, to face up to the fact that property values in Grand Marais have skyrocketed. Duh. Oh, hello? Is anybody listening?

There is an enormous sense of distrust and hopelessness among Grand Marais and county residents. A letter from pioneer descendant Sherrie Lindskog in the March 10 Cook County News Herald describes the many years in which she participated hopefully in planning measures, only to be disappointed time after time that the collective voices of residents are simply ignored. This council could not have stated their intention to ignore more clearly. They don’t want a steering committee, period. Residents also responded to a News Herald poll, with more than two-thirds against the council spending money on a visioning process. They reason that all the past free attempts by citizens to provide input and service were rejected, so why pay someone else to do the same?

The other two visioning proposals, while costing more, also provide a far greater cost benefit in terms of the input that councilors are giving lip service to: the people of the community, and the economic/environmental/cultural/historical implications of outside developers imposing their vision on the beautiful and unspoiled Grand Marais downtown/harbor. In fact, Changing Landscapes/Rural Planning both specialize in public process as well as having great credentials in architecture and planning. Their enormous success in gaining consensus, their decades of collective years of experience, were summarily dismissed because they did not offer to re-write the ordinances, not a request included in the RFP, but apparently a good enough excuse for rejection of the only one of the three truly committed to public participation.

As a watchdog of the flawed process for the past year (when condos were allowed on the harbor by ordinance change) after hundreds of volunteer hours, I am tempted to stop wasting my time, like others before me. Still, there is a chance, though slim, that before the next council meeting three councilors might be persuaded to change their vote. If you are like me, never in some secret place ready to give up hope, why not put in your two cents? Email or call the council ASAP (cityhall@boreal.org or 218-387-1848).

A True Friend of Grand Marais
Nancye Belding
PO Box 247
Grand Marais, MN 55604