GreeningFrogtownJulyAug17

Frogtown's Future:
The Comic Book
The ten-year plan for Frogtown's future
took another step forward on June 27 as
residents gathered to comment on a draft
of a document that will become part of
the City of St. Paul's comprehensive plan.
The new wrinkle in the Frogtown vision
for the neighborhood: it will be presented
as an easy-to-read, comic book-style
graphic novel.
At the Frogtown Neighborhood
Association forum, neighbors gathered in
small groups to chew over fine points of
the plan's content. Broken into sections
that include land use, housing,
transportation, arts and education, health
and economic vitality, the plan in broad
terms seeks to preserve Frogtown's
diversity while making it a greener,
pedestrian and bike-friendly place with
more affordable housing options. In this
vision of the future, Dale Street would
become a business and green-space lined
Main Street; more opportunities would be
created for local entrepreneurs; and
housing choices such as microapartments,
tiny house developments and
backyard mother-in-law cottages would
be encouraged via changes in local
zoning codes.
The zoning law change was among the
more concrete
recommendations
included in the plan.
Currently much of
Frogtown is zoned
for single-family
residences. One
effect is that when a
duplex or triplex
stands empty for
more than a year, it
is can only be used
as a single-family
home after it's fixed
up and returned to
the market. A
zoning change
would allow new
owners to continue
to use the property
as multi-unit
housing, and would
also open the area to
development of
townhouses,
boarding houses,
elderly housing, and
mixed residentialcommercial
uses.
FROGTOWN NEWS
As neighbors puzzled
over the plan, a
familiar discussion
took place. How to avoid gentrification
that displaces current residents while also
making Frogtown a greeener, more
vibrant place to live that rewards
AT 2ND ANNUAL HMONGTOWN FESTIVAL: A MOB — Thousands
of festival goers filled Como Ave. on June 24-June 25 during this
year's event, sponsored by Hmongtown Marketplace. Food
vendors and an entertainment stage gave the street the feel of the
State Fair midway. Sports tournaments held during the festival
included the game tuj lub, a game that looks like a cross between
top-spinning and bocce ball (bottom right). Food included items
you won't see at the State Fair, such as the Thai dish, kanom krok
(top right), a type of savory pancake.
investment and allows local families to
build wealth?
FNA director Caty Royce says a final
version of the plan will be ready by mid-
August. Before then, get a preview at the
FNA website: frogtownmn.org. Click the
SMAPL link.
PAGE 8
JULY/AUGUST 2017