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Home My WebLink AboutFYI÷ÎÑÑÎÆÔÏÖÔÏ×ÎÔÊÓÈÊÉ×ÄÔ Ð¿¹» íí http://www.startribune.com/local/east/89205532.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiUPage 1of 1 NIMBY and lulus attitudes, motives and honesty of others involved. If the LULU siting process is perceived as unfair, intense conflict may Last update: March 25, 2010 - 7:09 PM ensue. Source: Carissa Schively Slotterback, University of Minnesota What: Not-in-my-back-yard (NIMBY) is a defensive reaction by community residents to unwanted land uses for a specific property. Locally unwanted land uses (LULUs) are often facilities with perceived or potential negative health impacts or that provide some kinds of stigmatized social services. Good or bad? Some observers have described NIMBY responses to LULU proposals as motivated by self-interest (such as concern with property values) that rarely represent the view of the entire community. Others have suggested that NIMBY responses demonstrate democracy, give the community a voice and result in better decision-making. Why? Fears found to drive NIMBY responses include health risks, decline in property values, inability to prevent future LULUs, decline of quality of life, tainted image of community, strain on community services and budgets, and aesthetic degradation. Matters of trust: Residents may be more likely to oppose a LULU if they distrust the Advertisement Ð¿¹» íì http://www.startribune.com/templates/fdcp?12718653568814/21/2010 http://www.startribune.com/local/east/89205537.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiUPage 1of 4 Proposed Alzheimer's facility draws A decision on whether to recommend the Woodbury project for approval was to go objections before the city's Planning Commission on April 5, but the developer on Wednesday A proposed Alzheimer's facility in asked for more time to address issues, Woodbury is latest to draw "not-in- including concerns raised by neighbors, said my- back-yard" objections. Eric Searles, associate planner for Woodbury. The move follows nearly a month of intensive By JIM ANDERSON, Star Tribune protests and petitions by neighbors who Last update: March 26, 2010 - 6:15 AM mainly object to locating the facility in a failed retail site near a day care center and across When a released sex offender plans to move the street from an elementary school. Many in next door, or a drug-treatment center is have also expressed a sense of betrayal that scoping sites for a new halfway house, a the original plans for the community never neighborhood's red flags invariably follow. envisioned an assisted-living facility. Now, the list of objectionable neighbors is Ecumen, the Shoreview nonprofit company growing. that would operate the facility after it's built by the developer, has never confronted such In the face of overwhelming opposition from opposition to a proposed project. Ecumen residents in an upscale community called operates more than 100 senior communities Stonemill Farms in eastern Woodbury, plans in the Upper Midwest. for a 45-unit assisted-living facility for people with Alzheimer's disease and other Nearly all of its senior housing projects are forms of dementia have been put on hold. located in neighborhoods -- often with day- care children having regular visits with The Alzheimer's facility is the latest in a residents, said Eric Schubert, Ecumen's vice growing list of projects across the metro that president for communication and public are meeting resistance from neighbors who affairs. perceive a threat to their communities or fear their property values will erode. "It's sad," Schubert said. "Regardless of Advertisement Ð¿¹» íë http://www.startribune.com/templates/fdcp?12718649935444/21/2010 http://www.startribune.com/local/east/89205537.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiUPage 2of 4 whatever happens to this project, the larger Martin Luther Manor in Bloomington. Several conversation for us in the Twin Cities, and other developments for seniors in that city for our state, as a person gets Alzheimer's have also drawn opposition. every 70 seconds is: How do we live? ... Who's next?" • In New Brighton, plans for the church- affiliated Clifton House -- at six beds the Opposition everywhere smallest nursing home in the state -- drew neighborhood opposition before being Though the proposals may vary, the approved two years ago. concerns of the Woodbury neighborhood have been expressed in many metro A community's defensive reaction that has communities in recent months: come to be known as NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) is often based on perception of a threat • Plans for an eating-disorder clinic in Orono -- to safety, crime, increased traffic -- that by the nonprofit Emily Program werenever materializes, said Carissa Schively scrapped last week after fierce neighborhood Slotterback, assistant professor of urban and opposition. The program is now looking at regional planning at the University of other cities to locate. Minnesota's Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs. • Signs have gone up in Edina's Countryside The response to projects involving seniors Neighborhood voicing opposition to the scope of plans for a four-story, 150-unit isn't typical, but "in my experience, you do senior housing complex being developed in see it with other social services," she said, partnership with Colonial Church. especially those with social stigmas such as homelessness, drug treatment and mental health. • In August, plans to add a foster home in Centerville for four teenage boys with developmental and mental disabilities were It may be occurring more frequently now derailed after neighbors objected. because of societal changes. • In 2008, more than 120 residents signed a "In a lot of communities, the thinking is to petition against a planned expansion of allow people to age in place, to let them stay Advertisement Ð¿¹» íê http://www.startribune.com/templates/fdcp?12718649935444/21/2010 http://www.startribune.com/local/east/89205537.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiUPage 3of 4 in communities where they have a social Slevin works as a consultant for companies network they can rely on," Schively to help defuse potentially explosive Slotterback said. opposition to development projects. Quelling concerns "Certainly, the [poor] economy has slowed the rate of development," Slevin said. "But the The prospect of change and uncertainty in a intensity and frequency of community community can lead to a visceral reaction opposition, or opposition from local special that manifests in opposition, Schively interests, has actually increased, from my Slotterback said. Reducing that uncertainty observation. by providing as much information about a proposal can be a key factor in mitigating the "There might not be as many commercial NIMBY response. projects, but you're seeing more opposition to windmills, assisted housing, workforce Patrick Slevin, another expert on NIMBY housing, landfills -- even something for issues, agreed. senior citizens. The opposition is still very intense, and it's the breakdown of a system." "I think there's certainly a growing trend across the nation with regard to Though it doesn't happen often enough, homeowners, as well as special interests, Slevin said key for developers is to do due resisting change in the character of their diligence on the front end with all concerned communities," said Slevin, a senior vice stakeholders before an application for a president with the public relations firm Hill & project is even filed. "You'll find very quickly Knowlton.whether or not your project is politically viable," he said. A former mayor from Florida, he has seen too many conflicts over development "The alternative, which we see all too often projects "essentially change into Jerry unfortunately, is the NIMBY genie leaves the Springer episodes -- instead of bottle, and it's a different ball game," he said. communicating, there's just a lot of"And even the most sustainable projects -- polarization."both economically and environmentally -- are under a cloud." Advertisement Ð¿¹» íé http://www.startribune.com/templates/fdcp?12718649935444/21/2010 http://www.startribune.com/local/east/89205537.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiUPage 4of 4 Jim Anderson • 612-673-7199 Advertisement Ð¿¹» íè http://www.startribune.com/templates/fdcp?12718649935444/21/2010