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. - New housing for an old citY/frompreviOUSpage Brezil, who moved to Minnesota from Hawaii in 1981, said he fears that the city stilI has "a mindset for low-density housing." He, too, faced neighborhood opposition and had to alter his plans, but he is "very happy" with the way things turned out. Eight of the townhomes have been sold and the sale of a ninth is being negotiated. "People are looking for a large kitchen with an attached eating area, a comfortable living space, a master bedroom suite with bath, and ~1~ lty of closet space;' Brezil rou give them that, they're 18 that allows people to fe- -heir neighborhood should y's goal, according to Kim- naturing St. Paul residents ind the type of housing t in their neighborhood, rced to move to Mendota she said. Last year John Kratz attempted to develop a dozen townhomes on a 3B,OOO-sq uare- foot site overlooking the 1-35E Parkway near Palace Av- enue. "The land was just right for empty-nesters who wouldn't neces- sarily be home much, people who didn't spend much time in the yard," he said. After meeting with the Macalester-Groveland Community Council, Kratz reduced the number of townhouses to eight, met the dty's development guidelines and gained the approval of city staff. Nevertheless, the City Council turned him down. "It was clearto me that the neigh- borhood group only wanted single- family homes, but that wouldn't have been appropriate for the site;' Kratz said. Kratz has nothing against single- family homes. In fact, he is building one now on Summit Avenue just east of Snelling. "I think the City Council sometimes politicizes de- velopment a little too much," he said. "If the city has professional staff to deal with these issues, the council should trust their judg- ment." As Lander sees it, the job of the urban architect is to provide "seams" rather than barriers be- tween different types of develop- ments. As for "neighborhood groups, they may find it in their in- terest to learn new ways to say "yes" to a development rather than searching for reasons to say "no;' he said. "If we're serious about winning the battle of unlimited urban sprawl, we need to find ways to ac- commodate higher-density devel- opments;' Kimberly said. "But we must do it with sensitivity. Everyone involved in the process has to give a little." .- Neighbors appeal permit for Lex Commons townhomes More than a dozen families liv- ing in the neighborh?od near St. C1air Avenue and Lenngton Park- way have filed an. appea~ of a spe- cial condition use penmt that was granted to the Lexin.gton Com- mons townhouse project. The ap- peai will be heard by ~e S~. Paul City Council sometime 10 the next six weeks. The council upheld a similar appeal of the townh~use project in January. At that tl~e,. the St. Paul Planning CommISSiOn ha~ approved a permit for a 12-umt development with vehicle access off of Lexington Parkway. Last month, the commission approved a permit for five two-unit town- houses with vehicle access from Lexington and the Lexington-St. Clair alley. For nearly 10 months, neigh- borhood residents and town- house developers John and Erin Mathern of Mendota Homes have wrangied over the project, which is being proposed for a va~ant 3- acre tract southwest of Lexmgton " Parkway and St. Clair Avenue. City staff had recom~ende~ denial of the permit earlier this spring because of concerns about traffic to and from the town- houses and the narrow width of the alley at St. Clair. The alley.and a new private street off of LeXln~- ton would be used for motor vehi- cle access to the townhouses, The alley and street would be con- nected' which has prompt~d some concern that motorists Wln use the alley to avoid the stoplight at Lexington and St. Clair. ~ ",,' A ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ <. ,. , - ~ i CI1 r (;' t ~ ~