It's the kind of land use squabble that only a city -- at least, a city eager to restore vibrancy to its core -- could love.
Final city approval for a long-anticipated apartment complex in Minneapolis' North Loop neighborhood is being delayed to let Hennepin County and the developer find a way to keep the popular Cedar Lake Bike Trail intact in the rail trench near Target Field.
The trail isn't threatened anytime soon by the proposed Dock Street Apartments, a 185-unit rental and commercial development that would front Washington Avenue N. between 3rd and 5th avenues. That complex would be built alongside the trail, which follows the tracks used by Northstar commuter rail.
The county's concern is that the Dock Street project would significantly narrow the rail corridor, forcing additional tracks possibly needed in the future for another train -- for instance, high-speed rail from Chicago -- to go where the bike trail is now.
That, in turn, would squeeze out the bike trail and force cyclists back up to street level --unless the developer and the county can agree to an arrangement that would allow the trail to pass under the complex.
Negotiations continued last week between county officials and the developers, Houston-based Hines Northstar Crossings. Neither side commented on what was being discussed, but talks likely include compensation for design and construction changes.
On Tuesday, county commissioners will meet behind closed doors and in public to discuss their next steps. Minneapolis City Council Member Gary Schiff, who chairs the council's Zoning and Planning Committee, said the committee has held hearings on the project and will take it up again soon.
On Friday, Hines project manager Bob Pfefferle said in an e-mail that Hines "has worked diligently" with Hennepin County, the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Minneapolis to accommodate "various forms of public transit that are anticipated in the future."
