
Updated on 6/21 at 12:45 p.m..
A developer's effort to build Minneapolis' first Trader Joe's in the Lyn-Lake area fell short Thursday when a key city panel voted against rezoning.
The decision, which must be ratified by the full City Council, effectively kills plans to develop a 40,000-square-foot area into a grocery and liquor store on 27th Street and Lyndale Ave. South. The city's zoning and planning committee denied rezoning on a unanimous voice vote.
The project needed a higher-grade commercial zoning to accomodate the size of the development and a proposed liquor store attachment.
"This is not about Trader Joe's. This is about a zoning change. Period," said Council Member Meg Tuthill, who represents the surrounding area.
Tuthill opposed rezoning because it would benefit "one entity and one entity only."
"That totally goes against my grain," Tuthill said. "I personally consider that spot rezoning. I don't think it's healthy."
In a staff report prepared for Thursday's meeting, city development staff recommend that the rezoning be approved. The report said rezoning could be considered in the interest of one property owner, but also in the "public interest" because it is consistent with policies for commercial corridors.