The West Summit Neighborhood Advisory Committee (WSNAC) voted 6-5 on March 14 to form a working group that will review possible changes to its structure. That includes a proposal to make it a committee of the Macalester-Groveland and Union Park district councils.
The group could also look at having the councils simply provide staff support for WSNAC, which was created nearly two decades ago to address University of Saint Thomas and related neighborhood issues. The group could bring forward other ideas as well or decide to keep WSNAC as is. Any ideas brought forward would have to be approved by the district councils and WSNAC.
A written proposal presented in late 2022 by leaders of the district councils that adjoin the campus called WSNAC’s work “duplicative and time-consuming” for people in the two neighborhoods. It also criticized the current WSNAC membership, saying it represents a narrow segment of the neighborhoods.
Advisory group formed in 2004
WSNAC was created in 2004 when the city approved a conditional use permit that allowed UST to expand into the two-blocks bounded by Summit, Cleveland, Grand and Cretin avenues. The committee includes members of the Summit Avenue Residential Preservation Association (SARPA), Neighbors United, Saint Thomas and the two councils.
The March 14 vote had two Union Park, three UST and one Macalester-Groveland vote for creating the working group. Both SARPA and Neighbors United members and one Macalester-Groveland representative voted against it. UST’s support is contingent that any changes to WSNAC would not violate its conditional use permit.
A written proposal presented in late 2022 by leaders of the district councils that adjoin the campus called WSNAC’s work “duplicative and time-consuming” for people in the two neighborhoods.
An effort to “reduce complexity”
Union Park representative Henry Parker said the working group’s study could produce ideas that “reduce complexity for neighbors” dealing with UST-related issues. He said it could also result in bolstering neighbor involvement and providing staff support for WSNAC through the councils.
WSNAC would still meet as a separate group under the district councils’ proposal, Parker said.
Some skepticism remains
However, some longtime neighborhood residents and WSNAC members are skeptical. “When WSNAC formed, we did this to hold Saint Thomas accountable,” said SARPA representative Kathy Cairns. She and Neighbors United representatives asked how their organizations would be affected if the group became a committee of the district councils.
Over the years WSNAC has worked on such issues as a housing buyback and rehabilitation program, pedestrian crosswalks around the campus, street lighting, and campus master plans and projects. It also worked on a student housing zoning overlay, which established distance requirements between student rentals.
WSNAC is currently involved in the review of a planned 6,000-seat multipurpose arena that would host hockey and basketball games on the university’s south campus. Given that project, Macalester-Groveland representative Marc Manderscheid said, “I’m not sure if this is the time to change our status.”
— Jane McClure
COMMENTS TERMS OF SERVICE
MyVillager welcomes comments from readers. Please include your full name and the neighborhood in which you live. Be respectful of others and stay on topic. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be profane, rude, insulting or hateful. Comments will be reviewed before being published.
