The builders and developers rejected the idea, questioning whether the city should decide which materials they can use—and how many of them.
The Minneapolis Planning Commission this week supported a proposed ordinance that would further regulate the types of materials that residential and commercial building developers place on the exterior of their buildings.
The decree was initiated by Lisa Bender, chair of the city council, and Jeremy Schroeder, vice chair of the Housing and Zoning Committee. It will codify the types of materials that will be allowed to be used and the percentage of exterior walls that can be used in the city's laws, thereby creating—as the plan calls—"the hierarchy of exterior building materials."
Proposal in favor: traditional materials such as bricks, stones, precast concrete, metal plates and glass walls. Considering Class II materials, it can be used on a more limited basis: fiber cement board, lap siding and plaster. Class III materials (which can cover up to 30% of the building according to the proposal) include unfinished concrete, wood and wood composite lap siding.
The sponsor stated that the proposal is not necessarily new in practice, but will enhance the current process, which allows the project to pass the site planning review. City officials said that this will benefit builders and developers, making it clearer and more specific which materials can be used and how many materials can be used.
Although the proposed regulations seem to be based on aesthetics — “to ensure quality, long-lasting, affordable and beautiful urban built environments” — one of the promoters stated that his greatest concern is durability: “For the planning committee’s For people, this is their passion. They want a beautiful city," Schroeder said. "As a city, we have never thought about how to regulate. As far as aesthetics is concerned, it is more about durability and housing that can stand the test of time."
According to the staff report prepared by the city planning department, there is also a fair component, because the current informal process ultimately benefits wealthy residents who know how to use the system. The staff report pointed out: “If there is no clear codification design expectation, development is usually formed by a less formal and more subjective process at the local community level. Affluent and more organized white communities... are promoting higher quality More successful in developing and designing products."
The concerns of builders and developers focused on wood and cement fiber boards, as well as the concept of urban management of new buildings. Architectural designer Grant Simons wrote: “When buildings use such high-quality materials, I just have a hard time seeing the benefits of actually setting rules to limit the percentage of timber on buildings.”
Although developers can prove that the project complies with the spirit and intent of the regulation through a process called alternative compliance, Simmons said this will be an additional burden. He wrote: “When clients usually want something to pass through the city as quickly as possible, trying to regulate these restrictions is a kind of harm to the design community.” “There are exceptions only when we have the privilege of time and money.”
Steve Minn, a former city council member responsible for the development of multi-family housing projects including affordable housing, opposes that fiber cement cladding-commonly known as Hardie board-is not a Class I material.
Minn told the committee that he had built 1,500 affordable housing units in Minneapolis and St. Paul in the past 15 years and had no problem using cement fiberboard and cement fiber to lap the siding. "Cement fiber has unique durability, light weight, very flexible, and very suitable for color," Ming said. He said it is also suitable for weatherproof devices with metal panels. "I used cement fiberboard in a very creative way, and I encourage our architects to do so. Sometimes it involves multiple colors on the same plane, and sometimes it also involves changes in the projection of the facade."
But architect and former member of the planning committee, Ryan Kronzer (Ryan Kronzer) wrote that the city's restrictions on fiber cement board siding were insufficient. He said that compared with the current city guidelines, the proposal has been changed throughout the process to actually increase the number of building facades that can use this material—up to 70%. He said that the amount of surface for smaller buildings may be appropriate, but “the problem arises when the vast majority of the exterior walls are made of fiber cement,” Kroneze wrote. "This material reflects the irregularities of the structure behind it, providing an unsightly appearance and the possibility of water seepage." Kronzer also said that this material is more likely to be used in low-income areas of the city.
Critics of the fiber cement board provided by CPEDC in Minneapolis pointed out that even in new construction, the material is vulnerable to water damage. In response to a question from Commissioner Bill Bucksley, architect and urban planner Peter Crandall said that buildings may be 100% cement fiber substitute compliance processes.
Baxley said he was concerned about the concept of the regulations. Baxley said: "I think getting involved in what materials are suitable for the building is very subjective and a bit slippery." "In most cases, as mentioned earlier, the problem lies in the installation and design of the application, not the material itself. I don’t want to limit the percentage because, as Steve Minn mentioned here, even sometimes the overall application is better than the fragmentary, trivial application, which is the mandatory X percentage."
Baxley ultimately voted for the proposal, as did all committee members who attended Monday's meeting.
Schroeder said he is sensitive to the concerns of builders and developers that city regulations increase construction costs. But a member of the Ward 11 district council said that he believes that ensuring the use of durable materials and proper installation can save people money throughout the life of the building.
The committee's approval is a compromise in itself, allowing more materials such as cement fibers to be used, as Kronzer's letter indicates.
"This is a difficult conversation, because you have many projects—usually affordable housing—but the product fails and it costs a lot of city or county funds," he said. "These are precious dollars."
When talking about a building materials decree that should last for decades, Schroeder said: "We don’t know who is right about this decree in 30 years."
This issue will now be submitted to the business, inspection, housing and zoning committees of the city council on September 14 and may be moved to the entire city council on September 24.
Peter Callaghan reports the state government for MinnPost. Follow him on Twitter or email him at pcallaghan(at)minnpost(dot)com.
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