It was standing room only at St. Anthony’s city council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22 as more than 100 people gathered in support of the Tibyan Community Center. (Cynthia Sowden)
The council chambers at St. Anthony City Hall were packed Tuesday, Oct. 22 as members of the greater Muslim community gathered to hear the City Council’s decision on whether the old Bremer Bank building at 2401 Lowry Ave. NE would be permitted to be transformed into a school and mosque. The 60 chairs were full; people lined up against the walls and spilled out into the hallway.
The Council had pushed the decision forward to Oct. 22 to study the rezoning issue. The Bremer site had been earmarked for the construction of affordable housing.
The City Council convened at 7 p.m. and promptly went into a closed session to “discuss attorney-client privileged information regarding a threat of litigation concerning 2401 Lowry Avenue NE,” according to the agenda; the meeting reopened at approximately 8:40 p.m.
Members of Muslim community came up one by one to testify again for the need for the Tibyan Center. Some were St. Anthony residents. Others came from Blaine, Lino Lakes and Minneapolis. Most were respectful. One or two made comments about discrimination and racism and brought up the possibility of a lawsuit if approval was not granted.
After the public comments, Steve Grittman, city planner, told the council they had three choices to consider before hitting a statutory deadline of Oct. 27: They could deny the proposed planned use development (PUD), they could give it their approval, with conditions, or they could table the project.
Mayor Wendy Webster led the council through a painstaking point-by-point analysis of the PUD, consulting frequently with City Attorney Jim Lindgren as they examined conditions which needed to be met to gain the council’s approval. She proceeded to negotiate hard deadlines for when the conditions would be met.
The first condition concerned staffing in the former bank lobby during religious services, how many people would attend and how that would affect parking. Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-MN, acted as spokesman/negotiator for the group. He said 150 people per service would probably be the maximum; more than that, they would schedule another service. He noted other mosques in the area have less parking than that available at the Bremer site.
Condition two called for a detailed floor plan of the school. Tibyan was to provide one by Oct. 31.
The school asked for permission to close the westerly access entrance on Kenzie Terrace as the third condition. The easternmost access would remain. Hussein asked for “some runway,” saying they had to work with Hennepin County to get this done. Grittman noted the construction season would soon end and suggested that the school put up a temporary barrier for the winter while they worked with Hennepin County. The council set a completion date for removing the driveway and replacing it with landscaping no later than June 1, 2025.
The fourth and fifth conditions asked for more detailed plans for landscaping and a playground area. Hussein explained that those plans were “too futuristic,” and the school doesn’t have funds to make changes right away. He asked that the conditions be removed from the approval document. Hussein said a landscaping plan could be provided by Oct. 29. According to St. Anthony officials, the deadlines had not been met by the time the Northeaster went to press on Nov. 4.
Council Member Thomas Randle asked when the school planned to move into the building. Hussein said as soon as the re-zoning was complete. Grittman said it would depend on the fire and building code review.
The council set a deadline for the end of the 2025 growing season for the landscaping.
The playground was a sticking point for Webster. Hussein reiterated that the school didn’t have the funds to build one immediately, and that other areas of the building had a more immediate priority.
The school is seeking a grant to build a playground, a process that could take two years. The school and the council agreed to a deliver a plan for a playground to be built by Nov. 1, 2026.
Council Member Jan Jensen moved to approve the amended PUD and Webster seconded. Before they took the vote, which was unanimous, council members felt moved to deliver some pushback to the applicants.
Council Member Thomas Randle said he was “bugged” by the applicants’ tactics. “You didn’t have to threaten us with lawyers,” he said. “It makes people not trust you.”
Council Member Nadia Elnagdy said, “You came to us with the presumption that we would come at this from a racist standpoint and that diversity isn’t important to our community. The presumption that we would lean a certain way because of who you are is unwarranted. You expect us to be open to the possibilities, we should expect the same from you.
“I received 117 messages from various people: 112 were in support, five against. Forty-three were from New York, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania — people who had no connection to St. Anthony. The way this came to us it doesn’t feel as though it came from the people of this community. What stake do those people have in this community?”
Randle also mentioned a press release that castigated the St. Anthony Police Department for not responding to nine instances of vandalism at the Bremer site. He said it was “hurtful” to the department. Webster noted that SAPD had completed its investigation and made an arrest.
Speaking to the Northeaster after the meeting, Randle, who is Black, said he had been targeted because of his race. “I really objected to their tactics — veiled threats of lawsuits, talk about discrimination. This had nothing to do with race.”
He said he had been prepared to vote against approval of the PUD, but changed his vote because the city faced an unwinnable lawsuit if it had been rejected. “I voted for the good of St. Anthony,” he said.