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Resident urges council to block parking-lot conversion in Dorsey Heights, cites gentrification concerns
Summary
Lily Ellis told the council that gentrification has accelerated in Parole and Dorsey Heights, said a Subaru dealership plans to build a parking lot on a vacant lot in her residential neighborhood, and asked the council to intervene on safety and code-enforcement grounds.
Lily Ellis, a Dorsey Heights resident, used the public-comment period on July 20 to describe demographic and development changes in the Parole and Dorsey Heights neighborhoods, telling the council that historically Black-owned residential areas are being "overrun with commercial development." She said a Subaru dealership bought a vacant lot and is planning a parking-lot use that she said is inappropriate for a residential street.
"Why would you want to put a parking lot in a residential neighborhood?" Ellis asked the council, citing traffic and safety concerns and asserting inconsistent enforcement after she said she had been told by the county that the lot may be violating codes. Ellis urged council attention to the parcel and said residents are concerned about safety and disrespect shown to predominantly Black neighborhoods.
The council did not take immediate action on Ellis’s comments during the meeting; the public-comment period closed and the council proceeded to legislative business.
