On Wednesday, November 19, 2025 the Ely Planning & Zoning Commission will hold 3 meetings, 2 of which reflect the continuing erosion of democratic citizen-based process, full and fair disclosure and full inclusion of the whole community. This post addresses the BOA hearing for rezoning 900 E. Miners Drive from Puclic (P1) to Commercial (C1). The BOA hearing starts at 5:30 pm.

There is another post https://elyminnesota.com/blog/pz-erosion-of-process-disclosure-and-community/ about the Wednesday night Planning & Zoning Commission meeting that starts at 6 pm. Why is P&Z posting in their meeting packet and discussing now applications for an open seat on P&Z when the deadline is December 11th? What is this new Board that was suddenly created out of nowhere?

The public is not really aware of this public hearing, because the City didn’t really want to invite them. They did the absolute least amount of public outreach. In addition to the announcement published in the The Ely Echo, there was a similarly brief posting on the City’s Public Notices webpage. The Ely Echo is the official newspaper for publishing public notices, even though a large portion of the community does not read The Echo and an even greater number do not constantly and consistently log in to the Public Notices webpage (sad if we want an informed public). A little bit more information is in the Board of Adjustment (BOA) packet posted recently (Monday, November 17th?) on the City’s website: https://www.ely.mn.us/pzmeetings. This is the minimum requirement to notify the public.

According to the packet, it appears only 3 notices of the BOA meeting were mailed out to 1 resident and 2 businesses/organizations within 350 feet of 900 E Miners Drive. This is the absolute minimum notification requirement.

This BOA hearing is about rezoning PUBLIC property. BOA decisions are final. Why didn’t P&Z schedule a non-BOA hearing? A community discussion?

Planning & Zoning – read pro-development-no-matter-what City Hall – didn’t want community input. Only 1 resident and 2 businesses/organizations were invited to speak for the whole community. The whole Ely community, including those who live and work outside of the City limits are not worth more than the absolute least minimal notification?

What articles were in the two local newspapers, the Ely Echo and The Timberjay?

City Hall, City staff and the Planning & Zoning Commission (same members of BOA) have decided what the FUTURE vision is for Miners Drive. They don’t need public discussion or public input.

How can the City and P&Z claim this is what the community wants?

City Hall and the Planning & Zoning Commission are quickly pushing through the rezoning from Public (P-1) to Commercial (C1) Zoning of this property before the City revises and adopts a new Vision and Comprehensive Plan.

The City of Ely continues to neglect Chapman Street. Why aren’t the City and P&Z pushing for more targeted efforts to improve and re-development in an already designated commercial area, previously recalled by many as the main retail street of Ely. There are creative legal ways to support and encourage commercial development on Chapman Street. And also favor small family businesses vs. the rich, real estate investors, and developers. Why do we NOW need to turn green areas on Miners Drive into commercial areas?

Is the City of Ely neglecting the “Central Avenue Business Park LLC” properties along Highway 21? The County Land Explorer satellite maps show there are lots of empty areas in the business park, meaning the business park is not filled. Drive by, and your eyeballs will tell you the business park isn’t full. Note: The County maps don’t show whether there is actual business activity inside the buildings. There are creative legal ways to support and encourage commercial development in a designated business park. Why do we NOW need to turn green areas on Miners Drive into commercial areas?

Why commercialize 900 E Miners Drive?

Tell us! Be transparent! We already have underused designated commerical property in Ely.

Maybe the community would agree with the currently hidden agenda of the City and P&Z: the who and what intended for this piece of land. Maybe not.

The City and P&Z are not being upfront with the community. “City staff” wrote the rezoning proposal “meets the scope of the City Comprehensive Plan,” what does that mean? If you don’t know what the City wants or the community needs, then don’t rezone. Most likely, the City and P&Z know exactly what’s going to be built. Tell us! This BOA hearing is supposedly when the community has input, will be heard. Once the rezoning goes through, the community has no or extremely limited say.

Harold Langowski, City Clerk, is a brilliant and intentional planner, whose focus, unfortunately, is promoting developers/development, bypassing real community discussion and input. Discussion and input BEFORE a Board of Adjustment hearing, the last stage, the final you-cannot-appeal stage.

Having “City staff” base their findings on self-selected paragraphs in the Comp Plan (while ignoring others) is biased. Intentionally biased. When was the community supposed to be heard on what their visions and needs are? Or cite other possibilities in sections in the “City staff” analysis?

The 2016 Vision and Comprehensive mentions all kinds of community needs and potential uses of land. Why are City & P&Z Commissioners intentionally ignoring all of those other needs and uses? Especially green space. Miners Drive has LOTS of green space. Why isn’t green space cherished? Why doesn’t “City staff” cherish green space that already exists as green space? Ah, yes, “City staff” is to promote commercialization and buildings. And P&Z/BOA will comply with an (un)official directive: Build, Baby, Build.

Intentionally ignoring other visions and needs of the larger community for the sake of real estate developers and buildings is misguided. When will Council Members, the Mayor, and Commissioners stand up and say something publicly at their meetings?

Accepting the most minimal attempts to communicate as adequate is really lame and sad. The public cares. The public cares when they know. When will Council Members, the Mayor, and Commissioners stop acting surprised when nobody shows? Or maybe they think this is how democracy should work? Why don’t YOU care about the public?