In the Fall of 2021, Summit Hill's Neighborhood Plan Committee defined a common vision for our 10-Year Neighborhood Plan. This vision's themes were displayed at the October 14, 2021 Fall Festival, where community members were asked to vote with adhesive dots in finding the most important issues to those that attended.

The committee is now seeking to get additional feedback on the same topics through the Visioning Survey, which will take less than 5 minutes to complete. Complete the survey and select the top issues that are important to you!

Take the survey here: SummitHillAssociation.org/survey

Learn more about SHA's Plan process here.

The Summit Hill Association is a year-round organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in the neighborhood through a variety of projects and programs. From the spring plant sale to rain garden maintenance and neighborhood Fall Festivals, the work we do all year long is made possible by the generosity of you and your neighbors.

This year we are particularly reliant on our neighbors because we had to cancel our Bi-Annual House Tour for the second year in a row. The House Tour is normally one of our largest sources of funding and canceling it due to COVID-19 has left us needing more support from you than usual. 

There are many ways to get involved and help contribute. For some, volunteering is the most rewarding. For those who want to make a difference but might not have the time in their schedules to participate on a Committee or volunteer at an event, making a donation to SHA can be the right fit.

Making a tax-deductible donation to SHA is quick and easy, and you have lots of options to choose from:

• Use a check or your credit card. Contributions of all sizes have a direct and positive impact on SHA.

  • Send in your check, made out to “Summit Hill Association,” using your own envelope or a pre-printed one from the table just outside the SHA office.

  • Visit SummitHillAssociation.org/donate to make your gift online.

• Select SHA when you shop on AmazonSmile. If you’re not able to find what you need when shopping on Grand Avenue, consider using AmazonSmile to complete your shopping. When you choose SHA as your charity, Amazon will donate a portion of each of your orders to us, at no cost to you!

• IRA charitable roll-over. If you are 70 ½ years or older, you can make a donation directly from your IRA account to SHA, a 501(c)(3) organization. Your IRA administrator will be able to help you make a direct qualified distribution.

• Employer matching. Many companies match charitable donations made by their employees, and some even match contributions from spouses and retirees. The easiest way to find out if your employer will match your donation to SHA is to ask your human resources representative and request a matching gift form.

However you choose to support SHA, your involvement makes a difference. What you give stays here in our community and allows SHA to make a difference where you live and work.

If you have any questions about making a gift, please reach out to us at info@SummitHillAssociation.org or 651.222.1222.

Reuter Walton (RW), the developers working with owner Peter Kenefick, have filed their application with the City to rezone 695 Grand Avenue (site of Dixie’s, Saji-ya, and Emmett’s Pub) from B2 to T3. The final plans are the result of months of community engagement. They incorporate several changes since the version that was presented on 5/5/21, including a brand new fourth retail space along Grand Ave. and additional setbacks to improve transitions to the existing buildings along St. Albans St.

Public comments via Zoom are invited at the June 8 ZLU meeting. The full SHA Board will vote on this project at a special board meeting on Thursday, June 17. It is expected the application will be reviewed by the City’s Zoning Committee of the Planning Commission on July 1.

Go to the project page, www.SummitHillAssociation.org/695grandave, for:

• Re-zoning and conditional use permit (CUP) application documents

• Architectural and engineering drawings as filed with the City

• RW response to SHA inquiry dated May 20

• Key project dates

Comments on this project can be emailed to ZLU@SummitHillAssociation.org

Drop by Linwood Rec Center on Saturday, May 15, 1:00-6:00pm, to pick up the plants you have ordered.

Proceeds from this sale will go to support the ongoing work of the Summit Hill Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

What do we want to see in place in ten years in Summit Hill?

Join us for in-depth conversations about what the Neighborhood Plan Committee has uncovered around this question since our community engagement began last October. We'll share an overview of findings, unpack main points still to be explored, and provide forums for structured discussion in response. Come ready to listen and participate.

Research materials will be made available for review prior to this meeting at SummitHillAssociation.org/plan.

Register in advance for the meeting here

AGENDA

• Opening

• Presentation & Breakout Rooms
  Choose one:
  1) Wrestling with the East Grand Avenue Zoning Overlay: Change it or Keep It?
  2) Accessing and Experiencing Grand Avenue: Balancing the Needs of Cars and Pedestrians
  Facilitated group discussions in response to presentations, including a more general discussion option

• Main Room: Four new topics
  1) Creative Public Spaces: What Are We Ready & Willing to Do to Enhance Our Civic Commons?
  2) Is the Future Grand? What's Our Role for Supporting Small Businesses?
  3) What are Ways We Can Value Historic Preservation and Climate Solutions in our Plan?
  4) How Do We Weave Racial Equity into Our Neighborhood Plan?
  Breakout Rooms: Facilitated group discussions in response to topical mini-presentations

• Main Room: Large-group harvest

• Closing

NOTE: This gathering is to discuss the future of Summit Hill and weigh our values as a community. For those wanting to discuss specifics around current projects like 695 and 733 Grand, please see the SHA website for project-specific events at SummitHillAssociation.org/zlu. You can also provide public comment on current projects by emailing zlu@SummitHillAssociation.org.

The SHA Spring Plant Sale is here and as in past years, we'll be offering beautiful plants from Gerten's! Annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, herbs, veggies and gift cards are all available. Place your order online now through April 22 and then pick up at Linwood Rec Center on Saturday, May 15, 1:00-6:00pm.

[The ordering period for the plant sale has ended.]

Proceeds from this sale will go to support the ongoing work of the Summit Hill Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Join us at noon on Fridays in March and April as we hear from local thinkers who share their wisdom about the future of our Summit Hill and East Grand Avenue. Topics range from equity, public art, business improvement districts, and the walkability of Grand Ave. The live discussions will be held on Facebook Live on Fridays at noon: Facebook.com/SummitHillAssociation. The recorded conversations will also be available after for viewing on-demand on the Facebook page.

The Summit Hill Association realizes that growth and development is coming to our beloved Grand Ave. business district. Many decisions will be made impacting the entire Summit Hill neighborhood. “In order for our neighbors to be well informed, we thought a speaker series was a great opportunity for neighbors to learn about different aspects of development, so they feel empowered to provide feedback,” said Monica Haas, Executive Director.

We hope you can join us! Here’s the full line-up of speakers:

• March 5: The 2005 Neighborhood Plan & 2006 Overlay District, Merritt Clapp-Smith

• March 12: Grand Avenue Walkability, Bill Lindeke

• March 19: Planning & Equity, Terri Thao

• March 26: Running a Retail Business on Grand, Abigail Adelsheim-Marshall

• April 2: Planning for Resilient Communities, Jon Commers

• April 9: Public Art & Place-making, Jun-Li Wang and Sam Buffington

• April 16: How the Planning Commission Works, Wendy Underwood

• April 23: Business Improvement Districts, Emma Burns and Joe Spencer

• April 30: The Future of Neighborhoods: Climate-Conscious Planning, Russ Stark

• May 28: A Vibrant Option for Main Street Businesses, Christina Nicholson

Join your neighbors as we watch and discuss this important film.

This one-hour documentary uses the history of racial covenants in Minneapolis to explore the complex history of discriminatory housing policies and their contemporary legacies. This Emmy award-winning film explains why mapping racial covenants is so important.

Join us afterward for a discussion moderated by Daniel Williams, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, and affiliate faculty in Critical Studies of Race and Ethnicity and Women's Studies at St. Catherine’s University. Professor Williams' work examines constructions of race, ethnicity and nation from a comparative and intersectional perspective, with a focus on contemporary Germany/Europe and the U.S., as well as the African Diaspora. Specifically, he examines immigration policy, racial categorization, and media representations as key sites of the construction of difference. He teaches courses on immigration and citizenship (in both the US and Europe), race and ethnicity, cities and neighborhoods, as well as the department's research methods course.

Pre-register here: https://www.facebook.com/events/159877752438474

Want to watch but this time doesn’t work for you? You can stream this movie online anytime from free from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWQfDbbQv9E&feature=youtu.be

Note: In March, we’ll be going through the Mapping Prejudice training and then diving in to the database to review deeds. More details will follow.