Judge issues injunction, temporarily stalling plans to raze Roof Depot site

MINNEAPOLIS -- A judge issued an injunction Friday morning, pending appeal, to the planned demolition of Roof Depot. Now the city of Minneapolis has to wait for an appeals court decision before moving forward.

This comes a day after a protest erupted when the Minneapolis City Council failed to pass a vote to cancel the Roof Depot demolition contract. The vote was evenly split between the 12 council members. Council closed the session to clear the chambers shortly after.

The judge ruled that the plaintiffs (those seeking to stop the demolition) would get two weeks to raise a bond, though the City of Minneapolis can come back and request additional expenditures. The judge would consider increasing the bond amount depending on the duration of an appeal.

The Minneapolis City Council previously voted to tear down the building in order to expand the public works and water utility areas. Ever since the city bought the building in 2016, the goal has been to figure out if it's safe to redevelop.

Neighbors say taking down the building will release massive amounts of arsenic into the air. They say people living in the area already have some of the highest levels of asthma and heart disease in the state.

"We have to live with their decision that they make seven days a week, 24 hours a day," said Mike Forcia. He opposes the plan, saying he's concerned about the contaminants in the soil.

Steve Jansen with Bruan Intertech, however, said the city had gone "above and beyond typical engineering procedures to really make sure things get done in a safe and efficient manor."

"They have the experts that say they can do it right, they have all the agreements, they signed off, but we don't trust them," Forcia said. "We don't trust them that they're going to get it right. We know that something's going to happen. We just don't trust them."

Earlier this week, a number of people occupying the Roof Depot site were cleared from the property. Police arrested a half dozen people while clearing the space. According to officials, the property was secured Tuesday evening because the site is "not safe for individuals to congregate at and anyone on the site is trespassing."

Members of the American Indian Movement and Little Earth Protectors had set up camp at the site, located at East 28th Street and Longfellow Avenue in South Minneapolis. 

Community members want to create an urban garden and community hub.

In a statement, the city said the demolition of the building is non-negotiable. The city says it has the court's support and sees Friday's decision as providing time for review.

The next hearing is scheduled for March 31.