Minneapolis catering to Rover and Republicans

Dogs can sit outside at Minneapolis restaurants and be served water, and Republicans and other fun-lovers will be able to stay at city watering holes until 4 a.m. and be served alcohol.

Those decisions were part of a crowded City Council agenda Friday. The council covered the waterfront from towing to lurking, from extending a controversial trash contract to extending deadlines for stalled development projects -- and accelerating the city's waterfront development to boot.

Dogs eating out: The unanimously approved dog ordinance allows restaurants to apply for free city permission to allow dogs in outdoor eating areas. They must be licensed, leashed and stay off the tables and chairs. They must be provided water, but may not touch human dishes, tableware or servers.

The city is believed to be the first in the state to take advantage of recent legislation authorizing cities to allow dogs at sidewalk cafes and other outdoor seating areas. That's largely because Council Member Lisa Goodman lobbied for the law on behalf of herself and other dog owners. She said the change moves dogs at restaurants from an unregulated situation to one with safeguards.

4 a.m. bar closing: It passed on a 9-3 vote. It applies for only four nights during the Republican National Convention, and only at downtown-area bars and hotels elsewhere in the city that pay a $2,500 fee. Cam Gordon, Elizabeth Glidden and Betsy Hodges voted against it, while a fourth opponent, Paul Ostrow, was absent.

Lurking still a crime: Perhaps the most controversial item of the day was a failed attempt by Gordon to eliminate the city ordinance making it a crime to lurk with intent to commit a crime.

Gordon said the ordinance is applied disproportionately against non-whites and homeless people, the arrests hurt their ability to find jobs or housing, and there are few convictions. But police and prosecutors argued for keeping the law, upheld in 1968 by the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Limits to towing fees: Faring better was a proposal to limit towing charges by companies that remove vehicles from business and apartment lots. They'll be limited initially to a $207 tow charge, well below charges that now range as high as $285. The daily storage fee was set at $27.

Sponsor Gary Schiff said Minneapolis towing companies have charged much more than charges allowed in higher-cost areas such as Manhattan in New York City. The proposal passed 9 to 3 with Diane Hofstede, Barbara Johnson and Remington opposing it.

A garbage deal: The city's long-running financial and legal melodrama involving the contract to haul half of the city's garbage played out again Friday.

The council voted 8 to 4 to extend its contract with Minneapolis Refuse Inc. (MRI), a consortium of trash haulers, for another seven months for a 6 percent price increase.

The city has contracted with MRI since 1971, but recently a council majority opted for taking proposals from other haulers. But it has been hampered by MRI lawsuits contending the city hasn't followed complicated state requirements. A judge recently allowed the city to issue its request for proposals this week, but the current MRI contract expires on June 30.

The price increase angered Benson; colleague Lisa Goodman suggested earlier this week that MRI is playing a "game of extortion."

But faced with the prospect of improvising garbage collections for half the city in less than two weeks, a majority of the council voted to pay MRI's price. Goodman, Benson, Remington and Schiff voted no.

Stalled developments: The council also voted to give certain approved but stalled developments as long as two more years to break ground without new city permits, providing they meet certain requirements.

Riverfront development: It approved setting up a new riverfront development corporation authorized by the Legislature. Although its purview is the city's entire riverfront, the major unfinished business is a plan for redeveloping the riverfront north of Plymouth Avenue. The council emphasized that by appointing three upriver council members -- Hofstede, Johnson and Don Samuels -- to the nonprofit corporation's board. The Park Board voted for the proposal on Wednesday.