East Phillips Neighbors, Karen Clark, and Ongoing Roof Depot Site Development

As we noted in our July 8 newsletter, former legislator and ongoing environmental advocate Karen Clark died June 30 at the age of 80. She served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1981 to 2019. She was the first openly lesbian member to serve in the legislature, and was instrumental in amending the Minnesota Human Rights Act in 1993 to ban discrimination against LGBTQ Minnesotans in employment, education, housing, and more. In 2013, after Minnesota voters rejected an anti-marriage equality constitutional amendment, Rep. Clark was the House chief author of successful legislation that made marriage equality the law in Minnesota.

We asked Priscilla Trinh — a contributing writer and editor with Minnesota Women’s Press — to write about Karen, their intertwined work in environmental justice, and specifically the work of the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute.

 

I had the pleasure to connect with Karen Clark on multiple occasions. To me, she was the community’s grandma. I could count on seeing her Saturdays at the Mill City Farmers Market. Or at food system events. Or on Instagram promoting workshops of the Women’s Environmental Institute (WEI), which she co-founded with her partner of 35 years, Jacquelyn Zita.

I first met Karen and Jacque through an intergenerational conversation hosted by Minnesota Women’s Press in 2021. I had the chance to visit their WEI farm while working for Angela Dawson’s 40 Acre Co-Op. It came full circle when I recently became a staff member at the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI), where Karen served as a long-standing board member. 

At EPNI, Karen was a steadfast advocate, board member, friend, mentor, elder, and much more. There are not enough words to capture the indelible mark she has left on the East Phillips neighborhood and beyond. Her legacy is adorned with countless bright moments because of her dedication to intersectional movements and a firm conviction in community power.

Because of Karen, we have the Cumulative Health Impact Analysis — passed in 2008 as the first local law in the nation that forces state regulators to look at the whole picture. This means regulators must review all existing pollution, existing factories, health issues, and social factors before approving a new facility in the community. This is why the Phillips neighborhood now has a comprehensive analysis of  all environmental pollutions and resulting health burdens in this Southside Green Zone community.

Among many other things, she also successfully passed a workers-right-to-know bill regarding exposure to toxins in the workplace.

Karen collaborated with many women across communities. The 12-year struggle for community ownership of the Roof Depot is a living practice of solidarity across Native, Latino, East African, queer, disabled, and other affinity groups.

Karen is fondly remembered in this community advocating at city council meetings and strategizing in the garden alongside leaders like Little Earth Protectors, which is led by Indigenous mothers and hundreds of supporters across cultural, healthcare, nonprofit, labor, and neighborhood organizations. 

The East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, of which I am now a staff member, was very happy Karen was able to witness and celebrate a historic win for the community when Minnesota legislators granted funding to purchase half the Roof Depot in May 2026.

From Toxic Harm to Urban Farm

After 12 years of work, EPNI is now in conversation with the City of Minneapolis to finalize a purchase agreement for half of the Roof Depot (roughly 3.6 acres, including parking). In the meantime, EPNI has a short-term lease agreement to begin outdoor urban farm development in the parking lot.

In the initial phases of site development (2026-2027), EPNI’s team and apprentices are focused on mapping core infrastructure needs in the parking lot while adding new ground layers, tree canopy, and work space. Transforming the Roof Depot into a resilient urban farm requires multiple strategies: raised bed gardening with hugelkultur principles, agroforestry, stormwater management, and Indigenous foodways. 

Long-term, the Roof Depot will serve as a community hub and urban farm powered by renewable energy, which will potentially be the largest rooftop solar array in the state. The Roof Depot building will be 50 percent indoor farm (for example, aquaponics, hydroponics) and 50 percent commercial tenants.

There has been enthusiasm from the community to implement a range of services in the commercial space: a bike repair shop, cafes, industrial kitchen, art gallery, workshop areas, cultural markets, and more. 

Action = Change

Honor the work of Karen Clark by pursuing environmental justice and liberation for all. Consider supporting the Women’s Environmental Institute’s mission or donate to Karen’s Memorial Fund.

There are other several ways to engage with EPNI’s efforts to expand economic development and environmental justice, in East Phillips and beyond: 

• Save the date for the 3rd annual Harvest Moon Festival on Saturday, September 26. This celebration of community solutions will uplift local efforts, focused on people-powered resources, small business vendors, Native food, art, music, and more. Volunteers, tablers, sponsors, and performers can sign-up here.
• Volunteer at Seed Sunsets and get to know neighbors. Monthly urban farm garden days are beginner-friendly and suitable for all ages. [See adjacent ad: next dates are August 12 and September 9.]
• Invest in your community. Our Sustainable Communities Investment Fund (SCIF) is developing equitable stakeholder models to circulate wealth within South Minneapolis to support the Roof Depot enterprise. 
• Advance energy democracy across the Twin Cities. EPNI is part of the Sustainable Communities Investment Accelerator coalition alongside eight organizations (Cooperative Energy Futures, UNIDOS, and others) developing a popular education campaign and framework to activate grassroots ownership of utilities. Help us bring general assemblies to life as a trusted messenger. 
• Attend community meetings. The Community Advisory Council — composed of trusted community representatives — will play a key role in defining governance and ownership models to steward the Roof Depot in collaboration with neighbors and local stakeholders. Tap into the EPNI newsletter and meetings (virtual and in-person) to shape a brighter future.

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