Minutes - Planning Commission - 01/03/1995

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Chairperson Bawden called the meeting back to order at 8:45 p.m. The Planning Commission proceeded to review the map. Ms. Frolik noted that one minor correction is to eliminate the commercial area in the northwest corner of the city adjacent to Armstrong Boulevard N.W. Commissioner Thorud stated that the St. Anthony Gun Club should be depicted as "Quasi-Public Open Space." Commissioner Hendriksen gave a brief presentation regarding his memorandum. He stated it was his impression that there was a serious effort to minimize the number of properties taken for the east bridge location to make it appear more favorable. He also noted his concern about having to verify information provided by Mr. Gromberg. Commissioner Hendriksen declared that he saw no advantage to the east bridge other than the fact that the right-of-way has been obtained, and suggested that perhaps it would be better suited for a park. It was the consensus of the Planning Commission to make the following amendments to the memorandum: Under Benefits of the Planning Commission Alternative, amend the third paragraph to include that a grade-separated crossing of the railroad tracks is mandatory. Under Shortcomings of the EDC Plan: Delete the last sentence of the fin'st paragraph. The last sentence of item 1 should read "However, he didn't use the Planning Commission proposal, and his comparison contains many inaccurate costs and comparisons." Item 2 should read "The West alternative is actually closer to the midpoint between Highway 101 and 169 river crossings and central to what would become a major retail/commercial area than the east location." The third and fourth sentences of item 3 should read "The residential zoning potential will be replaced by significantly greater commercial development potential. Ramsey should encourage Commercial development because it pays four times the tax revenue of residential development." Commissioner Holland stated he was in favor of sending this document to City Council but objected to submitting the portions entitled Shortcomings of the EDC Plan and Discrepancies in Gromberg's Report as part of the Planning Commission's recommendation. He gave his full support to the Planning Commission's original recommendation but feels that the comments in these portions of the memorandum are hearsay and should be submitted only by those who are aware of the occurrences. Commissioner Deemer suggested taking the first part of the memorandum, entitled Benefits of the Planning (~9mmi~ion Alternative, attach it to the map, and submit them as the Planning Commission's recommendation, and submit the remainder of the memorandum as a review piece authored by the subcommittee. Chairperson Bawden inquired about Mr. Schroeder's discussion with Anoka County regarding the extension of C.R. #116. Mr. Schroeder reported that Anoka County will want to know how our Transportation Plan impacts any further extension past Armstrong Boulevard. He stated that John Olson, Anoka County Engineer, mentioned that they do not have any addition to this in their plan. However, Mr. Schroeder advised that he does intend to discuss our plan with them within the next 2-3 weeks, since never is a long time. Chairperson Bawden inquired which map Mr. Schroeder would be taking to the meeting with him. Planning Commission/January 3, 1995 Page 7 of 10