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Principal Planner Trudgeon explained that those requests were on a different timeline because <br />separate applications were submitted. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendr/ksen stated that there seems to a be a policy issue with the Council <br />approving a Comprehensive Plan amendment on Tuesday night and then holding a public <br />hearing for additional Comprehensive Plan amendments on a Thursday night. He stated that it <br />seems that the Comprehensive Plan process has become a weekly process for the City. He <br />quested when it had become an unspoken policy to change the Comprehensive Plan process from <br />being a long range-planning tool to a "Plan of the week". <br /> <br />Principal Planner Trudgeon replied that the City has been in the process of attempting to approve <br />the Comprehensive Plan for some time and in December a Plan was adopted, but there had also <br />been considerable discussion regarding land use changes that were not addressed as of yet. He <br />explained that anytime a developer or a property owner requests and land use change the City has <br />to act on those requests. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendriksen stated that what he was suggesting is that there should be some <br />sense that when the Comprehensive Plan is approved land use change requests should have to <br />wait until the next comprehensive plan is approved. Now the City is in a situation where they <br />sent an amendment to the Met Council on Tuesday and now they were handling 14 more <br />amendments only two nights later. He did not think that was an organized way to handle the <br />situation and questioned how residents can keep informed if they are always changing things. <br /> <br />Principal Planner Trudgeon replied that he agreed that it was not the typical way of handling <br />things, but explained that because of the circumstances they have found themselves in this <br />situation. Many of the requests before them had to be considered as official requests. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendriksen questioned if the City ever said no to any of the requests. <br /> <br />Chairperson Nixt stated, that the Comprehensive Plan process has been going on since 1997 and <br />they have taken the time to evaluate land uses during that time, but the City had been, until <br />recently, been having to comply with the 1993 Comprehensive Plan which was the reason for <br />many of the amendments. The particular Comprehensive Plan they are looking to amend is the <br />Plan approved .December 18, 2002 in which the City received approval of from the Met Council. <br />Over the several months that that Plan was being discussed the City received several requests <br />regarding land use and that is what they are acting on. <br /> <br />Commissioner Johnson noted that they were not going to be making any decisions regardhng the <br />amendments during this meeting and were there to take public comments and requested that they <br />proceed with that. <br /> <br />Chairperson Nixt verified that the meeting was a properly notified public hearing. <br /> <br />Principal Planner Trudgeon replied that that was correct. <br /> <br />Planning Commission Joint Meeting/January 24, 2002 <br /> Page 3 of 15 <br /> <br />-53- <br /> <br /> <br />