Agenda - Council - 04/10/2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

I want to address the fear of Central Planning Area becoming sewered in the near future? We have not come even close to filling up the available residential areas that are already sun~o{inded- with services. Add to that, the foreseen expansion out to the west on Highwayi~i'9;-t0wards Northfork and I can't see how we will or can even consider expanding service~"imrth of the existing ~MUSA line. Coupled with the laws we have right now governing opt{01~i ~eW~ hook up by residents, I don't see where we as a city would want to invest in infrastructure th~i':~q~!d not be utilized by a majority of the homeowners So I will not be convin~ Cat there is sewer expansion because of the Central Planning Area. It is a good compromii~' for our City an excellent opportunity for many of our rural citizens. Density~Tr~i~tion?,i':'have read the Density Transition Language that was drafted on January 25,200i~:i;'I'as~h~e.that this is the most up to date version. I find I can agree with most of the language'm that dr~i~t and will vote for a plan with that language in it. It seems reasonable and.dis~S-~uard aga/r~st the many fears that ~'''~ residents have regarding new development next,::i6:~':i'~xisting deg~16pment. Land Use Map/Classifications. Regarding designating all indUlt~ia~i" fii'e on High~ay,:I_'0i ~ want to express a serious concern. At the present time we have 3 b[~ilding~'."ih our:-~d~strf/~('park that are not being utilized. Listal Industries on Sunfish Lake Boulevard, 'h0~.-O~f the tracks and the Mate Punch and Die'building just to the north of Listal Industries are vacant. The Amcom Properties across the street from Listal have been completed for over 2 year!'and-:onlytig}'~a handful of tenants. As a Councilperson, these e~ples trouble me greatly. Its ~yl un~te~s:{anding that the Ramsey Industrial Park is not yet S°ld 0~t'"-RiXJerdale along Highway 10'i~i~)~oon Rapids, is an example of the market in actiom'COmPanies ar~':h0t,i~t~rested in what that area has to offer. The piece by piece purchasing and'developing is not wh~e-the~"inuestOrs are look/ng to put their money. I am reluctant to take the chan6eof that hai~p~ng i~.~6ur ~ity when we have investors waiting to build our Town Center, with 6gf:citiz~nSlnput, and ~ake it a viable reality. Empty buildings are not healthy for Ramsey. We-hav~'-:to take a lo°k at the market and plan our city accordingly. The market drives development..-We as a city guide that development. I do not believe, with my knowledge of the market, tha~, 0ur.~_base will be in jeopardy. I have gone on record stating my opinion on;'commercial / indUs~al'i'ax base, but the long and short of it is that we can h&vea strong growi~ag 'commumty w.i~ ilgnificant tax base 'that will enable Ramsey to prosper and- grow in the ra°gt beneficial way ,tO'all, by having the diversity necessary to maintain its strength. When. t. atldng about the ~Pp0~hties we have within our grasp, the Smart Growth Grant is just the'tip_ of the iceberg. Th~'multimodal station, the Town Center and the bridge ~' 'Cros'Sing is vital to theheatth of this community. I am in strong support of all those items and I wani a.Comprehensiv¢'Plan in'place that will allow us to attain these goals. We as a City. Council hav6-enormous C0ntr°!:'over how our City is built and how it grows. I want the future generations to look back aY-what we plan here today and be proud of our foresight and efforts. Even though f-d~n't agree'With everything in this Comprehensive Plan, I am in favor of sending it down for apProval. I want to see our tax dollars come back to us through the grants the Metropolitan Council, the State, the County and Federal governments have to offer. We are l~o_n_g -,.'-: ..over due. If the numbers of households meet the criteria of the Metropolitan Council, I do not '" have a probleTM of how and where the plan is placing the different residential uses. The area between the landfill and Sunfish Lake Boulevard is assigned medium density (7 units per acre). There are no services directly available to that parcel at this time. However, I feel we are under utilizing the area East of Sunfish Lake. It is a significant sized parcel (118 acres) and is totally -110- City Council/March 13, 2001 Page 28 of 31