Agenda - Council - 04/22/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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04/11/97 13:25 '~612 337 5601 DSU, INC. 006/015 City of Ramsey Comprehensive Plan Proposal Page 3 PROJECT APPROACH We suggest the City of Ramsey undertake a three-phased program to update its Comprehensive Plan. The process that we are recommending represents a refinement of the comprehensive planning process that we have utilized successfully in several similar communities throughout Minnesota. The program involves the participation of a planning committee or task force throughout the process, as well as timely opportunities for broader community participation. It also involves the analysis of existing conditions, the identification of key planning issues and concerns, the formulating of goals and objectives, the development and evaluation of alternative plans and policies, and finally the preparation of the final comprehensive plan recommendations. In order to be as cost efficient as possible, the process outline below relies heavily on City Staff, previously prepared City documents and reports, and other City resources throughout all phases of the proj oct. We have outlined an approach that provides the basic information needed to complete the City of Ramsey Comprehensive Plan. In addition, we have provided a number of options we feel would augment the planning process. These options curl/ne different approaches to community participation and addition services that we could provide that would build upon the basic services we will describe in this proposal. This planning process can also be staged over several budget periods to match City expectations. The first step in our approach is to complete an inventory and analysis of existing conditions. This is essential because the community begins the process with an accurate and up-to-date understanding of the opportunities and constraints that the Plan must deal with. tn order to make this step as cost effective as possible, we will rely on information found in reports and studies already completed for the City and for City staff to update maps and data as needed. Additional research and information may be needed, however to complete these reports. The next step is the development cfa set of detailed goals and objectives related to every plan element. These goals and objectives will become the heart of the plan. After the goals and objectives, a series of alternative plans and policies are prepared to achieve the goals. This is perhaps the most exciting part of the process as different ideas and approaches are generated and tested to see which ones are the best fit and to identify ways that conflicts between competing goals can be mitigated. The final step in the process is the development oft,he final plan recommendations. This involves drafting the actual plan document This stage also includes the necessary steps to implement the plan. These steps can include ordinance changes, capital improvements and similar steps. Throughout all of these steps mentioned above, we w/Il use information from the existing City documents and reports as much as possible to make our work most efficient. Additional information will then be added as needed. We have included a number of optional services that we can offer the City as part of th_is Comprehensive Plan process. These include additional GIS services, different approaches to community participation, other services that may be useful to the City and the planning process I I I' I I I I I I I I I I I I I