Agenda - Council - 02/06/2012 - Special

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improvements. • Service to or from adjacent communities Attached is a memo prepared by Bolton & Menk that discusses each of these assumptions. All of this information will assist us in determining the number of new service connections for each growth area throughout the 20 year study period. We can then evaluate the City's existing infrastructure for deficiencies and needed improvements /extensions to support this growth, and develop a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to outline the future costs and timing to construct the ultimate system. The CIP then becomes the basis for completing a rate study that will determine how the required improvements will be funded. This is only the first step in the process; there will be several additional meetings scheduled, at both the staff and Council level, to get a firm understanding of the technical requirements of the system and policy direction related to assumptions and distribution of costs. The Planning Commission will be discussing the topic of future City growth at their regular meeting on February 2, 2012, and their input will be brought forward to the City Council as additional information at the work session discussion. Observations: As the first phase of completing these comprehensive plan updates includes future growth of the City, staff wanted to receive direction from the Council on where they see City growth in the future. Future City growth projections are currently outlined in Chapter 4 of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan (attached); including population, households, employment forecasts, and the general assumptions related to these growth patterns. During the development and review process for completing the 2030 Comprehensive Plan Update, concerns were raised by several individuals regarding the forecasts. In essence, the forecasts showed that all future growth outlined on the attached Future Land Use Map could occur by 2030; however, based on current market conditions, it seemed unlikely that this would become a reality. It should also be noted that the City has processed multiple Comprehensive Plan Amendments that have changed the forecasts published in Chapter 4, and staff will present updated information at the meeting. A few growth assumptions contained within the City's existing 2030 Comprehensive plan deserve discussion: • Due to the nature of soils in the City (the Anoka sandplain) rural residential development can be supported indefinitely with on -site sewage treatment systems, provided sufficient land is available to accommodate two drain fields. Ultimately, such areas may require public water service. • Do you still agree with this assumption? Should there be some investment made for infrastructure expansion to /through these rural areas, or do you still consider these large lot rural areas as a mainstay in the City? • Considerations still need to be factored in for ultimate water distribution into these areas in case groundwater supplies become compromised, or future municipal source wells are restricted. • Northwest Ramsey will not be allowed to connect to Elk River's public utility systems. • Metropolitan sewers will not be extended northerly through Ramsey to provide services to City of Nowthen. • Do we want to revisit these cross jurisdictional options? Financial considerations may factor into this decision, as extensions into adjacent communities would provide for cost sharing opportunities on infrastructure investment and add additional users to the system, and utilizing adjacent community service would allow for potential future tax base in Ramsey without the capital expenditure of infrastructure. Staff has had discussions with the Metropolitan Council, who agree amendments will likely be needed to the forecasts, with the City experiencing ultimate build -out of the Future Land Use Map beyond 2030. The Metropolitan Council has begun working on the 2040 Framework, which will provide the City an official opportunity to comment on these forecasts, among other items. It is expected that the Metropolitan Council will begin providing communities with updates on the process in October or November of this year, and the official comment periods will begin in 2013. Recommendation: