Agenda - Planning Commission - 08/04/2011

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Regular Planning Commission 6. 1. Meeting Date: 08/04/2011 By: Tim Gladhill, Community Development Title: PUBLIC HEARING -Proposed Amendment to the 2030 Comprehensive Plan Background: In 2008, the City completed the 2030 Comprehensive Plan Update. Since that time, several conditions have changed that have necessitated a Comprehensive Plan Amendment to ensure consistency between various City, County, and Metropolitan Council policies. Upon approval by the City, the Comprehensive Plan Amendment will need to be reviewed by adjacent/affected jurisdiction (60 day review period) and the Metropolitan Council (60 day review period). Notification: The Public Hearing was properly notified in the Anoka County Union. Observations: The COR Master Plan Attached for review is the approved Development Plan by the City's Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA). The HRA acquired approximately 150 acres of the former Ramsey Town Center development (now called The COR). Through a series of public open houses and HRA workshops, the City, through the development management services of Landform Professional Services, has developed a proposed new master plan for the development. The area of the proposed change is focused on the west approximately 50 acres. A majority of this area is currently guided as COR-4b, which is best characterized as medium density residential. This area is now proposed to include larger scale retail to anchor the development to support the smaller scale retail still currently envisioned in the center of the development. The plan also impacts what was previously envisioned as West Meandering Commons, which is now configured as Lake Ramsey Park. The grading activities for Lake Ramsey Park will accommodate at least a portion, if not all, of the fill required to complete the development. The plan also envisions additional small -lot single-family lots along North Commons (park). No actual change to the Future Land Use Map is required, as the area is listed as Mixed Use. However, due to the level in change in households and employment, an official change to the Master Plan is required. Planned Transportation System Due to a series of completed and planned projects, several revisions to the Planned Transportation System Map are required. These include Metropolitan Council -initiated System Statement Amendments, Legacy Christian Academy, Variolite Street, 167th Avenue, and McKinley Street near the Public Works Campus. The System Statement is a Metropolitan Council approved framework for all Comprehensive Plans. Amendments were made to system -wide System Statements for transportation as well as Parks and Open Space. Two changes are required of the City. The future river crossing must be re-classified from a Principal Arterial to a Minor Arterial. The text of the Transportation Section must be amended to note the fact that the City is located within Transit Service Areas III and IV. Staff would like the recommendation of the Planning Commission to include the flexibility to include language and/or maps that depict the City's current proposed alignment of Highway 10 related to the planned expansion to