Agenda - Planning Commission - 03/06/2014

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Suburban: Cultivating places where people can gather Suburban communities saw their primary era of development in the 1980s and into the early 1990s as the Baby Boomers formed families and entered their prime earning years. Many of these cities fall along freeway corridors and include growth along outside the 1-694/494 beltway. This development pattern also reached and incorporated places that were once resort destinations connected from the Twin Cities by streetcar, such as communities along Lake Minnetonka, White Bear Lake, and the St. Croix River. Many of the region's corporate headquarters are located in the Suburban Area. These include Thomson Reuters in Eagan, United Health Group in Minnetonka, and Land O'Lakes in Arden Hills. Development in Suburban communities occurred at significantly lower densities than in previous eras. Many residential subdivisions include cul-de-sacs. Retail areas often include big box stores and multi -tenant retail developments. Because of the automobile -orientation of this area's development patterns and high automobile ownership, walking or bicycling for daily travel is less common, but trails are often used for recreation and commuting. Suburban Area cities include some of the large regional parks such as Bunker Hills Regional Park in Coon Rapids and Andover, and Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan and Apple Valley. Transit service is generally less cost-effective in the Suburban communities than in the Urban Center and Urban communities, but there is demand for express bus service from park -and -rides to regional destinations. As the Suburban communities have grown and as market preferences have evolved, many of these cities are now focusing attention on developing places where people can gather. These include town centers like downtown Stillwater, Burnsville's Heart of the City, Minnetonka's Village Center, downtown White Bear Lake, and Apple Valley's downtown. These locations are intended to be more walkable and include a mix of retail, higher density housing; and civic, institutional, and open space amenities. They often incorporate suburban transit circulator buses and park -and -rides for express service to downtown. The Council forecasts that the Suburban communities will add xx,000 residents, xx,000 households and xx,000 jobs between 2010 and 2040. This represents growth of xx percent in population, xx percent in households and xx percent in employment over the three decades. Suburban communities are: [add list here] DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT Last revised: February 21, 2014 55