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City of Ramsey 2030 Comprehensive Plan <br />Chapter 1: Introduction <br />1. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE <br />A. What is the Comprehensive Plan and who is it for? <br />The Comprehensive Plan is a tool to be used by many people and organizations <br />with an interest in the Ramsey community. First and foremost, it is for the people <br />of Ramsey, the policy makers who represent them and the City Staff who support <br />them. But it is also for the businesses and residents who wish to come to the <br />community or scholars and students who might want to learn about Ramsey. The <br />Comprehensive Plan sets out a vision for the future community, a vision that was <br />created by the people. It contains goals that define the vision and public policy that <br />is designed to help realize the vision. It provides an analysis of the forces that have <br />shaped Ramsey since its beginning. Although it is heavily focused on the future <br />physical development of the community, it also addresses the economic and social <br />qualities of Ramsey. Finally, the plan lays out implementation strategies that best <br />use the tax payers' dollars to achieve the vital elements that make the Ramsey <br />Community a safe, high quality, healthy place to live, work and play. <br />B. Why do a Comprehensive Plan? <br />Comprehensive Planning for municipalities in the 7 county metropolitan area is <br />mandated by State Legislature. In 1976 the Minnesota Legislature passed the <br />Metropolitan Land Planning Act which required municipalities to develop (or <br />update existing) Comprehensive Plans as a tool to "protect the health, safety and <br />welfare of the residents of the metropolitan area and to ensure coordinated, orderly <br />and economic development." Ramsey conformed to this request by updating its <br />1973 Comprehensive Plan in 1980. Piecemeal updates to this plan have occurred <br />since 1980, including the most recent update in 2002. The Metropolitan Land <br />Planning Act requires local Comprehensive Plans to be reviewed at least once every <br />ten years to ensure conformance with a regional growth strategy for the entire <br />Metropolitan Area. <br />Ramsey is a growing community on the edge of a rapidly expanding Metropolitan <br />Area. It is a community that faces the challenges of controlling the high demands <br />for urban growth at the edge of a metropolitan area. It depends heavily on the <br />regional transportation system and its ability to move people efficiently and safely. <br />Ramsey is a community with a wealth of natural features and a strong desire to <br />preserve, protect and enhance these features. The Comprehensive Plan is a tool that <br />will guide the community in controlling and managing its growth through the year <br />2030. <br />C. The unique history of Ramsey's 2008 Comprehensive Pan - RAMSEY3 <br />A small, aging brick building stands like a question mark between a day-care center <br />and a bank. A weathered sign identifies it as the Ramsey Town Hall. Although no <br />longer used, this structure personifies Ramsey today. It asserts the key issue is not <br />if Ramsey should grow, but how it will it develop. <br />City of Ramsey 2030 Comprehensive Plan Page 1-1 <br />