Minutes - Council - 04/14/1987 - Joint with Planning and Zoning Commission

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property changes hands. Mayor Reimann stated that it is difficult to tell property owners what they can and cannot do with their property but the City has to plan for the future, especially with respect to east/west thoroughfares. Cul-de-sacs are a maintenance problem and Council's aim is to eliminate as many as possible and connect roads. Commissioner Zimmerman stated that in the seminars he has attended, he has learned that one of the biggest failures of cities is the lack of total planning and zoning; the city should take a look at the total picture and develop a plan for continuation of streets that will let developers know what the city expects. Commissioner Deemer brought up the subject of temporary and permanent dead ends and cul-de-sacs and noted that the ordinance requires a variance if cul-de- sac length exceeds 600 feet; to encourage developers to provide access to adjacent parcels, the ordinance should not require a variance if the temporary cul-de-sac or dead end provides roadway for future development. Mayor Reimann agreed that the ordinance may need rewriting. Councilmember DeLuca noted that the use of the term dead end is misleading; some people choose to live on a dead end street and are upset when they find out it was intended to be continued and access the next plat. Commissioner Zimmerman stated that he doesn't see anything wrong with cul- de-sacs longer than 600 feet in rural areas, regardless of whether the adjacent property develops in 2 months or 20 years. Mayor Reimann reiterated that cul-de-sacs are a maintenance nuisance. Mr. Goodrich stated that 'premature plat' is a concept that would be useful in Ramsey occasionally. Mr. Hartley noted that number of accesses to a plat could be controlled by limiting the number of households that can outlet onto a single access or the farthest distance a household can be from an access or a combination of both of these requirements. Councilmember Cox stated that not requiring at least a second access for emergency purposes is not good planning. Mr. Raudio stated that another real problem is cul-de-sac origin for measurement purposes. A community should have a master plan for things like transportation and drainage. Currently, Ramsey has no game plan and it costs developers money to find out what the City wants one meeting at a time. Ms. Norris noted that the City's Comprehensive Plan only addresses major streets and does need updating. City Council-Planning & Zoning/April 14, 1987 Page 2 of 5