Agenda - Council - 05/10/2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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August 6 Planning Commission 5.03: Review Comparison Document of The COR Development Plan and Original Ramsey Town Center Master Plan Prepared by the Planning Commission Presentation Community Development Director Gladhill presented the staff report stating the purpose of this case is to review a comparison document between the original Ramsey Town Center Master Plan and the current The COR Development Plan as requested by the City Council and Planning Commission on May 26, 2015. Minutes from this discussion are attached to this case as background of the purpose of this exercise. Community Development Director Gladhill reported at the May 26, 2015 Joint Meeting with the City Council, Staff was directed to prepare a comparison document outlining the differences between the current COR Development Plan and the original Ramsey Town Center Master Plan. Direction was to simply prepare a document outlining the changes and check back with the City Council and its advisory boards for future direction. It is anticipated that the output of this exercise may lead to some changes to the Design Framework for The COR to either better clarify the vision, eliminate any conflicting language, simplify the document, or potential changes to the official vision. Community Development Director Gladhill indicated this step is focused on the inventory of the previous plan and the current plan. The intent of this topic report is not to begin developing a new vision for The COR. The Planning Commission met on July 9 and prepared the first draft of this document. The City Council reviewed the first draft of the document at their July 28, 2015 meeting and minutes from said meeting are attached to this case. Revisions based on the City Council's discussion include a clearer emphasis the additional steps will be coming after this first step that will discuss market realities and future revisions to the vision. This first step is simply inventory the current plan elements to ensure all policy makers are on the same page, and then subsequently decide if any changes need to be made to the elements or implementation items. He asked for comments or questions from the Commission. Commission Business Commissioner Brauer reviewed the table he provided to staff and the Commission regarding the Comparison Document. He encouraged the Commission to consider what the goals were for The COR and to consider what metric would be followed to track these goals. Vice Chairperson Bauer liked the idea of creating a destination space within The COR. Commissioner Brauer recommended that the City's internet access be advertised to new developers. Commissioner Andrusko was also in favor of creating a specialized cluster development that would draw people to Ramsey. Commissioner Brauer was interested in the City creating a small business incubator facility. He believed this could benefit local residents in starting or growing their own business.