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Councilmember Shryock stated that because the market drives development, things may happen <br /> in a different course of action and asked if the City is that far off from the original vision. She did <br /> not think that the City is too far to reign it back in and believed that perhaps it is time to reassess <br /> how far off the path the City is. She noted that the City is half way towards the initial vision for <br /> housing and would like comparative information for the other aspects and how the off vision tasks <br /> could be corrected. <br /> Councilmember Williams stated that an important part of the vision is timing. She stated that the <br /> market will not always be too far off to achieve certain elements but noted that the timing of the <br /> vision would be a big factor, whether that is ten years or 25 years. She noted that right now <br /> residential is hot and a big development factor but advised that can and will change. She agreed <br /> with the comments from Councilmember Shryock regarding staff completing a comparison of <br /> certain elements in The COR. <br /> Mayor Strommen stated that there was a lot of housing in the original vision and agreed that timing <br /> is key as people have seen this housing development but have not seen the retail elements. <br /> Councilmember Kuzma stated that CBRE is the consultant the City hired to work on this vision <br /> and provide input and they have said that the City needs rooftops in order to bring in the retail <br /> elements. He noted that the rail station and Armstrong interchange were also important elements <br /> in attracting the desired development. <br /> Mayor Strommen asked the items that people would like to reaffirm or re-evaluate from the list of <br /> items included in the vision. <br /> Commissioner Brauer stated that the original vision was never viable because Ramsey did not have <br /> the space or demographics that big box retailers are looking for. He stated that the City needs to <br /> look at the data and also believes that the City would benefit from the cluster data that developers <br /> use in order to better determine and attract development. <br /> Mayor Strommen confirmed that Commissioner Brauer would like to re-evaluate the retail aspects <br /> in the vision using data. <br /> Commissioner Brauer stated that Ramsey will not get big box retail and should instead focus on <br /> local businesses. He referenced the piecemeal strategy that the City has been using, noting the <br /> changes in the past eight years in the market, and stated that it would be difficult to obtain <br /> beneficial data from that changing market. He stated that the City needs a vision that keeps them <br /> from being jerked back and forth from a temporary change, or what the City interprets to be a <br /> temporary change. <br /> Mayor Strommen confirmed consensus that the group would like to re-evaluate retail components <br /> within the vision. <br /> Vice Chair Bauer stated that the attempt is to make Ramsey a destination type of stop and would <br /> cater more towards the smaller unique businesses and explained that pedestrian connections would <br /> also be important in that element. <br /> Excerpt from July 12, 2016 City Council Work Session Minutes <br />