Agenda - Council - 03/14/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Presentation Community Development Director Gladhill presented the staff report stating as the Planning Commission is aware, the City has established an ad-hoc Comprehensive Plan Update Steering Committee. Once every ten (10)years, the City is required by Minnesota Statute 473 to update its Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Aside from the statutory obligation, the City's existing plan has become dated in terms of policies, demographics, and land use vision. In order to freshen the City's vision for land use, including systems such as transportation, housing, economic development, natural resources, and parks/open space to name a few, now is an appropriate time to update the Comprehensive Plan. The Steering Committee has met twice so far on the project. The intent of the early meetings in 2016 is to set the stage and agree on a framework moving forward. Community Development Director Gladhill reported the primary next step in the process is to finalize a working draft of the City's land use Vision Statement and Future Land Use Map. These two (2) pieces will lay the foundation on future steps and will be used to check in as individual system plans are developed. The group desires to have a working draft of both documents available in February for public workshops and engagement. Community Development Director Gladhill indicated a primary system plan to update is the Transportation Plan. Staff anticipates to bring a discussion to the January Public Works Committee in January to discuss steps moving forward. The Planning Commission will also discuss this structure at the February Meeting. No drafts have been prepared thus far, but Staff will be checking in on the framework to complete this portion of the update. Staff anticipates a public workshop and other engagement for this system plan in April. Community Development Director Gladhill explained the Environmental Policy Board has begun to discuss how to update the Natural Resources Chapter and will be providing an update to the Planning Commission and Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee in February or March. Citizen Engagement is planned starting in April. Community Development Director Gladhill stated the Parks and Recreation Commission will begin discussing a new format for the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan beginning after the first of the year. Currently, the plan comprises of a future improvement/planning map alongside the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The CIP is an important financial planning tool for the City and is intended to be complimentary to the Comprehensive Plan. The Parks and Recreation Commission along with the City Council desire to bolster the Comprehensive Recreation Plan into a more thematic and visionary document, looking more long term and comprehensively at the community's recreation needs, rather than simply a chronological financial planning tool. Planning Commission/January 5, 2017 Page 16 of 18