Agenda - Council - 11/28/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The vision for the Lake Itasca Greenway will add multiple values to all adjoining areas. This will be the inviting pastoral trail route for residents in western Ramsey to access The COR, to be the 'butts -in - seats' that help to promote retail development — and conversely, the corridor will be the preferred trail means for a couple thousand residents in and around The COR to access the natural resources and the park amenities of the Lake Itasca Community Park. Lake Itasca Community Park Lake Itasca Greenway Additionally, one of the top priorities the City continues to hear from residents — most notably from the last year of community engagement, as part the Comprehensive Plan update is; 'maintain some open space and work to protect a feeling of rural character'. The city-wide greenway plan is part of the strategy to meet this goal, with the proposed Lake Itasca Greenway an essential element of this, in an area with notable development pressures. Another priority heard from residents city-wide, is the preservation of open space for wildlife and nature. The greenway plan encompasses the community and will connect residents to this resource — and at the same help to maintain biodiversity and prevent habitat fragmentation locally. Is it unusual to acquire a greenway or trail as part of the 'Public Benefit' of a Planned Unit Development? Perhaps the most well-known and utilized trail in the City of Ramsey is the Lake Itasca Trail, traversing a couple miles from near Lake Itasca, north to and across Trott Brook to 167th Avenue and the adjoining neighborhood. This trail and 75' foot wide protected corridor (greenway) was acquired as part of the platting of the North Fork Planned Unit Development, in the late 1980's.