01.09.17 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

noted that some cities have used pop up meetings to engage the community at community events, rather than simply holding traditional meetings. Member Bendsten arrived at 6:38 p.m. Mr. Wojchik stated that cities often fall short in the vision and goals section, specifically integrating those goals into the different elements of the plan. He explained that often different staff members are working on different sections of the plans and are not necessarily tying those original goals into the sections. He noted that cities also often fall short in the area of implementation, noting that the implementation strategies should be diversified, rather than placing all the “eggs in one basket”. He also encouraged the City not to plan all the resources for one possible outcome. He noted that each plan element relates to the other elements and can cross reference each other and speak to each other. He referenced the local planning handbook, which is a helpful tool that is updated for each specific city and each city’s community page contains a lot of information that will be needed in the comprehensive planning process. He noted that the community pages also contain the checklist of minimum requirements for the plans. He stated that the Met Council also provides a fair amount of training for City staff, noting that there are many different formats. He stated that the PlanIt webinars are available for anyone to watch and may be helpful for the members of the Steering Committee to watch. He stated that the webinars in PlanIt available this year are focused on the required elements of the plan while next year’s webinars will be focused on value added planning. He stated that Ramsey has been very successful and is a great example for other cities. Member Bauer referenced affordable housing noting that the mortgage payment is the factor considered rather than the value of the home and asked how they would be able to estimate mortgage payments. Mr. Wojchik stated that the Met Council does not mandate the number of affordable housing units but simply guiding for the appropriate density and opportunities for affordable housing in the future. He acknowledged that it would be difficult to estimate the amount a mortgage payment would be. He stated that the forecasts for Ramsey in 2008 were not correct, noting that the old forecasting model was not based on economics and was instead based on land availability. He stated that the new model provides a more accurate forecast which will then provide a more accurate forecast for affordable housing. Community Development Director Gladhill reviewed some of the tools that the City has used towards affordable housing and the stock of higher density housing that the City has. He stated that it has been helpful to hear that Ramsey has more than enough on the land use map to guide for affordable housing needs, which will provide further flexibility for the City when reviewing that land use plan. Mr. Wojchik acknowledged that in the past there may have been a negative opinion towards the Met Council and stated that they are working to develop more collaborative relationships and more face to face conversations rather than simply mailing communication. City Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee/ January 9, 2017 Page 3 of 8