Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/06/2018

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• Other Highlights • Retail Recruitment Strategies - "We need more restaurants and shops!" • Employment Recruitment and Tax Base Expansion Strategies • Preservation of Key Natural Resource Areas (for example, Trott Brook Corridor) • Park System Planning - expansion in developing areas and connecting to existing spaces • Keeping housing affordable to Ramsey's average income Planning projects such as this have proven beneficial for the City, especially as it relates to Highway 10. The current Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2008, and has become outdated (new Land Use Plans, new plan for Highway 10, etc.). In addition to long-range planning as a best practice, completion of a Comprehensive Plan is also required for metro -area municipalities per Minnesota Statutes Chapter 473. Plans are required to be reviewed by the Metropolitan Council. The draft is approximately 90% complete. The draft is 100% complete in terms of meeting the minimum requirements of the plan. Staff desires to clarify policy direction on goals, strategies, and action items as well as the planning maps in the document. Staff has updated the format/layout considerably since the last review with City Council; however there are a number of formatting updates to be completed before December. Please note that this continues to be a working draft. The final product will be presented in December, with multiple opportunities for updates prior to that point. Given the scope and length of the document, Staff is focused first on content and policy, then on format and design. Sigificant work goes into formatting, so Staff finds it more cost-effective to lock in the content first, then create to polished design. Working List of Priority Items to be Completed with Next Draft: • Add detail to the Retail Sub -Section of the Economic Development Plan per the recommendation of the EDA (create site profiles for individual sites to mirror the Industrial Sub -Section) • Complete/Update the Future Park Improvement Map to include priority trail gaps • Complete final Action Items in the Natural Resources Plan • Verify Strategies and Actions of the Housing Plan Funding Source: This project is being handled with Planning Staff and supplemented by various consulting professionals (WSB Associates, Bolton and Menk). The City received a $32,000 Planning Grant from the Metropolitan Council to assist in the completion of the Update. Recommendation: Staff recommends that the City Council provide feedback on the current draft. Action: No action is being requested. Council may wish to highlight which sections are generally complete, and which sections the Council would like to be brought back separately for a more in depth conversation. DRAFT Comprehensive Plan Update Attachments Form Review Inbox Reviewed By Date Kurt Ulrich Kurt Ulrich 08/23/2018 02:28 PM Form Started By: Tim Gladhill Started On: 08/21/2018 06:28 AM Final Approval Date: 08/29/2018