Laserfiche WebLink
that they need to put in the lower densities. He added that a lot of the other communities have a <br /> MUSA line running through them and have a lot more high and medium density lands designated. <br /> Councilmember Specht noted that something unique with Ramsey is how they have differentiated <br /> the more rural side of the City to keep it with larger lots. He stated that this is what a lot of residents <br /> expect. He noted that the larger lots should be kept in one area and then consolidate lots towards <br /> the COR. <br /> Councilmember Howell agreed with Councilmember Riley. She asked if any cities have ever <br /> challenged the Met Council on their recommendations. <br /> Planning Manager Larson explained that when these system statements come out there is an <br /> opportunity to work with the Met Council on these numbers. He shared that Lake Elmo had issues <br /> with this in the past and what they did is designate areas of the city to still have the rural character <br /> and put density in other areas. <br /> Community Development Director Hanson shared that she has had experience in working with the <br /> Met Council on many occasions for comprehensive plan amendments. She reiterated that the City <br /> will need to have areas that they can designate as higher density to make up for the areas that they <br /> will be switching to more rural areas. <br /> Administrator Hagen asked when the Met Council calculates density if they go on the lower or the <br /> higher end of the projection. <br /> Planning Manager Larson stated that it would be the lower number of the range. He stated that the <br /> COR is calculated at five units per acre as the range is five to 75 units per acre. He added that as <br /> things come into the City the Met Council tallies these things against the totals to make sure that <br /> they are still within their ranges. He stated that the Norhart and Centra Homes proposals will help <br /> these numbers. <br /> Councilmember Woestehoff noted that these are still what he would consider low density <br /> residential even at the 65 foot lots. He said if they want to go down this path it seems like they will <br /> need to do some higher density somewhere else in the City. He noted if this is the goal, there are <br /> a lot of areas that are currently zoned light industrial that could be rezoned to high density. He <br /> shared that a major concern of his is affordability. He noted that the average home cost in Ramsey <br /> has increased over $100,000 since he started on the Council. He shared that these values are <br /> growing more than they need to be as the City does not have enough affordable housing. He asked <br /> if they did want to do a comprehensive plan amendment to have this change go from three to four <br /> lots per acre to two to four lots per acre what the process would look like. <br /> Community Development Director Hanson explained that Staff would need to sit down with the <br /> Met Council to determine their support of something like this. <br /> Mayor Kuzma shared that he lives in a neighborhood with a 55 foot lot with an HOA that handles <br /> most landscaping for him. He stated that this works out very well for him. He noted that having a <br /> range of all sorts of housing is something that would benefit the City. <br /> City Council Special Work Session/ October 17, 2023 <br /> Page 2 of 16 <br />