Public Hearings - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

o 0 Land Use Issues As part of the community involvement, focus groups defined a series of issues. Through a Comprehensive Planning task force comprised of citizens, business owners and city officials, these issues were debated and resolution was reached in most cases. The following are the critical issues and resolutions. Residential Growth: Urban growth creates conflicts where it meets existing rural development. Resolution: "Well planned" growth has the following characteristics: . Blends in with existing development . Balances with infrastructure and services . Minimizes impact on existing development (cost, safety, traffic impacts) . Consistent with the natural resource base (water, wetlands, and trees) Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Open Space: Should the City emphasize passive open space or active parks? Do all parks have to accommodate all of the same uses? Resolution: The Focus Group recommends the following: . More emphasis should be placed on open space in rural areas. . More emphasis should be placed on urban active parks in urban areas. . All parks should not be required to serve all purposes (active athletic uses should be clustered into larger parks). . The option to expand Central Park should be protected, as should the expansion capabilities of all of the City's parks. . Parks should be able to grow and change to accommodate changing demographics and numbers of residents. . Design and location of trails should be based on their use. . Opportunities to preserve open space and the urban forest should be looked into. Protect Rural Lifestyle: Urban/rural conflicts, how do we resolve them? Resolution: It was agreed that the issue of rural/urban compatibility will be addressed with the resolution of the other issues. Individual Property Rights: Rights of landowners to develop vs. rights of surrounding residents. Resolution: While everyone agreed that both residents and landowners have rights, there was no resolution of this issue. Density of Population: How to make urban and rural densities compatible? Resolution: Following are some elements of a solution to be considered: . Overall density in rural areas in the range of one unit per two to five-acres . Minimum rural lot size based on a sustainable lot size for septic systems. . Density should be relative to what is next door when future development occurs next to existing large lot development. . Urban densities allowable within MUSA. Housing Diversity: How much and in which location should diverse housing occur? Resolution: The Focus Group recommends the following: . Diversity is okay if a transition is used to make new development consistent with existing development. . Home size and cost diversity should be allowed. . Mobile homes should not be allowed. . Minimum home size with garages should be required. MUSA Expansion: Should MUSA be expanded for residential development? Where should it expand? Should it have to require a referendum? (charter was amended to require a referendum) Resolution: The Focus Group unanimously supported the following: . MUSA expansion is acceptable for commercial and industrial development. . MUSA expansion should not create costs for existing rural residential owners unless they want services. . Generally, MUSA expansion is acceptable westerly along Highway 10. The Focus Group could not agree unanimously with the following: . MUSA expansion allowable for petitioners who want services and are adjacent to the MUSA boundary. . Support of a planning rather than referendum approach for MUSA expansion. Land Use Map Insert