Minutes - Planning Commission - 01/24/2002 - Jt PC CC (2)

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Jim Overton, 167th and Jasper, Ramsey, stated that he has been a resident of Ramsey since 1973 and his area of concern had to do with the extension of 167th Street west of Jasper Street through a large swamp and adjoining Variolite Street to the west. He explained that if the road were to go through it would pass through the oldest home in the City of Ramsey. The home was built in 1868 and a still stands, in which he lives in. Mr. Overton felt that there were better areas to extend the roadway to avoid the costly expense of the wetland and impacting the home. He stated that the neighbors in the area request the removal of the undedicated line for the extension of 167"' Street. Jeff Perry, 5921 148th Avenue NW, Ramsey, commended and applauded City staff, the Planning Commission, and the City Council for the recent accomplishments. One of those accomplishments is the passing of a Comprehensive Plan. The second accomplishment being the Council's recent decision to proceed with the master trail plan, and lastly the Council's recent support and authorization for the support of the Greenways Grant, which will be used to identify significant habitat corridors worthy of long term protection. In regards to the proposed amendments there are many requests to change land use from low density residential to medium density residential and he strongly encouraged the Planning Commission and the City Council to table action on those issues because the master trail plan and Greenways grant will provide important information to the City which will assist in making good land use decisions. Mr. Perry stated that there are significant factors included in rezoning property and one of those factors could be that an area being considered for rezoning could be identified as a potential trail corridor areas and other parcels could be key corridor areas for the City. Some areas contain rare and protected species. By doubling the units it will have far greater impacts on natural resources. Some of the common implications would be increased traffic and associated concern for children, increased emission, increased pollutants, water quality, increased demand on City services, potential quality of life, and overall impression on community. He respectfully asked that the City table the land use requests based on the ongoing projects which include the master trail plan and Greenways grant that could be used to make important land use decisions. Dell Fredricks, 7550 158th Avenue NW, Ramsey, stated that the statement that no one will be forced to hook-up to City sewer and water is misleading, because the key word in the language is "functional system" as well as the fact that if someone sells their property they may also be forced to hook up to City services. He did not believe that that information was being conveyed to the citizens of Ramsey when they discuss the possibility of extending City services to their neighborhoods. Councilmember Hendriksen noted that the City's current ordinance states that residents will be forced to hook-up to City services if they sell their home and services are available to the property, but there has been some speculation that that ordinance may be removed. Jeffrey Menth, 14726 Ramsey Boulevard NW, Ramsey, stated that he owned the property identified as 93 on the land use map. He stated that he is the property owner and does not want the land use changed at this time. He questioned what assurance the City can give him that the land use will not change. Planning Commission Joint Meeting/January 24, 2002 Page 4 of 14