Minutes - Council - 12/12/2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Strommen, Cook, Elvig, Jeffrey, Olson, and Pearson. Voting No: None. Case #8: Accept Final Draft of Central Rural Reserve Study; Case of City of Ramsey Community Development Director Trudgeon reviewed that the 2001 Comprehensive Plan included a land use area referred to as the Central Rural Reserve Area. The Comprehensive Plan states that the City will work to identify the potential of this area for urban services. In 2003, the City applied for a Metropolitan Council Livable Communities Grant to study the development potential in the Central Rural Urban Reserve. The City was awarded a grant in the amount of $33,000. The funds were used to hire a consultant, Hoisington Koegler Group, to assist the City in this effort. Mr. Trudgeon reviewed that the City Council held a joint meeting with the Planning Commission on June 26, 2006, to review the preliminary draft of the Study. On August 17, 2006, the City hosted an open house for the residents of the Central Rural Reserve. The compilation of comments from this open house is attached as an appendix to the final draft. Utilizing the results of the Council/Planning joint meeting and the comments received at the open house, the final draft of the Study has been prepared. This draft was provided as an informational item to the Planning Commission on December 7, 2006. The information contained in the Study will be used in the 2008 Comprehensive Plan update. Mr. Trudgeon reviewed the key findings of the Study. He advised this plan does not set up an idea on how this area would redevelop, and does not set a timetable for redevelopment; it just identifies some of the characteristics of this area and talking points that need to be considered. Mr. Trudgeon advised the report discuss possible scenarios. One is incremental change, another option is to do nothing and let the area maintain as it is, and the third option is for massive redevelopment in the area. The word redevelopment is used cautiously; it does not mean every square inch of the area would be changed. There are limitations on what the City could do even if it had the desire due to recent law changes and City Charter requirements. Mr. Trudgeon stated this study is the result of a Metropolitan Council directive in the City's Comprehensive Plan and Metropolitan Council grant funds were used to cover the cost of the Study. Therefore, staff is recommending submittal of the Central Rural Reserve Study to Metropolitan Council as an official planning tool in the City of Ramsey. Councilmember Cook stated he received a couple of calls from residents in this area; people were worried about eminent domain taking over their house, and there were rumors that the City was going to take over this whole area. The reason this area is being studied is because there was such an issue when they City tried to do the Comprehensive Plan 10 years ago that it delayed the completion of the Comprehensive Plan. The Metropolitan Council offered to look at this area down the line because it was not solvable. With the Comprehensive Plan update coming, it was decided early on to look at this. There are a number of issues, number one being the traffic flow and the way the roads are set up. The City is not in the business of taking over peoples' houses and turning them over to developers, and that is not what is going to happen. This study is being done in order to make a decision on what to do in this area for the future Comprehensive Plan and the future of the City. Mr. Merlyn Hunt, 17860 Nowthen Boulevard NW, stated the comments that are to be attached to the study are not available on the internet. He purchased his land in 1996 and according to the City Council / December 12, 2006 Page 17 of29