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<br />. . <br /> <br />City of Ramsey <br />Comprehensive Plan Amendment <br /> <br />'- <br /> <br />1.0 INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />1.1 BACKGROUND <br /> <br />Planning for the future must take into account conditions that change with time. This <br />amendment to the City of Ramsey Comprehensive Plan focuses on a study area centered <br />on the primary arterial through the City-TIll O. The amendment results from a planning <br />process driven by a number of interconnected issues. <br /> <br />The City has never had a land use map: the zoning map has served this function. <br />However, the existing zoning in the City does not meet current and projected market <br />demand for specific types ofland use development. One issue to be addresses regarding <br />current zoning is an excess ofland zoned for industrial development. Industrial <br />development has not been strong enough in the City to fulfill the optimistic expectations of <br />this extensive industrial zoning. <br /> <br />In addition, projected traffic threatens to overburden TH 10 and exacerbate existing <br />congestion. The Anoka County transportation plan projects a level of service F, which is <br />unacceptable. Traffic generation is a. function ofland use. The projected poor level of <br />service on TH 10, the primary arterial in Ramsey, necessitated examining land uses in the <br />highway corridor and elsewhere in the City. If commercial and industrial development <br />demand did :fill the industrial zones, the traffic generated by this intense development <br />would make a bad situation worse. <br /> <br />In contrast to the relatively low demand for commercialfmdustrialland, the residential <br />market has been strong. Good planning practice dictates that development should occur <br />where adequate public facilities exist to serve it. Much residential development has <br />occurred outside of the areas planned for urban services. The goal is to manage growth so <br />as to encourage future residential development within these areas. This would result in <br />staging of growth outward from the existing service areas. <br /> <br />Another residential land use issue is the availability of full life cycle housing options in the <br />City. Higher density housing can provide alternatives to residents who either cannot or <br />choose not to own single family, detached homes. Changing demographics such as <br />incomes and age profiles of the Twin City community influence demand for housing types. <br /> <br />This amendment addresses issues related to transportation regarding traffic congestion, <br />non-motorized trails for pedestrians, bicycles, and horses, and future connections to <br />surrounding areas. Land use issues include the need for residential land, for a variety of <br /> <br />page i-I <br />