Minutes - Council - 09/10/1998 - Joint with Planning Commission

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Mayor Gamec inquired about the issue of parks, recreation, trails and open space. Mr. Scheib replied that the focus should be on creating larger parks in the rural area because smaller ones do not serve a lot of people. Mayor Gamec inquired about the future land use plan. Mr. Scheib explained that Metropolitan Council defines Permanent Rural to consist of development with no more than one dwelling unit per 10 acres. The Permanent Rural area outlined in the Plan is composed of Rural Preserve and Rural Developing. Rural Preserve is consistent with Metropolitan Council's policy, however, the Rural Developing area defies this regional growth policy primarily due to the historical development trends established in the early 1970's. Therefore, the Plan establishes a maximum gross density of one unit per 2.5 acres in the Rural Developing area. This will need to be justified to Metropolitan Council, and they will either accept it or come back with a compromise. Also noted was that extension of urban services to the Rural Developing area is not practical or financially feasible due to the low density pattern, numerous wetlands, and the presence of sandy soils capable of handling private septic system drain fields. Cluster housing was discussed including the need to change ordinances to accommodate such. Also if cluster housing is implemented, the City needs to consider whether it will be required. Mr. Scheib also mentioned the need to decide whether a future MUSA expansion will be considered, Mixed Residential was discussed, and it was noted that this does not include apartments.' Urban Residential was discussed and it was recommended that the first sentence read "All future urban residential development will be served by public sewer and water..." With regard to High Density Residential, Councilmember Haas Steffen stated she did not want large buildings and inquired whether a limit could be put on the number of units in a building. Mr. Scheib replied that a policy could be included that establishes a maximum number of units in a project. The goals and policies of the different land uses were discussed, and Mr. Scheib explained how the designation of "Mixed Use" was developed. The need for a corridor study to address future development was addressed, and Mr. Scheib stated the Plan will acknowledge that the City will be doing a corridor study. With regard to the Transportation Element of the Plan, Councilmember Haas Steffen stressed the need for additional East to West transportation to get people off Highway #10. She noted there was nothing between C.R. #116 and C.R. #22, and the Plan failed to address this problem. She added that there was something in the works at the County level to address this. Mr. Scheib stated he met with the County on two separate occasions, and this was never discussed. He stated he would try to determine if there was a road to connect with in Andover. City Council-Planning Commission Joint Workshop/October 8, 1998 Page 2 of 4