Ramsey Resident - 2007 - November/December

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~ Development Comprehensive Planning Session Article (Continued From Page 1) discussed at the planning sessions are chosen by the residents who attend and the direction of the meeting is ' determined by those issues. People who have attended say they feel as if their voices are being heard. So, come check it out! The remaining sessions are listed below. Also, see the Compre- hensive Planning website at www. ci.ramsey.mn. us/ departments/Com- munity/compplanpage.asp to read other residents' input thus far. Wednesday, November 14 Traffic Corridor Improvements & Neighborhood Connections Wednesday, December 5 Visioning and Marketing of Ramsey All meetings are held at 6:30 pm on the specified date in the Alexander Ramsey Room at Ramsey Munici- pal Center at 7550 Sunwood Drive Ramsey. ' Comprehensive Planning Sessions Re-cap For those of you who have not been able to attend any of the planning sessions, there has been a lot of great discussion to date. The view- points are diverse and the topics are wide-ranging. The first four meetings have been well-attended (but we wel- come more residents!) and have pro- duced a set of great discussion notes. These notes can be viewed at www. ci.ramsey.mn. us/ departments/Com- munity/compplanpage.asp. A draft list of guiding principles has been obtained from the citizens' ideas and discussions. The guiding principles are in bold, followed by some of the highlights from the conversation: Preserve the character of existing neighborhoods. There is broad support for investigat- ing policies that preserve the develop- ment pattern and quality of existing neighborhoods, especially when new development is proposed near exist- ing neighborhoods. Protect landowners' rights to de- velop or not to develop. The topic of property rights has come up at every meeting. There's a general consensus among attendees that landowners should be allowed to utilize or develop their property, as long as it preserves the character of existing neighborhoods. Protect and preserve the city's unique natural resources, while respecting property rights. Attendees place a high value on the preservation of open spaces and a rural character. While there's support for policies that protect and enhance natural resources, there's a consensus that the city should be willing to com- pensate landowners for the preserva- tion of these areas. Improve and increase communi- cation between the city and the residents. This has been an underlying theme throughout the entire OST planning process. Suggestions have been made to continue to utilize the Ramsey Resident and the website as a consis- tent means of communication. Maintain and encourage diversity of housing types and choices: high- end, affordable, and life-cycle. Attendees have said that the city should encourage the development of more high-end housing. However, many people also said they moved to Ramsey because they could get a lot for their money. Also, attendees recognize the need to provide some rental opportunities, as long as the primary housing option was for hom- eownership. Emphasize interconnectivity in transportation and land use. Strive to be a self-contained city with an assortment of land uses and ser- vi ces. We will be focusing on transportation at the meeting on November 14. Take a proactive approach to trans- portation planning. We will be focusing on transportation at the meeting on November 14. Preserve the original vision and values within the Master Plan for Ramsey Town Center. Emphasize and foster unique commercial de- velopment. We will be discussing the vision of Ramsey at the meeting on December 5. Continued on Page 9 4 www.ci.ramsey.mn.us