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Housing Consultant Bennett stated that she will work on the HRA master plan and a component <br />of it will be the comprehensive plan. She stated that. she feels the master plan should be a <br />document that is used on an ongoing basis, so she would like to see goals, in there that meet the <br />City's needs. She stated that from the questionnaires she received back, she feels that there were <br />themes that can be tied back to the master housing goals. She stated that some of the themes are: <br />diversity; life cycle housing; quality and stability; walkability; and variety of design in new <br />housing. She reviewed some of the existing goals and how she felt they could be revised .to <br />include the themes mentioned in the questionnaires. <br />Councilmember Olson stated that she feels the City has tried to steer developers with regard to <br />architecture, but she would like to see the City also explore guiding developers to building <br />"green houses". She suggested that the City could offer incentives to developers to meet certain <br />green housing objectives. She stated that she feels this may be a big draw for the City if it had a <br />development that was "green". <br />Mayor Gamec stated that he feels the Brookfield development had some of these ideas in mind <br />when they developed and thinks developers are becoming more conscious of this type of thing. <br />Councilmember Look stated that the sandy soil in Ramsey is ideal for geothermal heating rather <br />than forced air. He stated that there is a company in Elk River called Econair that specializes in <br />heat pumps and suggested that the City could work with Econair to provide some type of <br />incentive to developers to include this type of heating in the new homes. <br />Councilmember Olson stated that she feels this should be explored so the City can encourage <br />developers to use "green" materials. <br />Housing Consultant Bennett stated that "green" building would result in, costs savings and <br />provide options for residents. She stated that she agrees this would be a good goal for the HRA <br />to work on. She stated that she will incorporate the main themes that she found in the <br />questionnaires and bring back adjusted goals for the City Council to discuss at a future meeting. <br />She stated that the City next needs to start thinking about potential future projects so they can be <br />identified in the plans and the City can plan accordingly. <br />Councilmember Olson left the meeting at 8:26 p.m. <br />Associate Planner Geisler distributed maps and reviewed some possible projects that staff are <br />aware of such as: the Town Center project; Highway 10 corridor; Variolite Street extension; <br />Sorteberg Addition; and Now and Then Estates. <br />Councilmember Olson returned to the meeting at 8:30 p.m. <br />Councilmember Jeffrey stated that he wanted to return to the. 1,143 number discussed earlier. He <br />asked if the City planned to put an artificial number into the comprehensive plan but the City <br />Council would be on record saying that they will not meet that goal. <br />City Council Work Session /October 16, 2007 <br />Page 5 of 8 <br />