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2001 Comprehensive Plan Amended February 26, 2002 II. THE VISION AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES The vision statement for the City of Ramsey depicts how life would be in 2020 through the eyes of a typical resident. With the vision statement, the guiding principles provide the basic direction for the Comprehensive Plan and provide direction for the community to evolve towards its vision in an efficient, well-planned and effective manner. The vision statement and guiding principles are a product of previous studies and inventories, several public meetings and a community wide visioning session through which over 100 people discussed the future of the Ramsey community. They are based on a shared understanding of what the Ramsey community wants for itself. A. A Vision to the Year 2020 Ramsey has come a long ways since the 1990's when its most visible features were a landfill and its Highway 10 image and it wasn't sure what it wanted to be: a rural or urban community. The things that defined the character of the community in the 1990's are now only distant memories to those remaining residents who have excellent recall. Actually, the population has changed a lot over the past 15 to 20-years. Many of our children have grown up and attended college. Some are returning to Ramsey as young adults. Many of their parents remain in the community but live in housing that is much more efficient than their original single-family homes. The good thing is that we were able to preserve a substantial part of our rural life style while providing the full range of housing to satisfy the life cycle needs of our residents. Our children can be first time homebuyers or apartment residents and people can move up in their housing choice and still remain in Ramsey. Even empty nesters and seniors have a choice of housing that best reflects their lifestyle. We were able to blend compatible urban and rural development so they are complementary not conflicting. We are a together commumty. One of the strengths of Ramsey is the way natural features have been preserved and integrated into the built environment and as elements of the park system, providing interconnected wild life areas that themselves are connected by trails. In 2020 Ramsey is a connected community. One of the most important changes was how we built a positive identity around our natural strengths, the rivers, trees, and wetlands. We are proud of the way the image of Highway 10 has improved over the past several years. We are pleased with the appearance of our City. Although major transportation corridors are safer and handle more traffic than in the 1990's, traffic continues to be a problem primarily because we, and the residents of neighboring communities, drive more than we did in the 1990's. On-the-other-hand, traffic conflicts within neighborhoods have improved and transit promises to reduce auto travel demand in the future. Ramsey has an excellent park system that serves residents of all ages. Even the landfill was made a productive part of the City's park system. While Ramsey offers a substantial number of jobs and employers, it still remains more of a bedroom community with enough commercial development to satisfy the needs of residents and the traveling public on Highway 10. Ramsey is a healthy community with good services, a connected community, a community with a good image, a commumty where people can live their whole lives, a community that respects and cares for its natural resources, and a community that has a real sense of place. 2001 Ramsey Comprehensive Plan Amended February 26, 2002 Page II-1