Adopt Resolution #20-319 Approving Final Version of 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update

This case is a repeat of a case presented at the November 24, 2020 City Council Meeting and approved by the City Council. As noted at that meeting, final approval of the Plan needed to come after Metropolitan Council approval due to Metropolitan Council policies and Minnesota Statute Chapter 473. This is administrative action of an approval already provided. The Metropolitan Council approved the Plan on December 9, 2020 and the City is now able to approve the Plan and place into effect. Text from the November 24, 2020 case is below. 

This is the third version approved by the City Council. The City Council originally approved the plan on June 11, 2019. However, that draft was deemed incomplete by the Metropolitan Council. Staff invested significant effort to address these comments, and ultimately the City Council approved a revised draft on January 24, 2020. Minutes from that case are attached. 

Staff had clearly hoped to have this task completed at least 12 months ago. However, Staff resources to dedicate to this effort were completely consumed by development review and code enforcement in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic put the City further behind as we again had record levels of development review and code enforcement amplified by the impacts of the pandemic. 

A Public Hearing has already been held on this case. Additional notification is not required. 

The following is a comparison to the draft approved by the City Council on January 14, 2020. Policy direction is still largely consistent from the previous draft, with modifications focusing on Metropolitan Council requirements and data inconsistencies. A reminder that these changes have already been accepted by the City Council, now taking final administrative approval. 
 

Request	Response	Final Decision
Provide Map of Septic System in GIS Format	Database has an error that will require significant Staff time to correct	Original Map in PDF Format is acceptable
Correct Inconsistencies in Forecast Tables across various Chapters	Verified that some tables had slightly different numbers. Corrected	Corrected
Correct Inconsistency in MUSA Boundary (water and sewer area) between Land Use Map and Wastewater Map	Corrected	Corrected
Amend Forecast Tables and Maps for Mixed Use/Transit Oriented Development Area (The COR)	Metropolitan Council already approved a Master Plan for The COR	City methodology accepted
Amend Staged MUSA Map (water and sewer area) to account for Preserve at Ramsey	Since 2008, Ramsey has not had a phased MUSA	City methodology accepted
Create a Capital Improvement Program in the Implementation Chapter of the Plan	City already has a CIP document - no desire to create a separate document specific to the Comprehensive Plan	City methodology accepted

Preserve at Northfork Impacts

When Preserve at Northfork was approved, it was contingent upon final adoption of this Plan. Under the previous 2030 Comprehensive Plan, this site was not in the urban service area. When the property sold circa 2018, the request of the new Owner (Paxmar) was to include this parcel in the urban service area. That approval was granted by the City Council, the project was ultimately sold and the City Council ultimately granted approval of the project. The project is currently under construction, but the final connection to sanitary sewer is on pause pending this resolution. The Metropolitan Council cannot grant the necessary Sanitary Sewer Connection Permit until the plan is adopted. 

Staff had anticipated a much quicker resolution. Staff began working with the Metropolitan Council in late August/early September to identify a reasonable solution to avoid impacting a small 30 acre project as part of a Citywide planning effort. Staff was able to work with the Metropolitan Council to allow the project to move forward, but pause on final connection to the existing Sanitary Sewer Line located at the Riverstone Neighborhood. The Metropolitan Council did work to expedite the process a bit (compared to their regular schedule), but still took three months of work from the time of our original request pertaining to Preserve at Northfork to resolve. Below is a quick summary of alternatives suggested by City Staff and the ultimate resolution. Staff understands that the Metropolitan Council cannot vary from Statutes, as those are approved by the Minnesota Legislature. However, Staff was hopeful that some flexibilities in internal policies that are not directly tied to a statute might be explored, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
 

Suggestion	Response
Allow the Sanitary Sewer Pipe to be connected, but plug the pipe until the Comprehensive Plan is finalized and Sanitary Sewer Extension Permit is granted	Not permitted by Minnesota Statute Chapter 473
Amend or grant exemption to policy prohibiting amendments to current 2030 Plans while waiting for 2040 Plan to be adopted	Metropolitan Council is not interested in amending or granting exemptions to this policy
Allow the City of Ramsey to adopt our Plan, contingent upon final approval by the Metropolitan Council (past City practice no longer permitted by the Metropolitan Council)	Not permitted by Minnesota Statute Chapter 473
Expedite Schedule for a October to November Review Timeframe	Metropolitan Council schedules and workload allow for an expedited schedule of November to December

Summary:

At the end of the day, Staff is comfortable with 90% of the Comprehensive Plan Update process. Through the final review and implementation process, Staff believes there is room for improvement on the final 10% of the process. The Metropolitan Council has sent out a survey to local Planners and Administrators/Managers to review how the process went. There will ultimately be a working group to debrief on the process and discuss ways to improve the process for the next round. Staff has already responded to this survey with our concerns on the processes as outlined above and will be a key participant in the process improvement moving forward. Staff recommends that we not hold up this current update based on these concerns, but engage in the process moving forward.

The plan was originally due on December 31, 2018 then extended to December 31, 2019. The City can always circle back and amend the plan as needed.

This case is being handled as part of normal Staff duties. The Metropolitan Council granted the City a $32,000 planning grant to assist with the efforts. 

Consistent with previous Planning Commission recommendations, Staff recommends approval of this draft of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update. Amendments from the previous draft are administrative and technical in nature and do not have policy implications at this time. 

Note - the November 16, 2020 Metropolitan Council Review Letter includes a number of "advisory" (optional) requests. Generally speaking, Staff has not included these additional optional elements and has focused on the minimum requirements of approval at this time. 

Motion to adopt Resolution #20-319 approving final version of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update.