Receive Update on Land Use Planning Workshop and Consider Response to ThriveMSP 2040 (Metropolitan Council Regional Development Framework)

The purpose of this case is to review feedback provided as part of the City's kick-off to participation in the regional planning cycle to help inform the City's response to the draft Regional Development Framework.

The City of Ramsey last updated its Comprehensive Plan in 2008. The completion of the 2010 US Census kicked off a new regional planning cycle. The first key milestone of that process wraps up this April 28, 2014 with a Metropolitan Council Public Hearing on ThriveMSP 2040, the Regional Development Framework that serves as the base for all future planning documents in the cycle.

Based on feedback from the community in the last cycle that the community did not feel that it was adequately involved in the policy development stages of the City's 2030 Comprehensive Plan, the City set a goal to participate early and at each of the key milestones of the cycle to ensure that our feedback and goals were included. The recent City workshop was the first of several in a series that will unfold over a variety of mediums and venues over the next two (2) years.

Attached to the case are comments from the recent City workshop, the Regional Development Framework, and a suggested City response to the Regional Development Framework based on the following:
 

1. The existing 2030 Comprehensive Plan
2. Existing Small Area Planning Documents
3. Recent Workshop Feedback

Notification is not required at this time.

The suggested response to the Regional Development Framework is attached for detailed review.

Staff would recommend an ongoing citizen engagement platform, now focused on more virtual and kiosk-based opportunities on citizen input related to land use, as opposed to a focus on in-person workshops. The Planning Commission should consider an ongoing collaborative process that extends beyond this response to regional forecasts, through the next Comprehensive Plan Update, to create a evolving document for the community's land use vision that adds true value to the community and to the process.

The attached document outlines general feedback and feedback specific to the City's existing Vision and Values Statement found in the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. The hope with these series of public input mediums is to look for common trends in topics, regardless of whether there is full consensus on the implementation, to see what areas the community should focus on in the next Comprehensive Plan Update. Initial feedback on the existing Vision and Values Statement is that generally speaking, the vision serves the community well, but warrants additional review to consider restructuring and inclusion of potentially missing pieces.

Based on this information, Staff will begin putting together a detailed work plan on next steps for consideration by the Planning Commission.

Development of these documents and supporting materials is being handled as part of normal Staff duties.

Staff recommends that the City send the attached comments to the Regional Development Framework.

Motion to recommend that the City Council adopt the attached comments to the Regional Development Framework.