Receive Progress Report on Comprehensive Plan Update

The purpose of this case is to review the current draft of the Comprehensive Plan Update. The Plan is available for public comment, including adjacent jurisdictions, at www.cityoframsey.com/ramsey2040. The City has until December 31, 2018 to make final edits and submit to the Metropolitan Council.

The Comprehensive Plan is the City's long-range vision for the community for future development, preservation, and required infrastructure. The Comprehensive Plan ensures a clear vision for the community and proper coordination of infrastructure such as streets and utilities.

The City invested a signficant amount of time and energy to engaging the community in this process. Throughout the past two years, several themes or goals have emerged that drive the vision of our community for the next twenty years (in no priority order).

• A Balance of Rural Character and Urban Growth
• A Connected Community
• An Active Community
• Smart, Citizen-Focused Government
• Financial Stability

Some key highlights of the plan include, but are not limited to the following:

• Future Development Areas
  • Trott Brook District (north of Trott Brook along Nowthen Boulevard near new Elementary School) - Single-Family Residential
  • Elmcrest District (intersection of Saint Francis Boulevard and 167th Avenue) - retail revitalization and residential
  • Mississippi West District (south of Highway 10, west of Llama Street) - commercial/industrial along Highway 10, residential along Mississippi River
  • Bunker Lake Industrial Park
  • Riverstone/Northfork
• Key Transportation Issues
  • Highway 10
  • Highway 47
  • Future Mississippi River Crossing
  • Local Street Improvements
  • County Road Improvements
• Other Highlights
  • Retail Recruitment Strategies - "We need more restaurants and shops!"
  • Employment Recruitment and Tax Base Expansion Strategies
  • Preservation of Key Natural Resource Areas (for example, Trott Brook Corridor)
  • Park System Planning - expansion in developing areas and connecting to existing spaces
  • Keeping housing affordable to Ramsey's average income

Planning projects such as this have proven beneficial for the City, especially as it relates to Highway 10. The current Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2008, and has become outdated (new Land Use Plans, new plan for Highway 10, etc.). In addition to long-range planning as a best practice, completion of a Comprehensive Plan is also required for metro-area municipalities per Minnesota Statutes Chapter 473. Plans are required to be reviewed by the Metropolitan Council.

The draft is approximately 90% complete. The draft is 100% complete in terms of meeting the minimum requirements of the plan. Staff desires to clarify policy direction on goals, strategies, and action items as well as the planning maps in the document. Staff has updated the format/layout considerably since the last review with City Council; however there are a number of formatting updates to be completed before December. Please note that this continues to be a working draft. The final product will be presented in December, with multiple opportunities for updates prior to that point. Given the scope and length of the document, Staff is focused first on content and policy, then on format and design. Sigificant work goes into formatting, so Staff finds it more cost-effective to lock in the content first, then create to polished design.

Working List of Priority Items to be Completed with Next Draft:

• Add detail to the Retail Sub-Section of the Economic Development Plan per the recommendation of the EDA (create site profiles for individual sites to mirror the Industrial Sub-Section)
• Complete/Update the Future Park Improvement Map to include priority trail gaps
• Complete final Action Items in the Natural Resources Plan
• Verify Strategies and Actions of the Housing Plan

This project is being handled with Planning Staff and supplemented by various consulting professionals (WSB Associates, Bolton and Menk). The City received a $32,000 Planning Grant from the Metropolitan Council to assist in the completion of the Update.

Staff recommends that the City Council provide feedback on the current draft.

No action is being requested. Council may wish to highlight which sections are generally complete, and which sections the Council would like to be brought back separately for a more in depth conversation.