| Carver County:
A Collaborative Decision Support Framework to Guide Stakeholder Construction of Land Use Policy in Edge Communities (Waconia, Chaska, Victoria, and Laketown Township)
Orderly Annexation Fiscal Analysis (Laketown Township)
Planning for Baby Boomers in Carver County (Carver County Office of Aging)
Design Standards for Downtown Commercial District (City of Mayer)
Developing a Conservation Incentive Zoning Ordinance (Carver County Department of Planning)
Highway 5/212 Corridor Land Use Plan (City of Norwood Young America)
Chisago County:
Appropriate Business Mix for a Rural Transit Center (Lent Township)
Dakota County:
A Municipal Growth and Development Toolkit for Peripheral Communities (Rosemount and Farmington)
Vermillion River Corridor Plan (Dakota County)
Goodhue County:
Environmental Policies and Resources Review (City of Pine Island)
Hennepin County:
Refinement and Implementation of Mississippi River Trail Plan (City of Dayton)
Tilling and Composting Compacted Soils to Decrease Stormwater Runoff (Maple Grove and Three Rivers Parks District)
Open Space Preservation (Hassan Township)
Using Visualization Technologies to Create and Assess Development Scenarios (Minnetrista)
Inventorying and Protecting Cultural and Historical Resources (Hassan Township)
Amending a Park Dedication Ordinance (City of Corcoran)
Scott County:
The Future of Agricultural Production in Scott County (Scott County and Jordan Area Visioning Alliance)
Community Trail Plan and Development (Louisville Township)
Sustainability Planning in Prior Lake (Prior Lake)
Agricultural Zoning and “Greening” the Development Code (Scott County Department of Planning)
Parks Plan and Development Options (Louisville Township)
Precedent Studies for Transitioning Highway Commercial Corridors from Rural to Urban Services and Land Uses (Scott County Department of Planning)
Washington County:
Sustainability Planning in Forest Lake (Forest Lake)
Citizen Input on Parks and Recreation Programming (City of Hugo)
Wright County:
U.S. Trunk Highway 12 Redevelopment Project (Montrose)
A Collaborative Decision Support Framework to Guide Stakeholder Construction of Land Use Policy in Edge Communities
Rapidly expanding, small communities at the exurban fringe of the Twin Cities metropolitan area often lack the capacity to respond to growth pressures in ways that allow them to simultaneously realize the economic benefits of development, respond to community values, and protect critical natural resources and ecological areas. With support from U-CGO, Universiity faculty in Landscape Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning are developing a collaborative land-use planning decision-support system that allows stakeholders in four Carver County jurisdictions—the City of Waconia, the City of Victoria, the City of Chaska, and Laketown Township—to use green infrastructure systems as a basis for constructing and implementing sustainable land-use policies. The decision-support system will integrate interactive strategies for stakeholder engagement, spatial modeling capabilities of GIS technology, and emerging information visualization technologies. Stakeholders will construct and evaluate alternative scenarios of community growth in a process that involves iterative and reflective dialogue about the impacts of development decisions. The process of “trying on” alternative policies will continue until a “reasonable fit”is constructed among participating stakeholders. Project outcomes are expected to influence future land-use discussions and decisions in the Laketown Township area as this area develops. This project also is intended to produce a decision-making process and decision-support system that can be applied to other exurban communities in the metro area and beyond. The investigators will also produce an article for a future issue of the CURA Reporter describing the project, outcomes, and lessons learned. This project is ongoing through fall 2009.
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Orderly Annexation Fiscal Analysis
Laketown Township is subject to an orderly annexation agreement that was created in the 1970s. Under this agreement, the township will cease to exist by 2030, and portions of the township will be annexed by the neighboring cities of Chaska, Waconia, and Victoria. The township wants help understanding the financial implications of annexation for Laketown over time—specifically, at what point in the future will annexation of land by neighboring communities mean that the township no longer has sufficient tax base or revenue to fulfill its basic government responsibilities?
A graduate student in urban and regional planning analyzed Laketown’s budget, calculated tax capacity and the cost of essential township functions and services by geographic area, and used geographic information systems (GIS) analysis to identify the annexation “tipping point” for Laketown. This information was summarized in a final report for the township that will be used as the basis for future discussions and negotiations with Chaska, Waconia, and Victoria regarding the timing and extent of annexation.
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Planning for Baby Boomers in Carver County
Carver County currently has approximately 6,000 residents over the age of 65. That number is expected to increase to 25,000 by 2030. Existing research suggests that traditional models of aging and service delivery do not meet the needs or expectations of the baby boomer generation, which begins to turn 65 in the year 2010. The county requested assistance with helping Carver County cities assess their readiness for the boomer “age wave.” Graduate students in urban and regional planning helped the Carver County Office of Aging conduct focus groups, and design and pilot a resident survey and a boomer readiness assessment tool that can be used to identify such needs in the areas of housing, employment, volunteerism, recreation, and medical and social services. A PowerPoint presentation about the project and a final report were prepared for the county (the report includes the resident survey and community assessment tool). U-CGO staff continue to refine the survey instrument and assessment tools for wider distribution. The project has also led to a series of CURA-sponsored meetings between University of Minnesota faculty, metro-area county staff, state agency staff, elected officials, consultants, and service providers to identify and prioritize potential University-community research projects related to preparing for the boomer age wave. U-CGO/CURA staff are currently investigating funding opportunities through the National Institute of Health to support university-community research partnerships around aging issues.
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Design Standards for Downtown Commercial District
Located in Carver County, the City of Mayer has recently widened and made streetscape improvements to Highway 25, the business corridor that runs through the city’s old downtown.
Graduate students in landscape architecture and urban and regional planning worked with a citizen advisory group to craft design standards for the businesses along this corridor. The project produced a design manual for the city to use to guide future development and redevelopment projects in the downtown area. The design standards were instrumental in the City of Mayer successfully applying for and receiving a Small Communities Grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development earlier this year. The city will use the grant to redevelop and revitalize its downtown area as the commercial and cultural center of the community.
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Developing a Conservation Incentive Zoning Ordinance
As part of its 2030 Comprehensive Plan, Carver County will adopt a conservation incentive zoning option. The purpose of the conservation incentive is to encourage landowners to protect, preserve, enhance, or restore natural resources on their property in exchange for additional building eligibility. A graduate student in landscape architecture and urban planning is assisting the county by reviewing and summarizing existing conservation development ordinances, natural resource conservation programs, conservation design standards, and natural resource evaluation systems in other developing metropolitan counties. The information gathered from this project will be used to inform an update to Carver County’s zoning ordinance in 2010 that will include a conservation incentive zoning option. This project is ongoing through January 2010, when a final report is expected.
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Highway 5/212 Corridor Land Use Plan
Norwood Young America’s 2008 Comprehensive Plan includes a 240-acre area designated as “Future Study Area” on the city’s future land use map. This area is located at the junction of Highway 212 and Highway 5, a major intersection in Western Carver County, and includes a large lake and other high-quality natural resources being considered for inclusion in the city’s Legacy Greenway Corridor. The area was designated as a Future Study Area both because the city lacked resources to plan for this area during its latest comprehensive plan update, and because MnDOT has proposed a major rerouting of Highway 5 in the next 20–30 years to improve safety and access, which would significantly impact this area. A graduate student in landscape architecture will help the city identify appropriate interim and long-term residential and commercial land uses for this area.
The city anticipates using the information gained from this project to complete a comprehensive plan amendment that would incorporate mixed-use land use designations for the Future Study Area, and to inform a future transportation study for the Highway 5 reroute.
Other participants in the project will include School District 108, MnDOT, MnDNR, and Carver County. This project is ongoing through January 2010, when a final report is expected.
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Appropriate Business Mix for a Rural Transit Center
Lent Township is located in Chisago County, along Interstate 35W. A large percentage of Lent’s residents are employed in the Twin Cities and patronize merchants in communities along the I-35 travel corridor. The township also borders several well-established commercial centers in North Branch and Stacy that compete for local consumers. Lent recently assumed planning and zoning authority from the county. One of its first acts was to establish a 320-acre Rural Transit Center (RTC) at the intersection of Interstate 35 and County Road 17, a busy local feeder route. Limited commercial uses are now permitted in the RTC by right or as conditional uses. Graduate students in urban and regional planning helped the township assess the potential for future commercial-industrial development in the RTC. Students produced a final report that assessed market demand for, infrastructure and service needs of, employment opportunities from, and overall feasibility of three development scenarios for the RTC: (1) a light-industrial and manufacturing park; (2) a trail-oriented development along the Sunrise Prairie Trail, a multiuse recreational trail that has been identified as the alignment for the proposed Rush Line commuter-rail corridor; and (3) a mixed-use assisted-living and senior housing development with supportive service-retail establishments. The township will use the report to guide future development plans for this area.
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A Municipal Growth and Development Toolkit for Peripheral Communities
Proposals for higher housing density and compact neighborhoods often raise community concern. In light of the rising economic, social, and environmental costs of sprawling development, civic leaders and planners in rapidly growing communities on the Twin Cities metropolitan edge need the tools and resources to rethink traditional suburban approaches to development and to address citizen concerns about more compact and higher density development patterns. Working with the developing communities of Farmington and Rosemount, faculty members in the Department of Geography created alternative development scenarios for the two cities that demonstrated the economic and environmental costs of standard suburban single-family development, the link between this type of development and limited housing affordability, and the relationship between design and successful higher density developments that respect community character. Using this project as a foundation, the investigators intend to create a growth and development “toolkit” to help build local capacity and community support for higher density, smart growth development. Components of the toolkit would include (1) a model for developing smart growth land-use maps using GIS, (2) approaches to encourage community involvement and collaboration, and (3) resources to demonstrate to citizens the impacts of standard suburban single-family development and the benefits of more compact, higher density development. The toolkit would assist civic leaders and planners in gaining community support for better long-term comprehensive plans, more walkable and livable communities, and more affordable housing, and would have wide application to other communities in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
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Vermillion River Corridor Plan
The Vermillion River is an impaired water and a designated trout fishery in Dakota County that flows from rapidly developing suburbs through rural townships and agricultural land to its confluence with the Mississippi River. The Vermillion River Corridor Plan (VRCP), currently being developed by Dakota County, will inventory and integrate water quality, recreational use and access, restoration of wildlife habitat, and compatible development. The plan is intended to be a model for a greenway collaborative and a comprehensive green infrastructure plan throughout the County. A graduate student in urban planning worked with the Dakota County Office of Planning to help facilitate the initial development of the plan by assembling data and information about zoning, land use, land cover, and floodplain zones; providing preliminary analysis of these data; and working with the core planning team to develop and implement a detailed work plan, and facilitate initial partnership and stakeholder meetings.
The Vermillion River Corridor Plan and process, which is ongoing through 2010, has the potential to become a model for integrated watershed analysis and land-use planning in communities and watersheds throughout the metro area and the state.
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Environmental Policies and Resources Review
The City of Pine Island is situated 10 minutes north of Rochester on Highway 52. For the past three years, the city has been working with a development firm to locate a 2,325 acre master-planned development in the city that would include a bio-business park, a healthy-living campus, office/warehouse/retail/institutional space, and residential developments. This development has prompted community members and the Pine Island Economic Development Authority to form an Environmental Policy Steering Committee (EPSC) to identify and propose to the city council and planning and zoning commission specific environmental policies to guide future development. A graduate student in landscape architecture and urban planning will review and document environmental policies in other cities of a similar size and growth rate, and gather information on a variety of sustainability issues, including energy use, renewable energy systems, green buildings, water quality, and water usage. The resulting report will help to inform the environmental and sustainability policies and goals the EPSC recommends to the planning and zoning commission and city council. The community has secured additional funds from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation to support a future internship or pilot project to ensure implementation. This project is ongoing through January 2010, when a final report is expected.
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Refinement and Implementation of Mississippi River Trail Plan
The City of Dayton, located in Hennepin County, recently completed its first Parks, Trails, and Open Space Plan. Graduate students in landscape architecture and urban and regional planning refined a trail alignment along the Mississippi River that will link several existing parks, the community’s historic district, and the regional Elm Creek Park Reserve, as well as create connections to a proposed countywide trail and to the future Elk River commuter rail station. Students identified funding sources and implementation mechanisms for the plan, and made a final presentation to the Dayton City Council, Dayton Parks Commission, and Hennepin County staff. Information from the final report for this project will be used to revise Dayton’s Parks, Trails, and Open Space plan.
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Tilling and Composting Compacted Soils to Decrease Stormwater Runoff
Standard construction practices compact soils and decrease the infiltration potential of the soil. Compacted soil covered with sod can have the same effect as impermeable pavement, resulting in excess water simply running off into the street and storm sewers. Runoff resulting from construction compaction, rooftops, and pavement contributes to the degradation of rivers through sedimentation and erosion, the pollution of lakes and other water bodies, and the risk of flash flooding. It has often been asserted that tilling the compacted soil will increase infiltration and reduce runoff. However, this hypothesis has not been proven and the effect of these practices has not been quantified, leading many developers to resist implementing such practices. A faculty member in Civil Engineering is working with the Three Rivers Park District and the City of Maple Grove to test the hypothesis and quantify the impact of tilling compacted soil, and tilling and adding compost to the compacted soil. The goal of the project partners is to reduce stormwater runoff in developed and developing watersheds, reducing the impact of runoff on downstream rivers and lakes. The results of the project will suggest best practices for mitigating compaction on construction sites in newly developing areas of the Twin Cities that can be disseminated through the University of Minnesota Continuing Education’s Erosion and Sediment Control Certification Program. The project can also help to inform local municipalities considering regulatory approaches to reduce soil compaction and stormwater runoff. Resources from the project will be available in 2010,
and an article describing the project, outcomes, and resources will be published in a future issue of the CURA Reporter.
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Open Space Preservation
Hassan Township has an adopted Park, Trail, and Greenway plan, as well as a land use ordinance to encourage protection of open space and sensitive natural areas. However, neither the plan nor the ordinance adequately provides for the acquisition, management, and perpetual preservation of open space parcels, and the ordinance is poorly coordinated with the greenway plan. A graduate student in landscape architecture assisted the community to identify acquisition and management best practices, as well as document the benefits of open space preservation. Project partners included staff and elected officials of the City of Rogers, which has an orderly annexation agreement with Hassan Township. A PowerPoint presentation and a final report documented the value of open space protection, identified strategies for acquiring properties in the designated greenway corridor, summarized policies and best practices for preserving and managing open spaces, and assessed the fiscal impacts of public ownership and management of open space parcels. This information will be used to inform the township’s efforts to refine its open space plan and adopt policies to begin implementing the plan.
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Using Visualization Technologies to Create and Assess Development Scenarios
Minnetrista contains a 488-acre parcel on Lake Minnetonka characterized by 8,000 feet of shoreline, significant forest and habitat area, and unique topographical features. Development of the site is made more challenging by access issues, environmental protection efforts, and density requirements established by the Metropolitan Council. The City has been presented with several development proposals for the site, none of which have managed to secure final approval. The City is currently working with a consulting firm to rewrite its planned-unit development ordinance and to articulate a set of public values to guide negotiations with developers who seek to develop under this ordinance. A graduate student in urban and regional planning provided an analysis of various development alternatives for the Lake Minnetonka site using CommunityViz. City staff will use the results of the project as a case study to help elected officials understand and visualize the implications of emphasizing certain public values over others. The results of the project will also inform negotiations with a developer currently interested in developing the Lake Minnetonka site. The project produced a final report for the city.
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Inventorying and Protecting Cultural and Historical Resources
Hassan Township, which will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2010, has many historic structures at risk of demolition as development encroaches. A graduate student in urban and regional planning helped the township to identify and inventory historically and culturally significant structures in the community, conduct interviews with long-time residents of the community to record their recollections about historic structures and sites in the community Hassan, and identify methods to preserve and protect the community’s local heritage. Project partners included the Hassan Historical Society, the Minnesota Historical Society, the Hennepin County Historical Society, and Three Rivers Park District. Hassan Township and the Hassan Area Historical Society will use the information from this project to determine the best approach to historic preservation in the community, and to prioritize historic sites and structures for preservation. The project has resulted in discussions with staff from the neighboring City of Rogers to coordinate historic preservation efforts in light of the orderly annexation agreement between the two communities. The project produced a final report for the township.
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Amending a Park Dedication Ordinance
Corcoran is in the process of completing its 2030 Comprehensive Plan update. The plan calls for a more extensive and ambitious park and trail system than that identified in the city’s 2020 Comprehensive Plan and its 2004 Park and Trails Plan. In addition, the city’s existing park dedication ordinance is no longer consistent with the goals and policies of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. A graduate student in landscape architecture will research park dedication ordinances in other communities, and review recent changes in the enabling legislation for park dedications. The student will use this research to propose updates to Corcoran’s park dedication ordinance to better align the city’s regulatory controls with its comprehensive plan and with the community’s emerging vision for conservation development approaches. This project is ongoing through January 2010, at which time a final report is expected.
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The Future of Agricultural Production in Scott County
Scott County farmland contains some of the most productive soils in the region and provides a valuable resource to produce local foods for the Twin Cities population. However, suburban growth has significantly increased land values in the rural parts of the county, creating a potential conflict between the use of land for agriculture and future urbanization. Scott County’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan designates much of the existing farmland around the growing cities of Jordan, Belle Plaine, and New Prague as “urban expansion” or “urban transition” areas eligible for higher density development. U-CGO worked with the Scott County Department of Planning and the Jordan Area Visioning Alliance (JAVA) on a multistep project that included:
- conducting an inventory of existing agricultural uses in the county, and documenting the impacts of agricultural production on the local economy (download the final report or a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the findings)
- researching precedent studies and strategies used in other communities to preserve farmland and encourage alternative landscape patterns that support continued agricultural production in rural-edge areas (download the final report or a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the findings)
- using geographic information systems (GIS) analysis to identify land in Scott County that is most and least suitable for agricultural production to help inform land preservation efforts (download the final report and accompanying maps [67MB file])
- evaluating the market potential for, feasibility of, and characteristics of a local food system in rural Scott County, including the physical infrastructure, agricultural infrastructure, land use mix, tax policies, economic incentives, and land conservation policies that would be necessary to support a viable mix of agricultural uses (download the final report)
In June 2009, graduate students involved with the inventory and precedent studies projects presented results of their research at the kickoff meeting of the 15-member Scott County Farm Advisory Task Force, which was formed to help the county shape policy regarding the long-term future of farming. The reports from all four projects will directly inform the work of this task force as it recommends policy changes to the county.
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Community Trail Plan and Development
Louisville Township appointed a Parks, Trails, and Open Space (PTOS) Committee in 2007, charged with conducting a trail study and drafting a trail plan. The plan focused primarily on alignments along county road right-of-ways, and was not embraced by the public or ultimately approved by the township board. A graduate student in landscape architecture conducted a mail survey of residents in the community to identify attitudes toward and priorities for trails in the community, and proposed a revised plan that maximizes connectivity between established neighborhoods in the township, creates connections with neighboring communities, provides safe routes for trails users, offers recreational and transportation opportunities for residents, and anticipates future growth and development in the community. Project partners included the Scott County Parks and Trails and Community Development departments. The Louisville Township PTOS Committee will use the report to revise the trails plan and prioritize segments of the trail for future land acquisition and implementation. The project produced a final report for the township.
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Sustainability Planning in Prior Lake
Having recently completed updates to its comprehensive plan, the City of Prior Lake wanted to integrate sustainability concerns into its plan implementation process and regulatory framework. Graduate students in a capstone workshop in urban planning at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs taught by Dr. Carissa Schively Slotterback conducted a comprehensive audit of the city’s zoning code and proposed ordinance updates, new regulations, and implementation tools in the areas of renewable energy, conservation development, water quality protection, tree preservation, and transportation.
The graduate students and city staff collaborated to create a report focused on plan implementation that will serve to guide revisions to the city’s zoning code to address sustainability. The report serves as a model for other communities interested in establishing innovative policies for addressing sustainability. The resulting Prior Lake Sustainability Implementation Plan is available online.
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Agricultural Zoning and “Greening” the Development Code
This year the Scott County Planning Department is updating the county’s zoning and subdivision ordinances to implement its newly adopted 2030 Comprehensive Plan Update. The County recently formed a farm advisory task force to help the Planning Department, among other things, evaluate the county’s zoning rules as they relate to farming and agricultural land uses. However, the department does not have the resources to research emerging trends and best practices in agricultural zoning approaches. In addition, the Planning Department is concerned that the county development code does not adequately acknowledge or address emerging trends in sustainable development practices. A graduate student in urban and regional planning will research agricultural zoning approaches in other counties in large metropolitan areas that are experiencing rapid urbanization, and conduct an audit of the county’s development code with respect to emerging sustainability practices in the areas of alternative energy systems, tree preservation, water quality, and stormwater management. The resulting report and audit will be used by the Farm Advisory Task Force and the Scott County Planning Advisory Commission to recommend specific ordinance updates to the planning department and planning commission. This project is ongoing through January 2010, when a final report is expected.
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Parks Plan and Development Options
Louisville Township, located in Scott County, appointed a Parks, Trails, and Open Space (PTOS) Committee in 2007, charged with drafting a trails plan for the community. The plan focused on existing parkland, which is of limited recreational value because of the size and location of the parcels, and recommended acquisition of several additional parcels from willing landowners for development of new parks. The plan was not embraced by the public nor ultimately approved by the township board. A graduate student in landscape architecture is working with the committee to revise the plan to provide residents with accessible recreational opportunities, coordinate the location of parks with Louisville Township’s trails plan and the Scott County Regional Parks and Trail System, research opportunities for redeveloping the closed Louisville Township Landfill as a future park or recreational facility, and identify funding sources for purchasing and developing parkland. The Louisville Township PTOS Committee will use the report to revise the parks plan, recommend improvements to existing parks, identify potential parcels for future acquisition, and recommend whether to develop the Louisville Township Landfill as a future park. This project is ongoing through January 2010, when a final report is expected.
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Precedent Studies for Transitioning Highway Commercial Corridors from Rural to Urban Services and Land Uses
One of Scott County’s main commercial corridors is U.S. Highway 169, which runs along the Minnesota River between Shakopee and Belle Plaine. MnDOT has slated this highway for future conversion to a freeway from the Twin Cities to Mankato, with limited access and grade-separated interchanges. Currently, the corridor is guided for a mix of rural businesses, industries, and extraction uses. Two major regional investments will dramatically change the nature of this corridor: the future TH 41 river freeway bridge connecting Highways 169 and 212; and a future regional wastewater treatment plant that will allow much of the highway corridor to develop with urban services and land uses in the future. A student in urban planning will research precedent studies showing how similar rural highway corridors have transitioned to urban services, including the processes or organizational frameworks used to engage multiple jurisdictions, stakeholders, landowners, and business interests; visualization tools or other techniques used to engage the public in such planning efforts; appropriate interim land uses in a rural highway commercial corridor planned for future urbanization; and lessons learned from these efforts. The findings from this project will be used to formulate a comprehensive work plan and possible grant applications to undertake a major corridor study in 2010–2011. Staff from cities and townships traversed by Highway 169 will participate in this project. This project is ongoing through January 2010, when a final report is expected.
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Sustainability Planning in Forest Lake
Having recently completed updates to its comprehensive plan, including a new Sustainability Element, the City of Forest Lake decided to integrate sustainability concerns into its planning and regulatory framework. Students in a capstone workshop in urban planning at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs taught by Dr. Carissa Schively Slotterback developed a sustainability action plan focused on policies, ordinances, projects, incentives, processes, and other implementation tools that the city could use to address sustainability. Graduate students and city staff collaborated to develop a sustainability plan that has now been adopted by the city council, and that will guide implementation of sustainability goals in Forest Lake. The plan serves as a model for other communities interested in establishing a planning framework and innovative policies for addressing sustainability. The resulting Forest Lake Sustainability Action Plan is available online.
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Citizen Input on Parks and Recreation Programming
The City of Hugo is at a turning point with respect to providing park and recreation services for its growing population. Construction of the city’s new Rice Lake Park and Athletic Complex has placed increased demand on the city’s public works staff, and new residents in urbanizing areas of Hugo expect additional park and recreation opportunities in the community. A graduate student in urban planning will research precedents in other cities for creation of a park and recreation department, and conduct surveys and focus groups to gather resident opinions about the need for parks and recreation programming, their desire for additional park and recreation facilities and amenities, and their preferences for how to pay for such improvements. The final report will guide the next steps of Hugo’s Parks Commission, Parks and Recreation Programming Subcommittee, and City Council with respect to park and recreation facilities and programming in the community. This project is ongoing through January 2010, when a final report is expected.
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U.S. Trunk Highway 12 Redevelopment Project
Montrose has recently experienced significant residential growth, and a corresponding demand for local commercial goods and services. To promote economic development and assist with business recruitment and retention, the Montrose Economic Development Authority (EDA) identified a need to improve the aesthetics and functionality of the existing commercial area along U.S. Trunk Highway 12, a primary gateway to and major corridor through the community. Accordingly, the city council and EDA created a 15-member Highway 12 Redevelopment Committee in July 2008 to begin planning for short-term and long-term improvements to enhance the roadway. The corridor consists of approximately 35 structures with a variety of architectural styles, building heights, setbacks, and exterior building materials. A graduate student in landscape architecture assisted planning consultants from Municipal Development Group and members of the task force in developing architectural and design standards for the corridor, and preparing illustrations for a future form-based zoning ordinance for the corridor. The project involved working with landscape architects from MnDOT’s Community Roadside Landscaping Partnership Program, who developed a landscape plan for the corridor.
The standards were incorporated as Exhibit I in the City of Montrose Highway 12 Redevelopment Plan, recently approved by the city council. A PowerPoint presentation and the final report (18.9 MB) from this project are available.
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