Item 7 Item # 7.
tik
River
13065 Orono Parkway
Elk River,MN 55330 MEMORANDUM
TO: Planning Commission
FROM: Scott Harlicker, Senior Planner!
DATE: December 18, 2001
SUBJECT: Comprehensive Plan Review
At the November 19`h City Council meeting the Commission was asked to develop a process
to evaluate the City's Comprehensive Plan.The following is background information relating
to the process used to draft the 1995 Comprehensive Plan,the process for adopting the Plan
and the process relating to implementing the Plan.
• Drafting the Plan
The process for drafting the plan began on March 23rd 1994 with the first meeting of the
Steering Committee.In house staff were utilized to complete the update. The Committee
consisted of 16 members with a variety backgrounds.They met monthly,sometimes twice a
month, from March 23, 1994 to September 21, 1995 (19 months) to discuss various
components of the Plan.The meetings generally lasted about 21h hours with some lasting as
long as 4 hours.The meetings were open to the public and there was public comment taken
at every meeting.
During the beginning of the process,in June 1994,the City Council approved a 12 month
moratorium on subdivision of property outside the existing urban service area. The
moratorium prohibited the subdivision of property outside the urban service district into lots
less than 10 acres.The moratorium did not include the entire city; it only affected the area
east of the existing urban service boundary and southeast along Highway 10. A 6 month
extension of the moratorium was approved in June 1995 and another 6 month extension was
approved in December 1995.
Plan Adoption
The process for adopting the plan included Planning Commission recommendation and City
Council approval.The Planning Commission met for a special meeting on October 26, 1995
to consider the Draft Comprehensive Plan.The Commission reviewed and recommended
• approval that night.The City Council met 3 times over the next two months(November and
December 1995)to consider the Plan.The Council adopted the Plan on December 18, 1995.
Phone:763.441.7420
Fax:763.441 7425
www.ci.elk-rivermn us
. Memo to Planning Commission/Comp Plan Amendment
December 18,2001
Page 2
• From the initial meeting of the Steering Committee to City Council adoption of the Plan was
22 months.
Plan Implementation
Once the Comprehensive Plan was adopted, a series of land use plan amendments, zone
changes and planning studies were needed.During the first four months of 1996 the Council
approved 12 zone changes and 2 land use plan amendments in order to make the land use
map and zoning map consistent with the new Comprehensive Plan.In 1997 two additional
zone changes and land use plan amendments were needed in order to make certain areas of
the City consistent with the Plan.
Two planning studies were also completed in support of the newly adopted Plan. One was
the Economic Strategic Plan and the other was the East Elk River Study. The Economic
Strategic Plan identified certain areas of the City that would be suitable for Business Park
zoning.Those areas included the west business park,the Mulvaney property and property
west of Twin Lakes Road and east of the railroad tracks. The necessary land use plan
amendments and zone changes needed to implement the Plan were completed in 1998.
The second study,the East Elk River Study,was started in 1996 and accepted in 1997.The
study investigated the feasibility of extending urban services into east Elk River. The
construction of Twin Lakes Road from County Road 13 to 171`Avenue and the extension
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of sewer and water through the area and along east Highway 10 were the results of the study.
Furthermore,the Trott Brook Farm development and Elk River Crossing could not have
been approved without the improvements authorized by the East Elk River Study.
Summary
As you can see,to do a full Comprehensive Plan amendment is almost a 2 year process from
drafting the Plan to adopting the Plan.The impacts of amending the Comprehensive Plan
extend out for years beyond the date when the amendments to the Plan are actually adopted.
For instance,the improvements identified in the East Elk River Study were completed in the
fall of 2001, almost 6 years from when Comprehensive Plan amendment was adopted.
A less extensive alternative would be to identify specific issues such as development of the
gravel mining area,residential density,transportation and then amend those sections of the
Comprehensive Plan that relate to those issues.
Bob Minton,Chairman of the 1995 Steering Committee,drafted the attached memo to the
City Council.In it he identifies some of the pitfalls the Committee encountered along the
way and offered some advice on how to improve the process in the future.
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S:\PLANNING\SCOTT\Pc comp plan 21-18.doc
MEMO
TO: The Elk River City Council
• FROM: Bob Minton
RE: The updating of the Comprehensive Plan
DATE: December 2, 1995
Now that the updating of the Comprehensive Plan has been completed by the Steering Committee
and the Planning Commission, I would like to offer a few observations on my part on how this
process could be improved the next time around.
The vision of the future.
Although there v ere some sizable crowds at some of the meetings, they were there mostly to
react to the issues being discussed, or to some perceived threat. The reactions of people can give
some idea of their view of the future of the city, but it is not the most positive way of constructing
a vision.
I would suggest that n:xt time, a consultant be retained for the very specific task of visioning, and
that this be done befo! a committee starts to meet. According to what we have been exposed to
at various training mec tings, there are several methods that can be used to determine the attitudes
and views of a popular ion on this subject, ranging from surveys that are scientifically based on a
• stratified random sami le, to focus groups dealing with architectural design..
There would be sever 1 advantages to the kind of data obtained:
1. The context for the information could be more positive in nature, and not oased on
some perceived thi eat,
2. The views would b :reflective of the entire population, and not just of those who come
to the meetings. 7 he crowds at a meeting can often be composed of a neighborhood
group or of those who are interested in an issue, and they can often be at odds with the
population as a wl ole.
3. The data could be =ocused on the future of the city, which is sometimes difficult to do
at a meeting with a current emotional issue.
Specific information.
In retrospect, we needed more information on some of the more contentious issues. It is certainly
difficult for the staff to know how much information they should load onto volunteer members.
As a general rule, and from my point of view, I would say it is better to err on the side of
overloading. The information, however, should be focused on issues that are predictably
• controversial, and as much as possible it should be geared to specific questions and provided in a
digest or summary form.
For the tax benefits of commercial and industrial property, for example, we were provided with
the City Of Lakeville study, and for the appropriate number of apartments, the staff was able to
find an article summarizing the average zoning in a number of cities. Those studies gave us some
objective basis for making decisions, and I think that by the end of this process, it was generally
accepted that commercial and industrial zoning were essential for a reasonable tax base and a
balanced growth in our community.
We needed similar kinds of studies or information on the extension of urban services especially
with respect to
1. The cost, to a city, of urban sprawl. This cost is often cited, but I have not seen specific
information on it, and the implications of this cost to the City with all the 2 1/2 acre
and other large lots. The Metropolitan Council, with all their claims of the millions of
dollars saved with the establishment of the MUSSA line, should be an excellent source of
information on this subject.
2. The problems with septic systems and wells. Various claims have been made that 70 %
of septic systems are improperly maintained, or that nitrates are seeping into wells. It
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would be extremely important to have objective information on these subjects, an
update on the studies that are being conducted, and a prognosis on future legislation
that might result from the increasing sensitivity to these subjects.
Other very controversial issues in the future will require similar kinds of detailed background
information. I am fully aware that factual information will not make the least impression on some
people, especially when they are dealing with emotional issues. The up-graded transportation
• corridor plan made that rather clear. However, the information is vital for decision makers if they
are trying to be responsible in weighing all the factors.
Communications with the public.
When I brought up the subject of this memo to the rest of the Planning Commission, most of their
comments centered on better techniques for communicating with the public. It is obvious that
once a similar committee receives some good information, it is also extremely important to
publicize that information as broadly as possible before decisions are made.
Suggested techniques included a specialized newsletter to the public during the process, and an
open house on specific kinds of information. I would also suggest that certain kinds of revelations
to a committee are in themselves newsworthy, and could be the subject of press releases for the
Star News.
Committee training.
It could truly be said that the membership of this past Steering Committee was "blue ribbon,"
although it might also be true that some members agreed to participate in this process because
they did not realize what they were getting into. Even with this kind of exquisite group, some
initial orientation or trainings would be helpful for every member, so that they would be more
prepared to face some of the difficulties inherent in the process. I would describe some of those
difficulties as follows.
1. Planning for the future. Even for members who sit on other public policy-making
bodies, it takes a different mind-set to make planning decisions for the future as
opposed to making and implementing policy for the present. It would be helpful if
someone could make this dramatically clear for the members at the very beginning.
• 2. Facing up to difficult decisions. This can always be a problem for every policy-maker,
and it becomes much more acute when the interests of the future are pitted against
some particular interests of the present. On one controversial issue, a few Steering
Committee members were very honest about it. They heard testimony from their
neighbors and friends, and even an brother-in-law, and they did not want to be put on
the spot. Other committee members used some of the usual techniques for not making
a decision. Maybe some training would prepare them to take the bull by the horn.
3. This is a commitment. Attendance at the Steering Committee meetings was less than ideal. It
came to my attention that a few members were so disgusted at all the testimony in reaction to
the transportation corridor that they absented themselves for the rest of the meetings I am sure
that others did not enjoy being called on to make some of the hard political decisions. Training
could not only help to get the members ready for what they might have to face, but it could
also emphasize that this is a priority.
4. Wanting to be liked. Whenever there is crowd present on an issue, there is always a
temptation to placate the crowd and to be a populist. We may be more aware of this on
the Planning Commission, because of our legal constraints. Simply placating the crowd
can be bad enough at ordinary meetings; it can be disastrous when planning for the
future. With training, and with all committee members alert to the danger, it could
possibly be curtailed.
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