07/23/1991 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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strip centers with their parking lots in front encourage walk up business; one of the buildings in the older commercial area was an example of renovation that could 1e done; some of the assets are the two Metro Parks; easy access to I-480, the bike path, and the schools; some of the homes on the west end of the City have been turned into business use and have still retained a residential style, others have not. In developing this plan they they would be using the demographics of the 1990 census which will be made available during the next 2 years. The concerns of the City Planning Commission are: preservi.ng the residential areas; maintaining the existing housing stock; examining new types of housing, such as cluster homes; determining out how much more retail can be supported by this comrmun;ty, taking into consideration the development of surrounding suburbs; making the commercial areas more attractive by upgrading the appearance of the older commercial establishments, such as storefront renovation, as well as beautifyi.ng the newer areas; improving both the traffic patterns and infrastructure of the City; preserving open space; evalua.ting some of the existing comnunity facilities; and protecting some environmental benefits, wetlands, etc. They pointed out that there are still some prime vacant areas which could be developed, as well as some areas for potential re-development. They showed examples of over signage and the proliferation of pole signs; examples of poor planning with factories and homes in close proximity; older, blighted areas, as well as areas where the City had made right of way improvements, addi.ng trees, benches, brick pavers, etc. in order to entice property owners to make storefront renovations; areas where landscaping was added, both in the right of way and on private property, to separate parking lots from the street. They believed that after a plan is completed, it must be carried out by a coalition of public officials, business and corporate leaders land owners, civic groups and citizens. Mr. Schulz presented suggestions as to how to approach developing a plan. 1) Identify what the issues of the community are. 2) Identify what the goals of the conmunity should be, such as the separation of heavy commercial use from the residential areas; preserving the existing housing stock; or maintaining the comnercial areas so they do not deteriorate. 3) Studying the demographics of the area, such as how the declining population of the City is effecting the City, tax revenue, schools, etc. 4) Look at the overall land use in the City at present and comparing it to the land use study that was done previously. 5) Assessing the overall condition of the housing to determine vaxious needs as well as if any new types are needed or if there is a svrplus of ane particular kind. 6) Assess the industrial and commercial areas to determine wha.t is needed there. 7) Analyze public facilities, parks, schools, infrastructure, etc. 8) Address the traffic concerns. Once these needs are determined, there would be an in-depth study of the focus areas, such as the Christ The King property which has been requested to be rezoned and the area adjacent to Crocker Stearns extension which is to be started in 1995. After the focus area analysis is completed, the plan will stress how to manage the community's resources, how to implement these recommendations, etc. stating in detail what the community objectives are, as well as which is to come first, what type of financing is to be sought. The audience was invited to commento Mr. Gallagher, a resident, suggested that there could be an entrance to the Bradley Road Park off the Stearns/Crocker/ Basset extension (set back 500 to 1,000 feet off the road) and pointed out that there were plans for ponds and retention which could be used as flood retention and might be eligible for federal fiinds. Mr. Kastelic responded that the Metro Parks system is doing a master plan and since they are looking for local issues this might be something in which they would be interested. Councilman Nasher suggested that more land west of Dover Center Road be rezoned to residential and advised that Council is 3