04-09-2018 Council Work Session Packet

Home Browse Search

Navarre Small Area Plan I _ Introduction Overview of Process The Navarre Small Area Plan process began in the Fall of 2017. The Navarre area is generally located at the intersection of County Roads 19 (Shoreline Drive) and 15 (Shadywood Road). The study area (Figure 1) includes the residential area north of Shoreline Drive, south of Crystal Place, west of Bayview Place, east of the city limits, and the commercial areas along Shoreline and Shadywood Road. The Navarre area represents Orono's historic town center. A number of planning initiatives have been done for the area over the last twenty years, however, have not been fully acted on. The intent of this plan is to develop a vision for the area to guide policy and investment decisions. The process began with a consultation with the City Council on Monday, September 11, 2017, to discuss the issues that would be evaluated as part of the plan, including: • Explore expanding the Navarre neighborhood to touch and interact with Lake Minnetonka • Develop strategies that can build on the success of the Dakota Rail Trail. • Encourage trail users to be customers of the Navarre businesses. • Examine and determine the commercial and multi -family markets for Navarre and the surrounding area to determine the appropriate development opportunities. • Design guidelines, zoning tools, and/or regulations for the remodels and tear -downs of the existing single-family homes. • Engage the residents, business owners, and elected officials to determine the feasibility of any redevelopment strategies. • Create clear redevelopment strategies for implementation. A Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) made up of fourteen Navarre area stakeholders was selected by the City Council to help guide the planning process around these topics. The first meeting of the PAC took place on Thursday, October 19, 2017 and included an overview of past planning studies and included a SWOT analysis discussion about the Navarre area. A community open house was held on Thursday, November 16, 2017 at the Long Lake Fire Station #2. The open house included several interactive activities aimed at getting feedback about what people want to see in Navarre and what they would like to change. An online engagement tool, Social Pinpoint, was also utilized to gather feedback. Social Pinpoint allowed participants to identify areas in the neighborhood where there are issues and to identify things they would like to see. Several survey questions were also collected using Social Pinpoint. Following the community open house and gathering responses from Social Pinpoint, a PAC meeting was held on Thursday, January 11, 2018 to present the findings from the community engagement. The discussion focused on the seven key issues presented to the City Council and a direction forward on each issue was determined. The draft report of this small area plan was presented to the PAC on Thursday, March 8 and to the City Council and the Planning Commission during a joint Work Session on April 9, 2018. The Navarre Small Area Plan was incorporated as part of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan update, which was adopted on Previous Planning Studies Several planning initiatives have been undertaken for the Navarre area in recent history. The following information provides an overview of those studies since 2006 to provide context for this small area plan process. Page 2