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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO TRUTH-IN-TAXATION/CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, December 10, 2018 <br />6:30 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 10 of 19 <br /> <br />stated this is the first hurdle that needs to be crossed in terms of a development proposal and some <br />proposals have triggered an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. <br /> <br />A committee was established by the City Council in March of 2017 and included 13 members. The <br />committee met monthly and guided and advised Staff on changes to the plan. The Committee operated <br />under three primary goals: <br /> <br />1. Retain rural character and natural resource protection policies established in previous plans dating <br /> back to the 1970s. <br /> <br />2. Satisfy Metropolitan Council requirements. <br /> <br />3. Improve the readability of the document. <br /> <br />The Plan retains the general development and land and water protection philosophies established by <br />earlier plans. Preservation of rural character and preservation of water quality was very important to the <br />committee. <br /> <br />In April, following a number of committee meetings, the draft Comprehensive Plan was published on the <br />City’s website and was also sent to surrounding cities for their review and comment. At the end of <br />October, a second open house was held to obtain further input from the residents. A number of comments <br />and questions were received during that period. A number of the changes were based on formatting <br />changes and updated data from sources, including the state and the Metropolitan Council. The comments <br />received during the public comment period have been incorporated into an exhibit to the document or <br />otherwise incorporated into the plan. <br /> <br />Barnhart noted the City’s housing goals in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan have remained basically the <br />same from the previous plan, and the table included in Staff’s report reflects Orono’s population, <br />household and employment forecasts from 1970 through 2040. The City is required to provide <br />opportunity for 154 units of affordable housing making the average or below the average median income. <br />Currently there is around 639 units of that type in Orono. The City provides for those opportunities by <br />guiding different sections of the City for higher density. <br /> <br />Barnhart noted the following changes are included in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan but that it is not an <br />all-inclusive list: <br /> <br />1. Expansion of MUSA. The Plan proposes a single expansion of the MUSA boundary to serve <br /> vacant property on the north end of Wildhurst while preserving steep slopes and significant tree <br /> stands in the area. This is a change from the draft proposed in April. <br />2. Land Use. To meet the growth projections of the Metropolitan Council, the Land Use Map was <br /> updated. The map reflects a revised listing of land use categories. These ten categories are used <br /> throughout the document per Metropolitan Council requirements and include seven residential, <br /> two commercial/industrial, and a park/open space land use. Island residential is a new land use <br /> and is employed for the residences on Big Island and Deering Island. <br /> <br />The plan shows low density residential as the predominant land use south of Fox Street. An earlier <br />version of the land use map showed portions of these area as medium density residential, recognizing the