Orono Community Management Plan 2020-2040

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CMP Part 1. Introduction City of Orono Community Management Plan 2020-2040 Part 1, Page 4 existing pockets of development "to solve a pollution problem", inflation, topography and sparse settlement combine to increase costs. Such costs can be paid only by increasing development densities, which in turn cause increasing levels of storm water nutrient pollution. This spiral results in even greater levels of pollution than the original sewage 'problem' might have been. For example, Eugene Hickock's 1973 Storm Water Impact Statement for the Metropolitan Council identified up to 10 times more phosphorus alone from urban storm water runoff than from Orono's low-density rural land use. In response to the above concerns, Orono became a nationally recognized leader in espousing environmental protection. Land use planning since the 1950's has stressed the environmental advantages of low density development. Shorelands, wetlands and natural drainage systems have been preserved by tradition and by ordinance. Comprehensive planning was underway by the mid-1960s. In 1974, the first published Plan, as approved by the Metropolitan Council, established as its foremost guiding principle the protection and preservation of Lake Minnetonka and its associated wetlands. The 1980 Community Management Plan and its subsequent 2000-2020 update reinforced these principles and have served as the basis for management of development in Orono for the past three decades. Figure 1-1: The Urbanization Spiral Illustrates the development paradox that faces Orono if municipal services are extended into rural areas. Orono has consistently made the decision to limit the extension of urban services into rural areas. The combination of low density residential development, establishment of privately owned and maintained roads, and use of septic systems and wells has provided Orono with unique and sustainable neighborhoods that are not only self-sufficient but collectively have a low environmental impact. Enforcement of the policies necessary to create and maintain these rural neighborhoods has been consistent and effective. Today, Orono still faces the same issues as other outlying communities, although Orono is no longer the 'outer ring' that it was 20-30 years ago. Development pressures continue as speculators view our remaining open spaces seeking to put them to a "highest and best use". The Metropolitan Council has recognized an