02-20-1991 Planning Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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; • 1 y- ■k'*' t. ’ . i- PLANNING COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING HELD FEBRUARY 20, 1991 Orono. It seems to me that it would not be difficult to connect Highv;ay 12 with Highway 55 somewhere near Rockford. This would not completely relieve the congestion in Long Lake, which ls the second problem. It is not clear to me that a four-lane highway is the only solution to the Long Lake congestion problem. There are upgrades proposed for County Road 6. It may be that safety improvements to Highways 6 and 12 may be all that is required. If those improvements are not acceptable to MNDOT, then I would like the City Officials to take the position that two of the proposed routes through Orono are unacceptable. One unacceptable route is along the Luce Line, the other is County Road 6. I believe that locating the corridor in either location would have significant environmental impact on the Luce Line Trail and our lakes. If a four-lane highway is necessary, and must go through Orono, it should stay where it is presently. Bob Biesterfeld, 450 Deborah Drive, agreed that constructing the corridor near the Luce Line would have a negative impact on the wetlands and wildlife in that area. Hanson stated that he seems to hear over and over again a Community consensus of "not in my backyard". He said, question has nothing to do with what my position will be on this issue, but how do we as a Community respond to the transportation needs of the State? One of the political issues involved here is the fact that the western three-quarters of Minnesota, directly west of here, have been under-developed for 20-some years. This is due to the fact that those communities have not had good highway access to Minneapolis/St. Paul, which poses an economic hardship. To what extent are we strictly residents of Orono and we deny our responsibility in a larger community? Steve Harris, 3850 Watertown Road, stated that though he lives close to a few of the proposed corridors, none would greatly impact him. He said, "So it isn't so much in my backyard. I have talked with MNDOT personnel and attended a few meetings. I have heard discussions regarding the option of building nothing. I think that is unrealistic. My impression, from talking with Steve Hay, is that he would prefer to have a freeway, but realistically a four-lane is what they want and think they need. I would prefer not to have a four-lane running through Orono, but considering Mr. Hanson's comments, that realistically addresses those concerns, and probably is what will happen. The other question is, as residents of Orono, why did we move here and what criteria were in place when we did. The Comprehensive Plan was in place setting forth how things would be in the future. The integrity issue is what was in place and what was planned for to begin with. If the Comprehensive Plan was in place, and v/e were to believe it, then if it is still in place, we still should believe it. That is whar Orono has as our integrity pos:.tion. Realistically we have to realize that we may have at least a safe transit responsibility for people from east - 2 - •lA. .AOMlbli 1^.