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4. The Long Lake/Orono retail market can only support a certain amount of higher valued, higher income generating retail uses, i.e., one grocery store, one pharmacy, etc. 5. If these types of uses are allowed to locate outside of the primary Long Lake downtown retail area, there will not be another opportunity to locate similar uses in the downtown area. 6. Every high quality retail use that is allowed to locate outside ofthe relatively compact downtown area near Brown Road has a dual negative impact on the Long Lake downtown area: a. b. It pulls retail energy and vitality away from the downtown area rather than adding its energy and vitality to the downtown area. The financial resources that could be generated by the use to facilitate the redevelopment of the Long Lake downtown area are lost. 7. Given the small retail market, a more compact downtown is more vital and viable over the long term than a linear retail area spread out along Highway 12. 8. Most third ring suburbs would give their right arm for a compact downtown that could be a focal point for the community, or are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to artificially create one. In downtown Long Lake we already have a compact downtown retail area with the huge bonus of being located adjacent to to a beautiful lake. Enabling this compact downtown area to realize its potential should be a much higher priority than facilitating retail development in any other area. 9. Given these strategic elements, it is critical that development decisions in Orono and Long Lake are made in a coordinated way that enables progress toward the shared vision. This will require a specific plan and adherence to this plan by both cities. The grocery store has been proposed as a retail element to provide the western ‘anchor’ to what would be a linear retail strip with its eastern end being downtown Long Lake. Staff sees this as being in complete conflict with the Comprehensive Plan. The developer is correct that a grocery store w ill serve as an anchor. Wliat this means is that it will draw other retail development to it, because other retailers want to tap into the high volume of customer traffic that a grocery store draws. The developer suggests that the substantial retail development a grocery store would draw to the Willow Drive area would work in tandem with the existing downtown Long Lake retail area to encourage and facilitate development/redevelopment of a vital, viable retail area stretching from downtown Long Lake to Willow Drive. Staff believes that contrary to this optimistic perspective, if a grocery store is located west of Willow' Drive, it will draw retail development out to the Willow Drive area, making the Willow Drive/Highway 12 area the focus of retail development/redevelopment, to the detriment of the existing downto\Cn Long Lake #02*2789 Dahlsirom Development LLC May 17,2002 • • Page 5 of9