02-22-2016 Council Work Session Packet

Home Browse Search

MEMORANDUM TO: ORONO CITY COUNCIL FROM: JEREMY BARNHART, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR SUBJECT: COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DATE: FEBRUARY 22, 2016 The Metropolitan Council requires all communities within the 7 county metro area, including Orono, to update their Comprehensive Plan every ten years. These updates must be submitted for review by the Met Council no later than December 31, 2018. As part of this update, the Met Council publishes a systems statement, a document that outlines items to be included in a comprehensive plan, and includes infrastructure assumptions, population projections, and affordable housing goals. Based on the systems statement, the comp plan must include sections on transportation, infrastructure (surface water, waste water, and water), housing, and parks and trails, all based on the population projections, housing goals, and other plans. As part of this update, the city must also complete a surface water management plan, to be reviewed by the watershed district, as well as a water supply plan, to be reviewed by the DNR. Staff and the consulting engineer will complete these plans, due as part of the submission of the city's comprehensive plan. In addition to these minimum requirements, staff suggests focused review of a couple key components of the Comprehensive Plan: Density. Recent Council comment and decision has supported density at a level less than prescribed in the 2008 Comp plan (James and Eisinger property, the Long Lake Fire Station area, e.g.) requiring this density to be replaced elsewhere in the city. The desired location for this density should be carefully considered, better informing neighborhoods, property owners, and developers as to the City's plans which will allow for consistent application of these plans. Navarre. The characteristics of Navarre provide an opportunity to reassess the Council (and Community's) goals for that area, through the development of a plan that would include land use, streetscape, and community facility components. This understanding of goals would allow for applications that more directly fit the Councils vision for the area. Small lot neighborhoods in large lot zones. These neighborhoods, developed well before zoning, are inconsistent with the zoning districts, essentially requiring these residential to go through a variance process for virtually every expansion or improvement. Housing study. A housing study was completed for the Navarre area in 1997. The Navarre area represents a large percentage of the city's workforce housing. That study primarily focused on the perception of the residential properties in Navarre, and to determine if there is a need for housing rehabilitation related programs (grants) for the area. An update to this study would be advantageous for several reasons: