PCAgenda_07Aug28 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

• Falcon Heights Elementary was temporarily closed from 1982 to 1985 due to declining enrollment. The school was reopened in September 1985 in response to growing numbers of elementary aged children. Current enrollment is 425. University of Minnesota The St. Paul campus, comprising 452 acres, houses the University's Colleges of Biological Science, Veterinary Medicine, Food/Agriculture/Natural Resources and part of the College of Design, as well as the Raptor Center. The campus had a 2007 enrollment of approximately 6000 students and a dormitory population of 505 students (Bailey Hall). (The University no longer separates enrollment statistics for the two Twin Cities campuses, counting them as one.) Additionally, Commonwealth Terrace, a married student apartment complex, contains 367-housing units. Following a decline in the 1980s and 1990s, enrollment has increased significantly since 2000 on the Twin Cities campuses. Demand for student housing near campus has also increased. The University Golf Course occupies 204 acres of land along Larpenteur Avenue between Cleveland and Fulham. No major improvements are proposed which would cause it to grow beyond present boundaries. Though it is within the City's limits, the University is autonomous. The University provides its own police, fire, public utility and bus services. The City bills it for sewer • service. The University has conducted agricultural experimentation and research at this site for over 100 years, and its policy is to retain all University lands for this purpose. In other words, it is not known to be interested in selling any of its land for private development, an action that would bring such lands under the City's regulatory control. Nevertheless, plans can change, and the City is prepared to incorporate these public lands into its updated comprehensive plan should the University decide to sell or repurpose any of the campus in the future. State Fairgrounds The Fairgrounds property comprises 288 acres. It is the site of the State's largest outdoor event, drawing people from all over the State to Falcon Heights. Like the University of Minnesota, the Fair Board is autonomous which means that the City has no regulatory control over Fairgrounds lands. Periodically, there have been discussions about moving the State Fair to a different location where traffic could be better handled. The City does not favor relocation of the Fairgrounds but would entertain the use of some land in the vicinity of Snelling and Larpenteur Avenues for non-fair commercial or mixed-use development provided it does not exacerbate parking problems during the State Fair. Any non-fair use of land would fall within the City's regulatory jurisdiction and the City should make sure the underlying . zoning is compatible to the objectives outlined in this plan. Assembled Elements, Draft 1 FH Comp Plan 2007 Page 35 of 42