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• facilities of the State Fair, provide significant additional recreational opportunities for <br />City residents. <br />Vacant Land <br />While the City has a significant inventory of unbuilt public land, that land is owned and <br />used for agricultural research by the University of Minnesota and therefore not <br />considered vacant. The volume of privately owned vacant land decreased from 9 acres in <br />1990 to about 4 acres in 2005. The only significant consumer of vacant land between <br />1991 and 2005 was Questwood, asemi-detached residential development of 3.5 acres <br />served by a private street, built in 1994. That which remains consists of relatively small <br />disassociated parcels under one acre in size. Most of these parcels are landlocked, with <br />no street access, and all but one are owned by the owner of the adjoining residential <br />property. With the exception of these parcels, which are popularly -though not yet <br />officially - considered a natural resource, there is no vacant privately held land remaining <br />in the City for new residential development except for one quarter-acre lot on Tatum <br />Street. There are no vacant properties zoned for commercial use. <br />Public and Institutional Land <br />The City has been given no reason to anticipate that any of the University of Minnesota <br />or State Fair land will be made available for private development within the time frame <br />of this plan. Therefore, the City must plan to accommodate expected housing, business <br />and community needs by redevelopment on land that is now privately owned. However, <br />the City must also be prepared to provide for the best use of what is now public land, in <br />• the event that these public institutions change their plans. <br />Future Directions <br />Areas of Potential Change <br />In addition to the demographic and environmental challenges that will confront all cities <br />in the next twenty years, Falcon Heights faces the particular challenge of finding space to <br />meet the housing needs projected by the year 2030. Except for one vacant residentially <br />zoned parcel, Falcon Heights is fully developed. The City's unique composition includes <br />the University of Minnesota's agricultural research fields. This land is not considered <br />vacant by the City or the University. <br />Therefore, it is not in new development, but in redevelopment where Falcon Heights will <br />see changes over the next twenty years. Redevelopment is expected to follow two <br />general directions: Adding transit-oriented housing, especially for older citizens and <br />students, and creating more opportunities for residents to meet their needs for purchasing <br />life's necessities closer to home. <br />Vacant land <br />The only vacant land for development in the city's land use controls is a 1/4 acre vacant <br />• lot on Tatum Street, zoned R-4, and a site of approximately 4 acres that is in a single- <br />family residential zone. At the present time, this vacant land is divided into seven <br />separate parcels, all but one belonging to the adjacent homeowners who use them for <br />Falcon Heights Comprehensive Plan 2008 Draft -January, 2008 Part II: Land Use & Housing, Page II-7 <br />