08-09-95 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 15, 1995 to the City; nodes of development at the Little Canada Road and County Road C intersections with Rice Street, as well as a node near 35E connected to Rice Street via a parkway or interior trail system; development of a distinct downtown area at the intersection of Rice Street and Little Canada Road with the focus on community-oriented commercial retail and a distinct edge to the commercial development. Schroeder presented a drawing of what exists in the Rice Street/Little Canada Road area. Next presented were three alternative development patterns. The first was entitled "Gateway". In this developme»t option development is pushed out toward Rice Street, parking is located behind the buildings. There is a downtown feel to the area. Uses are distributed so that parking lots could be shared. Development occurs to the edge of the street. There is an urban quality to the area. The second development option was entitled "Square's". In this option public squares or spaces are linked throughout the area. There is a pedestrian-oriented main street quality proposed. The third option is the "Greenway" option. Storm water is handled in a series of treatment facilities laced throughout the development. These ponds become a focal point. Schroeder reported that these three options were presented at a workshop meeting. Based on input received at that meeting, a fourth option was created using ideas from each of the three. Schroeder then described this fourth option which includes development reaching out to the street, a strong pedestrian orientation, use of a greenway system to address storm water retention requireme»ts. Schroeder pointed out that this option proposes the elimination of First Bank Drive and the extension of Market Drive south and then to Rice Street. A mixture of both residential and commercial uses are proposed. Schroeder pointed out that this is still a concept plan, and the consultants are looking for public reaction to this plan in order to move on to the next level of detail. Fifield pointed out that there has been discussion about how the Rice Street/Little Canada Road area should be developed. The next question is how do we get there. Fifield reported that the City must play an active part in causing the redevelopment to happen, otherwise it is unlikely that it will. There are various ways that the City can cause this redevelopment to happen. These include: 6