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I Northwest Associated Consultants, Inc. <br />C U R B A N P L A N N I N G • D E S I G N • M A R K E T R E S E A R C H <br />8 February 1993 <br />Mr. Joel Hanson <br />City Administrator <br />City Administrative Offices <br />515 Little Canada Road <br />Little Canada, MN 55117 <br />RE: <br />FILE NO: <br />Little Canada - Comprehensive Plan Update <br />802 <br />Dear Mr. Hanson: <br />This letter is intended to outline for the City the timeline and <br />cost estimates for updating the City's Comprehensive Plan. Since <br />the current Plan was adopted in the late 1970s, the City of Little <br />Canada has changed from a developing residential and commercial <br />service area to an almost fully developed "first- ring" suburb. As <br />a result, the issues which were addressed in the original <br />Comprehensive Plan have become outdated to a large extent. <br />The 1978 Plan was primarily concerned with directing the proper <br />conversion of former agricultural and other vacant lands to new <br />residential subdivisions and commercial development. The issues <br />which Little Canada now most often face are ones of redevelopment <br />and enforcement. The Market Place Mall, Ryan Industrial Park, and <br />the residential properties along Little Canada Road and Round Lake <br />are a few of the most recent examples. The Comprehensive Plan <br />should give much better guidance to the tactics for the <br />redevelopment of Rice Street, and the issues which surround the <br />potential conversion of older residential areas to alternative land <br />uses. <br />The City has been experiencing a relatively difficult phase in its <br />development over the past five years. Almost all of the <br />development activity has occurred on sites which are somewhat <br />isolated or have other difficulties such as access, topography, or <br />_land use conflicts. As the City approaches the end of this - <br />"infill" phase, community development will need to focus more <br />actively on those redevelopment issues which are beginning to crop <br />up with more regularity. Attracting new construction will require <br />a clearer process for accommodating the rehabilitation, removal, or <br />redevelopment of obsolete structures and parcels. <br />5775 Wayzata Blvd. • Suite 555 • St. Louis Park, MN 55416 • (612) 595- 9636•Fax. 595 -9837 <br />