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MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP MEETING <br />CITY COUNCIL <br />LITTLE CANADA, MI N N ESOTA <br />JULY 22, 2026 <br />Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a Workshop meeting of the City Council of Little Canada, <br />Minnesota was convened on the 22"d day of July 2026 in the Conference Room of the City <br />Center located at 515 Little Canada Road in said City. <br />Mayor Tom Fischer called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and the following members of the <br />City Council were present at roll call: <br />CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Fischer, Council Members Kwapick, Malone, Miller and Schwalbach. <br />Absent: None. <br />ALSO PRESENT: City Administrator Bryce Shearen, Assistant City Administrator Laura Linehan, <br />Community Development Director Ben Harrington, Parks & Rec Director Steve Anderson, and <br />City Clerk/HR Manager Heidi Heller. Also present: Planning Commissioners Taelor Johnson, Eric <br />Thorson, Dawn Kulousek, Emil Carlson -Clark, Leif Mansrud, and Monika Miller. <br />JOINT MEETING WITH PLANNING COMMISSION TO DISCUSS 2050 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN <br />GOALS <br />The Community Development Director explained that every ten years all cities within the <br />metropolitan area are required by state statute to update their comprehensive plans. He stated <br />that the Metropolitan Council recently adopted their Imagine 2050 plan and cities must submit <br />their 2050 comprehensive plans by December 31, 2028. He reviewed the process and why <br />comprehensive plans are important and useful for cites. He reported that the Planning <br />Commission has begun discussions about the comprehensive plan and tonight will be a joint <br />discussion with the Commission and Council on the land use and housing chapters. <br />The Community Development Director stated that the Planning Commission has identified three <br />goals for the discussion tonight. 1. Identify and plan key corridors and identify neighborhoods of <br />Little Canada; 2. Connectivity; and 3. Sustainable and complimentary growth. <br />Commissioners noted: the high amount of pedestrian connectivity that is already in place and <br />there are plans to continue improving on that; Rice Street actually has a lot more residential uses <br />than people would assume; the properties all along Little Canada Road are a hodgepodge of <br />uses, particularly on either side of 1-35E. <br />Discussion ensued around these questions: <br />1. Creating Neighborhood Districts -Since Little Canada does not have formally defined <br />neighborhood boundaries, what core landmarks, natural features, commercial hubs, or <br />other elements should we use to establish these new planning districts? <br />2. Preserving Character While Promoting Transition of Commercial Areas - How can we best <br />balance the shared desire for high -visibility, vibrant commercial corridors with our goal of <br />protecting the character and quiet connectivity of the residential neighborhoods <br />immediately adjacent to them? <br />3. Sidewalk and Trail Prioritization - Staff have been putting together a more robust non - <br />motorized transportation plan as part of the Strategic Plan work, but we don't currently <br />