04/10/2002 P&Z Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning & Zoning Board April 10, 2002 Page 14 APPROVED MINUTES children crossing Birch Street to visit friends in Pheasant Hills Preserve and access park trails was of particular concern. He asked if there were any plan s to create pedestrian crosswalks/bridges/lights in the area for residents on the South side of Birch to ultimately access Chain of Lakes Park. He asked if ther e were any plans to extend pedestrian/bike trails along Birch and if so, when and if not , why. He noted that having to get into a vehicle to cross the street because of tra ffic was a lower quality of life standard than being able to bike or walk. He stated th ere was concern that th e proposed development did not “live up to” the adjacent balance of recreational parks/wetlands/trails and residential housing in Pheasant Hills. He st ated there was essentia lly no recreational park property in the proposed pl an and no trail system. Mr. Masonick pointed out that the schools were already fu ll and expressed concern that continued growth in development in the City would create the need for more taxes to build more schools to accommodate the increase in population. He stated eventually this would detract from the quality of schools. He asked if any studies had been performed to evaluate optimal growth. Mr. Masonick asked if any studies had been performed to determine if existing City Services such as police, fire and other city services could handle the increased load from this project. If not, what would be done. He asked if the increased tax revenue from the homes would pay for the needed services, or w ould all of the residents of the City pay for the growth through incr eased property taxes. Mr. Masonick stated there was a general c oncern among the area residents that the “blind faith” adherence to the proposed zoning plan for the City was negatively impacting the quality of life in Lino Lakes. He stated many residents had moved to the City because of the open space and “county like/rural” atmos phere, which was conveniently located near the Twin Cities as well as the schools. He stated the perception was that both of these were negatively impacted by this kind of hi gh-density development. He stated soon the City would be no different from Richfield, Roseville, Fridley, etc. where high density “suburbia” was plentiful. He stated there was a general concern that the added “tax benefit” of increased resident s to the City detracted rath er than added by creating the need for more City, County, and State services. He stated this in turn caused greater and higher cost to already overworked City empl oyees creating the need for infrastructure growth. He asked if studies had been perfor med to determine if added tax revenue would actually benefit the City, or would it detract from the Cit y. He asked what was the eventual impact of development on property value. He asked if this development would benefit the City. Mr. Masonick stated if development positiv ely impacted property values, what would be done to ensure existing long-term residents w ould not be “taxed off of their properties” because of the rising property values. He st ated many retired long-term residents were on “fixed incomes”. Mr. Masonick stated the current plan for th is development called for a two-year growth period. Given the concern over roadways a nd other existing services, it seemed prudent to the neighboring property owners that a sl ower growth, over a l onger time period would make sense. He stated this way roads a nd services could be improved without being