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EXCERPT OF COUNCIL MINUTES JUNE 25, 2001
<br />letter from one of my neighbors who's also on the Environmental Board, to enter that into the record,
<br />if I may. His name is Rod Kukonen, lives at 647 Andall Street. It's addressed to each of you, to all of
<br />you: "A big concern about the proposed Comprehensive ...
<br />UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We did receive that letter. But, certainly, go ahead and read it.
<br />MR. STADUM: Yea, okay, thank you. "A big concern about the proposed Comprehensive
<br />Land Use Plan is the extensive MUSA expansion. I recently attended three land use and planning
<br />workshops at the University of Minnesota, Earle Brown Center. There was plenty of discussion on
<br />comprehensive plans by the faculty. The number one thing a comprehensive plan should accomplish
<br />is to represent community values." He has that underscored. "If we could advance 20 years and see
<br />what the City would look like under the current proposed plan, I don't think the values of the
<br />community at large would be represented. One of our goals of the Environmental Board is to be more
<br />proactive rather than reactive. Almost all of our time at meetings is spent reacting to development
<br />proposals. We find many times we are engaged in a counter -punch dialo ue with some members of
<br />the development community who are unwilling to preserve open s dice or otect environmentally
<br />significant areas because they don't have to under these current m era ' ices. I truly appreciate all
<br />the time you've spent on this and I know how consuming the pr 'eet :.n be. However, I fear
<br />passing the Plan as it is without proper planning tools in place ` Auld ep us in a reactive mode for
<br />the next 20 years." And, that was the conclusion of his lett
<br />I would like to make, as I said, just a few remarksemy elf. I don't have any prepared notes but I have
<br />been reflecting on what was said before and, anwhen - meone said, or suggested to me that, ahh,
<br />people who take my position were not reali 're not being realistic about this and growth. And,
<br />I indicated to this individual that I'm re tthought most of us were, who were concerned
<br />about accelerating even what we mi. +e , . h, outrageous development in, in Lino Lakes.
<br />And, I'd like to place, if I couldt' i- larger context because I think some of us are inclined to
<br />think what's happening in Li s is ' nd of unique. I mean, that is to say it is a phenomenon
<br />unique to us that we have this alii nt of forces. That we have on one side, we have what we think
<br />an unresponsive Council aceless bureaucrats residing someplace, ahh, a Cabal of
<br />individuals known as the`rop litan Council and we have commercial interests and we have large
<br />property holders and develo rs, and, everyone associated with and likely to profit from accelerated
<br />growth. And then, on the other side, we have just impassioned citizens like myself. But, it's bigger
<br />than that. And, if any of you have read the articles, the syndicated columns, and even a few of the
<br />books that have been written on this subject, is a lot bigger than Lino Lakes.
<br />Because, what's happening in Lino Lakes is replicated across this country. And, in a larger context,
<br />even beyond that. And so while I was sitting at my desk the other day and I was thinking to myself,
<br />speculating on what, what my father's generation and the men who fought that war to preserve liberal
<br />democracies and representative government would have thought if 50 -odd years ago there'd been met
<br />at the boats and said, would you believe that your children, one day, would hand over their rights,
<br />their privileges, and their liberties to unelected governing boards? And, would you believe still
<br />further that these governing board would extend one day to regional governing authorities? And, no
<br />one will have elected those folks either? And that they will, they will make the decisions. The
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