11/17/2004 Council Packet (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • • Amending Growth Management Policy page 2 developer. Instead of asking "does the project meet the requirements ?" we have been asking "what is the best design ?" The design includes such things as filling and moving lower quality wetlands in order to preserve and increase higher quality wetlands and upland areas. The overall gain in public value will be positive. Amendments to the Policy The adopted ordinance is attached, with amendment options added. Added language is shown in underlined text. Deleted language is shown in strikeout text. A new Section 3 of the ordinance would exempt conservation development from the growth restrictions. That is, a conservation development would be subject to neither the annual MUSA allocation limit (36 acres per year) nor the units restriction (147 per year or 1029 total for Stage 1). Several important requirements would continue to apply: • The Stage 1 and Stage 2 growth boundaries still apply. These are the areas within which growth is to occur. • The total MUSA reserve for stage 1 would still apply: 300.7 residential acres for stage 1. We currently have 130 acres remaining. We could not exceed this because this is what we received from the Metropolitan Council, based on the amount listed in the comprehensive plan. • The prohibition on premature development would still apply. The subdivision ordinance prohibits premature development to ensure adequate infrastructure exists to support new residential development. • All growth restrictions would still apply for conventional development. In fact, the proposed amendments include eliminating the discretionary 20% additional annual growth for conventional development. Advisory Board Reviews The Planning & Zoning Board held a public hearing on the policy amendments on October 13th. The Environmental Board considered them on October 27th. The boards considered two amendment options. Both boards recommended approval of the option that exempts conservation development from annual limits to give the City Council more discretion in approving housing above the stipulated growth limits. That is the amendment recommended here.