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• • Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter of the Comprehensive Plan will provide background information on the community and the planning process to better understand the context of this comprehensive plan. This Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan will also summarize the 2006 community survey and the subsequent visioning process in the City of Lino Lakes, and present the vision statement and areas of strategic importance that resulted from this process. The Vision elements and the community survey and background provide a foundation for the Comprehensive Plan by establishing direction for Lino Lakes' future. Ultimately, this information served as the framework for the Comprehensive Plan Update by providing guidance and direction for the development of Lino Lakes' resource management, land use and infrastructure plans for 2030. A Citizen Comprehensive Plan Advisory Panel assisted in the preparation of this entire plan through an extensive planning process, which is described in this Chapter. In addition to the extensive community survey and citizen visioning process, the Lino Lakes Comprehensive Plan was also unique due to the level of coordination and involvement with the Rice Creek Watershed District throughout the process. The Lino Lakes Comprehensive Plan represents an unprecedented coordinated effort between a watershed district and a municipality, during which the City of Lino Lakes prepared its Comprehensive Plan in concert with the Rice Creek Watershed District's Resource Management Plan to balance growth and natural resource protection objectives. This coordinated effort results in new implementation tools for low impact development, water resource management, growth management, and community design. Background About Lino Lakes The City of Lino Lakes is located in the southeastern corner of Anoka County, the northernmost county in the Twin Cities metropolitan area (Figure 1 -1). Lino Lakes is comprised of 33.1 square miles and is approximately 16 miles north of the St. Paul Central Business District (CBD) and 20 miles from the Minneapolis CBD. Lino Lakes is bordered by the City of Columbus to the north and the City of Hugo to the east. The City of Circle Pines and the City of Blaine combine to create the city's western border. To the south, Lino Lakes is bounded by White Bear Township, and the Cities of Shoreview and North Oaks. The City of Centerville, which encompasses 2.5 square miles, is located completely within Lino Lakes. The Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Regional Park Reserve is located within Lino Lakes. This large natural amenity attracts residents and sets the city apart from surrounding municipalities. Lino Lakes is accessible from both downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul, offering connections to both via Interstate 35W and Interstate 35E which run through the city. The population of Lino Lakes has grown from 8,807 in 1990 to 16,791 in 2000, an annual increase of 6.7 percent. The Metropolitan Council estimates that the 2005 population of Lino Lakes was 19,698 while the number of households was 5,729. These figures represent annual increases (since 1990) of 5.5 percent in population and 5.4 percent in the number of households. The population growth in Lino Lakes is a result of regional growth spreading out from the Minneapolis and St. Paul CBDs. As previously stated, much of the land in the city is covered by the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Regional Park Reserve, which acts as both a development constraint and a community amenity. Besides the park land, the existing land use cover indicates that Lino Lakes is primarily rural and residential (single - family) in nature. The majority of the 1 -1