02/09/1998 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Executive Summary Communication. Community. Balance. In late 1994, the Lino Lakes City Council asked citizens to participate in 20/20 Vision - a series of work groups designed to consider the City's future, and make recommendations to Council and City Staff about how to make that future happen. The visioning process began in January 1995. Two hundred fifty citizens participated in Community Forums and identified major areas of concern for the community, as they envisioned Lino Lakes in the year 2020. Five Advisory Groups made up of 50 citizens were formed around these issues. Balanced growth, which became Growth Planning, was far and away the primary concern of the community. It became the responsibility of this Advisory Group to define "balance ", and advise the City on how to reach it. Additional Advisory Groups for Environment, Commercial Development, Parks, and Education rounded out the priorities identified by citizens. These groups met from mid -March through the beginning of June. They clarified the purpose of their groups, and then got down to business. Group members worked on a consensus basis -- "I can live with that," finding the common ground amid the diversity of personal opinions and interests. By using a consensus approach, they were able to represent the desires of a broad spectrum of the community. This document is the result of those weeks of study. It is written with "one voice" - the collaborative voice of the community. The citizens are speaking to the City Government, not to department heads, individual employees or Advisory Boards. They are asking for a shift in the direction for the City. I This visioning process is only one piece of a complete planning process. That process begins with a vision. The vision is reviewed by City Staff, and becomes the basis of individual department plans, budgets, and individual work plans. With a periodic review, plans can be 1 updated so that the focus is still on the goal even when external factors change the path the City will take. This vision and individual recommendations are intended to be that flexible. A steering committee, the "Citizens' Advisory Group ", has been formed to maintain the communication and understanding between citizens and city government. This group will meet periodically to review the implementation of these recommendations, and continue to work with City Council and City Staff to ensure a common understanding of these recommendations and the ability of the City to implement them. As one of the citizens stated, "Careful planning can produce the kind of city we as citizens desire ". The first step in careful planning, according to Carl Neu, is to "picture the future that you want and then decide how to get there ". With this document, the City of Lino Lakes is well on track to `getting there'. 111