11/23/1998 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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COUNCIL MINUTES NOVEMBER 23, 1998 get something. Valid options were listened to even if they were not included in the Plan because • they were not appropriate. Mayor Sullivan noted that some of Council Member Lyden's proposals were included. Referrals to the Metropolitan Council was done. An increase in commercial development is in the Plan. The Plan allows for the preservation of open space. Many experts in various fields were involved to demonstrate how development can occur within preservation. The R-1XX Zoning is appropriate under the new Plan. Staged clustering was added because Council Member Dahl wanted it to be available. Mayor Sullivan indicated that in her opinion stage clustering adds to the checker board effect in development. Mayor Sullivan noted the trust issue related to the Plan. Citizens trusted a Council Member who voted for approval for some aspects then voted no to the overall Plan. To not approve the Plan is disrespectful to all the people that worked on the Plan. She stated that issues are being held on to that are inappropriate for the Plan, are already included in the Plan, or are illegal. Being without a Comprehensive Plan leaves the City with no legal way to slow development. The process of the Plan has been very costly because of all the additional work and reviewal. Options come back and a denial of initiative is demonstrated and a reversion back to the Lyden/Dahl 13 points occurs. Council minutes document when the Council went through each issue. Citizens have worked for two (2) years on the Plan and two (2) years previous to that on the 20/20 Vision. The City has a good Comprehensive Plan. 11111 Mayor Sullivan recommended moving forward with the Plan for review, discussion, and comments from the Metropolitan Council. • Council Member Bergeson asked if the neighborhood businesses on Birch Street are a deal breaker. It was the suggestion of the Task Force that this was an appropriate use. It is not a major piece of the Plan. He stated this issue could be looked at again and possibly put under the Performance Category. Citizens do use neighborhood businesses and there are not any in that corridor. That type of business does not currently stay in Lino Lakes. Residents go else where which does nothing for the tax base. Council Member Bergeson called attention to the Property Class Rates Comparison. Commercial/Industrial development that exceeds $150,000 is taxed at 3.5%. Large farms are taxed at .35%. Ten times more taxes are received from high value commercial than farm land. Preserving farm land has value but a balance is needed. The question of "how much space can you afford to keep" needs to be addressed. Council Member Bergeson indicated the regulatory mechanisms are the most difficult to change because it ties residential and commercial development together. If residential development can only proceed when commercial development is at a certain point, it is possible to make sure that economic development cannot occur and then there is no residential development. He stated he is opposed to a linkage between residential and commercial development. The two (2) issues need to be separate. The City needs to do everything it can to promote commercial development. Benchmarks are needed for both commercial and residential development. The benchmarks 19