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Village Area Policy Review Memo Page: 10 2007 Lake Elmo Village Area Master Plan Purpose: This plan was created in 2007. The intent of the City’s Village Area Master Plan (hereafter “2007 Master Plan”) is to guide development of private land, and public infrastructure, along with revisions to applicable City Land Use guidance to allow the vision to materialize. The 2007 Master Plan created 13 principals to guide development and a conceptual vision for future development in the areas surrounding the “heart” of the Village. Regulatory Impact: For Small Area or Master Plans to have regulatory impacts, they must be incorporated into the City’s Comprehensive Plan or Zoning Ordinance. While the 2007 Master Plan may have influenced land use policies in both the City’s adopted 2040 Plan and Zoning Ordinance, there are no references to this planning document. Therefore, it does not have a legally binding impact on development. The City’s 2040 Plan has created subdistricts and associated Land Use goals which don’t appear to either conflict with, or support, the 2007 Master Plan’s vision. The 2007 Village Area Master Plan Elements: The plan is generally broken down into the following elements: 1. Background – which discusses guiding principles and a framework 2. The Master Plan – a layout of the vision, with focus on the different aspects such as parks and trails, public and green space, streets, blocks & parcels, land uses, housing types, and densities. 3. Master Plan Components – discusses higher level components of the plan such as the Stillwater Blvd. corridor, Lake Elmo Avenue corridor, Public Facilities, Greenbelt, Existing Development, and planned housing. 4. Village Character – discusses case studies from, Detroit Lakes, Litchfield, Cannon Falls, and Redwood Falls, MN, Cedarburg, WI, and Zeeland, MI. Nearly all examples are of rural town centers as opposed to town centers in metropolitan areas. 5. Utilities and other Infrastructure – discusses Sewer and water utilities, stormwater systems, and a street network with example road typologies. 6. Planning Process and Planning Tools – this section is incomplete in the version reviewed by staff. Considerations: • The location of roadway connections and alignment of key corridors such as Lake Elmo Avenue and the Village Parkway have changed since the 2007 Master Plan was created. • County Access spacing requirements and planning along Stillwater Boulevard likely mean that the roadway connections envisioned by this plan are infeasible. • Nearly all of the single family residential developments envisioned in the Village Area has now occurred. This means local roads, sidewalks, and trail connections are set in a variety of areas. • Future Land Use guidance in the City’s 2040 Plan is inconsistent with the development, primarily east of the existing Village Area’s core. • Park needs across the community have been evaluated and may have changed since 2007.