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HomeMy WebLinkAboutES_Comprehensive Planning ProcessC:\Users\rebecca.mcguire\Desktop\ES_Comprehensive Planning Process.doc Lake Elmo Special Agenda Item Executive Summary Title of Item: Comprehensive Planning Process Meeting Date: 2-13-07 Staff/Guest Reporting: Ben Gozola, City Planner Summary: Given the relatively short timeframe available for managing issues related to the comprehensive plan update, it is critical that everyone is on the same page with what must be done, and how we intend to meet our July 12th deadline. This memo is intended to provide a summary of the issues which must be addressed, and an estimated timeline of how everything will be accomplished. Staff will utilize feedback gathered at this discussion to refine the overall timeline which will be provided to both the commission and council at their next available meeting. Overview of Land Use Activities: There are numerous topics currently before the City that must be dealt with over the course of the next five months. These issues include: • Zoning code revisions to address all properties between I-94 and 10th Street to ensure all conform to the updated comprehensive plan by the Metropolitan Council deadline; • Completion of the Village Master Plan; • Zoning code revisions for all properties within the Village Planning Area to ensure all conform to the updated comprehensive plan; • Undertaking and completion of an AUAR to study the planned Village development ; • Comprehensive Plan revisions in conformance with the adopted Village Master Plan and the AUAR findings; • Additional rezoning as needed; • Design guidelines to govern future development within Lake Elmo; • Removal of the development moratorium; Estimated Timelines: Please note that the timelines outlined for the issues below are estimated at this time, and will be further refined in the coming weeks. Specifically, times for additional public input must be inserted in many cases. This exercise is intended to allow everyone to visualize the multitude of tasks before the City, and how the reviews will run concurrently in such a manner as to meet our deadlines. C:\Users\rebecca.mcguire\Desktop\ES_Comprehensive Planning Process.doc Zoning Between I-94 & 10th St N. (Ben Gozola) The process to establish new zoning district regulations in this area must begin immediately due to both the limited timeframe available, and the need to free up time in spring to work on ordinances governing the Village area. To effectively address this issue, staff offers up the estimated timeline of events: • Weeks 1 & 2 (Feb12th to the 23rd): Staff will continue to study the issue and refine our understanding of Met Council expectations relating to zoning. Specifically, there are eight different zoning districts that will eventually guide development in this area between now and 2030: o Future Sewered Development (FSD) – interim zoning district o Sewered Residential Development (SRD) o Business Park (BP), o Manufactured Home Park (R-3), o Neighborhood Conservation (NC), o Limited Business (LB), o Public Facilities (PF), and o General Business (GB). The goal by July is to have a zoning code in place that does not conflict with the Comprehensive Plan. Given that most of the land in this area is not guided for development until 2010 at the earliest, it appears that the only district that MUST be examined and established by July is the FSD district. You could consider the FSD area to be an “urban reserve” or “staged development” area where the interim zoning requires the status quo, but alerts all that the use will change at a set future point in time. Specific issues relating to the existing regulations governing BP, R-3, NC, PF, and GB should also be examined, and work to date may have already addressed such concerns. • Week 3 (Feb 26 to Mar 2): Staff will present a refined time line of overall events to the City Council on February 27, and review our findings on exactly what changes must occur to the zoning code to make the City legal with state law requirements. It is around this time (or possibly before), that staff will begin crafting a proposed set of regulations to govern the interim FSD district. • Week 4 (Mar 5 to 9): Staff will present a refined time line of overall events to the Planning Commission on March 5th, and provide an update on progress to date with any zoning code updates. • Week 6 (Mar 19 to 23): The first public hearing on the new FSD district will be held before the Planning Commission. If other districts MUST be addressed as well, they too will be part of this public hearing. C:\Users\rebecca.mcguire\Desktop\ES_Comprehensive Planning Process.doc • Week 9 (Apr 9 to 13): Assuming the Planning Commission recommends approval of the proposed zoning ordinance in late March, the item would appear before the City Council on April 10th for review and potential adoption. Adoption at this point would bring the City’s current zoning into conformance with the proposed land use map within the Comprehensive Plan (again, staff will confirm this position with the City’s sector representative at the Metropolitan Council). Village Master Planning: (Susan Hoyt) The Village Master Planning Process is already underway, and staff will continue to push for its completion to allow work on future zoning to occur. In summary, the estimated timeline for this process is as follows: • Week 5 (Mar 12 to 16): The Village Master Plan will be presented to the City Council; • Week 6 (Mar 19 to 23): The Village Master Plan will be presented to the Park Commission (March 12th) and the Planning Commission (March 19th); • Weeks 5 through 8: Village Master Plan Public Meetings held at appropriate times and venues; • Week 8 (Apr 2 to 6): City Council adopts the Village Master Plan; Village Zoning Amendments: As sewer will not be available to the Village area until June of 2008 at the earliest (estimated completion date for the trunk sewer line to the Village area), staff will actively explore the possibility of utilizing an interim zoning district (much like the Future Sewered Development area between I-94 and 10th Street). An interim district would provide the City with time necessary to craft the best possible ordinance to oversee this critical area of the City. It would also be conforming with the comprehensive plan as this entire district is guided for sewered development (and sewer is not yet available). With that as our initial tact, our estimated timeline would be as follows: • Weeks 1 & 2 (Feb12th to the 23rd): Staff will continue to study the issue to determine whether the interim zoning district methodology will be accepted by the Metropolitan Council. • Week 3 (Feb 26 to Mar 2): Staff will present a refined time line for this issue to the City Council on February 27. This refined timeline will be heavily dependent on whether an interim zoning district will be acceptable. • Week 4 (Mar 5 to 9): Staff will present the same time line to the Planning Commission on March 5th, and provide an update how this matter will proceed. C:\Users\rebecca.mcguire\Desktop\ES_Comprehensive Planning Process.doc AUAR Environmental Review: Of all items to address, the Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) will be the most time intensive process. The following is an estimated timeline for completing this process: • Week 1 (Feb 12 to 16): RFQ’s will be fully reviewed by City Staff, and a firm will be recommended to begin negotiations with over a contract for services to prepare the AUAR. • Week 3 (Feb 26 to Mar 2): The chosen firm will be officially hired to complete the environmental review of the Village area (8 to 10 month timeframe minimum). • Week 4 (Mar 5 to 9): Initial work on AUAR begins including formulation of a specific timeline for completion. • Week 4 thorough the end of the year: Completion of the AUAR and associated mitigation plan Further Comp Plan Revisions: As a follow-up component to the Village Master Planning process and the completion of the AUAR, there may be additional Comprehensive Plan changes to the Village area that must be incorporated into the plan. Timing of this issue will be dependent on the time line of the AUAR and whether changes are necessary. Currently staff anticipates these changes would occur towards the end of this year prior to the further revisions to the Village zoning code. Additional Rezoning as needed: Timing of zoning district changes not related to bringing the comprehensive plan into conformance with the zoning map will be largely dependent upon the timelines of the issues noted above. Staff is tentatively looking at February of 2008 to address such needs. Note that if high priority issues are identified, they will certainly be dealt with as quickly as possible. Design Guidelines: Again, design guidelines will be an important tool to implement to ensure development occurs in the manner deemed suitable to Lake Elmo. The timing of putting these guidelines together is really to be determined, but for the purposes of this exercise we are showing them as beginning next year. However, we do leave open the possibility that work may begin much sooner.