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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT •`• The categorical elements of a Comprehensive Plan - Land Use, Transportation and Community Facilities - develop from a concept. This more abstract theme may be viewed as "the basic idea behind the plan". The purpose of the community develop- ment concept is to provide a set of general guidelines to be followed in all subse- quent steps of determining the detailed configurations of land use, transportation and open space. The single largest remaining undeveloped area in Mounds View is situated at what could potentially become the primary center/focus of the community. As well established by the preceding analysis, the community is fragmented by Highway 10. Thus, the direction of development of the central area will play a major role in determining whether or not this fragmented character will be perpetuated. If development occurs in a "strip" fashion, further fragmentation will undoubtedly result. However, properly developed, this central area can act as a connecting, unifying link between the two fragments created by Highway 10. Consistant with the needs of this area, development plans have been proposed which promote the theme of a compact, functional center incorporating retail commercial activity, the civic center and medium and higher density residential development. While this central area affords the greatest new housing opportunities, plans to integrals higher density housing around the center area should maintain the concept of easy access for all residential neighborhoods existing beyond the periphery of the center. A residential neighborhood should have a degree of privacy from the more intense community functions. Within each neighborhood, the quality of life and safety is highly dependent upon protection and isolation from major arterial routes and high intensity commercial centers. Therefore, the neighborhoods which surround the proposed community center have been defined according to major physical barriers represented by the street network. The existing character of these neighborhoods is decidedly low density. This character should be maintained and better protected through the introduction of transitional zones between the neighborhoods and the community center as well as adjacent highway facilities. Medium density residential patterns should be introduced to provide the transition from the commercial and high density residential activity to be located in the community center, while the areas immediately adjacent to the freeway branches should be developed as compatible non-residential uses, such as non-retail commercial or open space. Several other considerations that are significant to the overall communi tydevelopment concept include definition of industrial activity areas, allowing for continued in- dustrial growth while protecting adjacent, more sensitive land use types, and the general preservation of environmentally sensitive final f areas during the r(rlal stages Or Mounds View's "fill-in" development process. APPENDIX 4 21