Planning Commission Resolution 502-97

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. . . Planning Commission Resolution No. 502-97 April 16, 1997 Page 6 EXHIBIT 2 District 1 is intended to become the City Center, or focal point for the community, It is envisioned to be a strong, vital activity center in the heart of the community, where a complimentary, coordinated mixture of uses will create a feeling of identifY and enjoyment for residents and visitors. It will provide places to live, work, shop and enjoy leisure-time pursuits, The creation of the City Center will build on existing uses which include the Mounds View City Hall and Community Center, two community shopping centers, Mounds View Square and Silver View Plaza, the Silver Lake Pointe and Wildwood Manor senior apartment developments, the single family homes and townhomes in Silver Lake Woods, several large apartment developments including Scotland Green, Woodlawn Terrace, Timberland Ridge, Greenfield Estates, Landmark Estates, The Sands and Mounds View Estates, individual retail businesses and restaurants along Highway 10, and neighborhood businesses like the Tom Thumb market. This district includes some significant natural resources and open space areas, Silver View Park, on of the City's largest parks, is within walking distance from many areas of this district. It includes an attractive lake with walking paths, athletic fields, and picnic and playground facilities. There are three large wetlands, one located southeast of Silver View Road and Highway 10, one south of Highway 10 between Long Lake Road and County Road H2, and one next to the Mounds View Community Center, Two of these are State-protected, and all three are protected by local regulations. They will remain important assets in the environmental quality of this district, and an appropriate setting around each wetland needs to be preserved, The undeveloped land in this district is often wooded with mature trees, and effort needs to be given to preserving as much of the forested character and natural feel of these areas as is possible by how development is designed on these parcels, Highway 10 presents a challenge to the creation of the City Center, in that it cuts diagonally across this district and the remainder of the community, and is used as a major route to move traffic through the region. It carries a high volume of traffic during commute times, and the timing of the traffic lights favors the highway rather than local traffic and pedestrians seeking to cross the highway at the intersections. The City Center offers the possibility of creating a meeting ground between the two halves of the community, which will overcome the division created by the highway, It is the desire of the community that Highway 10 become a boulevard that is rooted in Mounds View, and makes the community visible rather ignoring or being oblivious to the community. Vehicular circulation should be developed according to a ring road concept to keep major traffic flow on the periphery of the City Center. Access to Highway 10 should be limited and concentrated. Relative to general use patterns, commercial and medium density residential development should be located in proximity to Highway 10, with a decrease in intensity of use occurring outward from the highway toward the lower density residential neighborhoods to the south and west. Development should also include provisions for dedication of land to a pedestrianlbicycle trail system which can