MINUTES EDA 11.21.23 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES FOR THE EDA MEETING OF NOVMEBER 21, 2023 President Weidt called the meeting to order at 5:25pm. PRESENT: Chrun, Denaway, Klein, Puleo, Weidt ABSENT: Arcand STAFF: Rachel Juba, Community Development Director Max Gort, Associate Planner Bryan Bear, City Administrator APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR THE EDA MEETING OF AUGUST 15, 2023 Commissioner Klein made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Denaway, to approve the September 19, 2023 EDA meeting minutes. Ayes: All. Nay: None. Motion carried. UPDATE ON THE HIGHWAY 61 VISIONING STUDY Juba presented background on the work that the Project Management Team and consultants have been doing since the last EDA meeting. Currently, Washington County Staff is working to hold another open house at the end of 2023 or early in 2024. The team had a discussion with the Metropolitan Council on the future of transit in the area, and a workshop with the Washington County Board related to the regional rail authority property that they own. The Metropolitan Council’s Transportation Policy Plan for 2050 will not show the fixed line transit corridor known either as the Rush Line or the Purple line extending to Hugo, with a current northern terminus somewhere in Maplewood. The takeaway that staff took from this meeting was that future transit in this area is more likely to be on-demand and micro transit services, rather than fixed line rail or bus rapid transit services. Without the need to plan for fixed line transit service, the team held a workshop with the Washington County Board to determine how the rail authority property to the west of the highway should be managed. The County Board came to a consensus that managing the highway as a unified corridor that precludes transit needs would eliminate most needs for additional right-of-way acquisition should the highway be expanded. The next step is for the team to prepare layouts and cross sections, which will likely be brought back to the EDA before they are seen by the public at an open house. Commissioner Chrun asks how far south the unified corridor would reach. Bear responds that the corridor extends to the county line at 120th Street. Commissioner Denaway asks how much the need for additional right-of-way may affect development of the City owned property on Egg Lake. Juba responds that in that particular case, there would only be 8 feet of lost right-of-way, but that the majority of right-of-way constraints would be in the downtown area.