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several years. The city has developed better strategies for dealing with pesky “willow-pops” on <br />trails and the success of that program, which started in 2025, will be evaluated. <br /> <br />Veteran’s Memorial at Lion’s Volunteer Park. Council appointed a committee to <br />make recommendations on a Veteran’s Memorial. The Committee is meeting on a monthly basis <br />and will report to Council when they are ready. <br /> <br />Neighborhood Parks. For 2026, the Parks Commission’s goals include plans to replace <br />the playground at Frog Hollow Park. <br /> <br />Programs. Since Covid, many of the community programming options that were <br />previously provided through our many community partnerships, are no longer available for a <br />variety of reasons. The Parks Planner is developing a strategy to increase programs and special <br />events available to our residents, including a summer concert series at Lion’s Volunteer Park. <br /> <br /> <br />Community and Economic Development: <br /> <br /> The Met Council Systems Statement is a document outlining Met Council expectations <br />for City growth, along with certain requirements for development. The City Council has <br />appealed the system statement because it places burdensome growth limits on the City. We are <br />preparing for a hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge this spring. Next steps will be <br />decided after the judge’s ruling, but this undertaking could easily complicate or delay the <br />initiation of the City’s 2050 Comprehensive Plan. <br /> <br />Downtown Hugo and city-owned property. Development of this site remains a top <br />priority for the EDA. With EDA direction, the staff is negotiating for sale and development of <br />the property with “La Delicious,” for a restaurant, bakery, retail space and townhomes. <br />Revisions to the City’s shoreland ordinance are necessary to provide certainty that a project can <br />get DNR support for building near Egg Lake. <br /> <br />The City’s Shoreland Ordinance is being evaluated. Following DNR resistance to the <br />City’s downtown planning efforts, and with shoreland rules not making sense in other areas of <br />the City, especially along Judicial Ditches, staff from the City and DNR are working toward <br />more flexible standards that better meet the State’s conservation goals, and better interface with <br />developments. In early 2026, we expect to have draft ordinance revisions presented to the <br />Ordinance Review Committee for discussion. <br /> <br /> Apartments and Commercial market. Reacting to recent development approvals and <br />new concept plans showing apartments, the Planning Commission adopted a goal in 2024 to <br />evaluate whether higher density residential development should be encouraged in more areas of <br />the City. This is a significant question that could impact sections of the City’s zoning ordinances <br />and Comprehensive Plans. Discussion of High-Density Residential projects has involved land <br />guided for commercial or mixed-use. In those circumstances, it would be prudent to also review <br />the mixed-use areas, and commercial zoning districts. The City staff with help from its <br />consulting staff has nearly completed this effort, which will be finalized by the Planning <br />Commission this year. Both the Planning Commission and EDA have recently discussed <br />commercial retail market conditions, and whether a market study or similar effort should be <br />initiated.