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Spring 2014 City Hall - 3800 Laverne Avenue North - Lake Elmo, Minnesota 55042 (651) 747-3900 After more than a decade of dispute with the City of Lake Elmo, the Metropolitan Coun- cil has agreed to terminate an order that mandated the com- munity triple it size by 2030. The termination is a result of the Lake Elmo adopting a comprehensive plan and the installation of sewer lines in both the I-94 corridor and the Old Village. The order, known as the MOU, was made after a protracted fight with the regional planning coun- cil that resulted in a 2005 state Supreme Court decision against the City. “This is a great relief to our community. It allows the City to control its own destiny and preserve the open space character that balances an urban-rural mix of develop- ment. It also eliminates the potential for a $1.5 million dollar wastewater inefficiency fine the City would have received if we had not addressed the MOU,” said Mayor Mike Pearson, who made the elimination of the MOU one of his top priorities when he took office in 2013. The terms for termination of the agreement came after months of discussion with Met Council officials and the City on new development, the installation of utilities, and transportation issues affecting growth. When the City constructed sewer lines last summer, the door was opened to remove the contractual obli- gation to grow. “Our Met Council Representative Harry Melander was very helpful in bringing both sides together to talk the issues out and set the stage for an agreement,” said Mayor Pearson. After an August meeting with the Met Council technical staff, work began on assembling the data needed to finish the Comprehensive Plan and submit new growth num- bers that represent a more reasonable pace of growth. The Met Council was shown plans for three new develop- ments in the I-94 corridor and two in the Old Village that allowed the City to get a better handle on just how much growth could occur. “Our analysis shows that, at most, we can grow up to 18,000-19,000 residents due to the availability of land, wetlands, utility easements and other land uses,” said Council Member Anne Smith, who has served three terms under the shadow of the Met Council MOU. In early January a delegation led by City Planning Direc- tor Kyle Klatt visited with the Met Council technical staff to discuss next steps and were presented with the terms of termination of the MOU. The terms were simple – prove to the Met Council that the City had paid for its two 2013 sewer projects and the MOU would be eliminated. On January 14th the City received a letter stating the same. “The Lake Elmo staff has been good to work with, very collaborative. They wanted to sit at the table and talk so- lutions,” said Met Council Community Development Di- rector Guy Peterson. The City is now gathering all invoices paid for the installa- tion of sewer and will submit the records to the Met Council in early April. In the meantime City staff is working with Met Council planners to reduce the number of residents it must grow to by 2040 to approximately 19,000 residents, or 5,000 less than originally mandated by the MOU for 2030. “The elimination of the MOU really allows us to be very strategic about our growth. We can be a little more choos- ey on what development we want. We can take advan- tage of the current economy and build a vibrant down- town that creates a sense of place for our community. We can maintain that breath of fresh air in the shadow of the Twin Cities that we have all come to know and love,” concluded Pearson. Metropolitan Council to Terminate Memorandum of Understanding City Hall - 3800 Laverne Avenue North - Lake Elmo, Minnesota 55042 (651) 747-3900 Harry Melander, Met Council Representative for the City of Lake Elmo City Now Controls Own Growth Plans