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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997 08-19 CPTFA Agenda Comprehensive Plan Task Force August 19, 1997 1. Call to Order: 7:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call 3. Review Written Comments from Task Force a. Tony Kuefler b. Stephen Erdmann c. Tom Kouri d. Housing Commission 4. Discuss Additional Task Force Items for Draft Comprehensive Plan I 5. Regional Review of Draft Comprehensive Plan I 6. Adjournment: 9:00 p.m. August 5, 1997 From: Tony Kuefler, Imb Comprehensive Plan sk Force To: Jane Chambers City of Brooklyn Center Subject: Feedback on Draft Document I am leaving on a fishing trip to Manitoba tomorrow and have not yet completed my review of the draft document, but will give you what I have. Page Comment/Question i first paragraph states the original plan was prepared in 1979......I believe the first plan was in 1965 1-6 Is Table 1-5 stated in percent or count? 2-15 Paragraph 8, bullet #4.......Twin Lake would also seem to fit this category This isn't much, but the document does read pretty well I'd say. Will try to get through the remainder of the draft prior to our meeting on the 19th. i Brooklyn Center Comprehensive Plan Update Concerns and Comments Submitted by: Stephen Erdmann 11 Public Facilities Plan; Water System The draft mentions the possibility of a water treatment plant being necessary in the future. There is also concern among experts about the future of the Jordan aquifer due to massive growth in pumping by many suburban communities. Thus,the draft should suggest that if a treatment plant becomes necessary in the future,Brooklyn Center,in cooperation with Brooklyn Park,should explore the feasibility of developing a joint water system supplied by the Mississippi River. A cost/benefit analysis should include such factors as: household savings of cost of purchasing and maintaining water softening systems; savings due to extended life of water heaters,washing machines,etc.; This plan could include the possibility of enlarging and deepening Palmer Lake as a resevoir,which would double as an amenity for recreational uses such as swimming, fishing,canoeing,walking,inline skating,etc.This could bolster property values in the surrounding neighborhoods. 21 Comprehensive Plan: p, 2-25 , sites J,K: I recommend wording that states that no further conversion of single family sites to commercial should be allowed until all vacant or underutilized sites within the commercial core, and on Brooklyn Boulevard N. of Bass Lake Rd. have been redeveloped. The current housing is well buffered from Brooklyn Boulevard and is a viable neighborhood p.2-28, The draft should state that the desired type of housing which would face the open space created on the Twin Lake lakeshore should be larger single family homes; not small lots or twinhomes. The city already has an abundance of eligible sites for townhome or twinhome redevelopment;but there is a scarcity of appropriate sites for creating larger,upper bracket homes. Twin Lake should be reserved for larger houses. August 9, 1997 Torn Kouri 6416 Willow Lane North Brooklyn Center, MN 55430 AN*anstwif.— BRW- Comprehensive Plan Task Force 6301 Shingle Creek Parkway Brooklyn Center, MN 55430 Re: Comprehensive Plan Comments Dear Jane, Listed below are comments from my review of the Comprehensive Plan that BRW requested to be forwarded to you in advance of the August 19, 1997 meeting. 1. Lack of Vision- The Plan identifies a village concept which I strongly support. Unfortunately, this vision is not brought out or developed. Instead of helping Brooklyn Center establish a unique identity, the plan is reactive and suggests yielding to development pressures such as the removal of housing south of the High School. Rather than becoming similar to other communities is terms of business, housing, etc. I suggest developing a vision of what we want to become, our unique niche, and how this translates to the comprehensive plan. 2. Transportation-The trend ter rely more heavily on public transportation is accelerating,especially in European countries as traffic pressures makes wing less desirable. Today's technology is capable of communicating the precise location of any public carrier so that "waiting" is eliminated. This is a reality we should plan for by identifying potential public transportation routes so that 90% of the population is within "x" blocks and 95%with "y" blocks of a route. A strongly knit village community within a large city requires this to establish and maintain a separate identity. 3. Business-A village is enhanced when residents are able to receive the majority of their goods and services without leaving the area. I would like to see the plan include a list of the types of businesses that the year 1998 indicates are directly needed by our residents and where we fall short. 4. Parks- On a more positive note, the classifying of parks does show vision. However, a more concrete concept to open the lakes and Mississippi River resources to others to achieve the spread-over effect similar to the Minneapolis chain of lakes is needed. Thoughts include mini-park accesses requiring the buy- out of a few homes along Willow Lane and the construction of a public transportation-only road to connect Willow Lane to North Mississippi Regional Park and thus create a 53rd to 73rd direct loop. Comprehensive Plan Comments August 9, 1997 Page 2 5. Housing-I would like to see a greeater emphasis placed on low density residential housing. Perhaps current underutilized business areas such as 57th on the east side of Highway 100 should be converted to residential. The fact that our homes are smaller when compared to the homes in most suburbs can be viewed as an asset that promotes a stronger community. They are easier to maintain, less costly to service with public transportation, and very attractive when in close proximity to parks. Unfortunately, I will be on vacation from August 13-19 and will be unable to participate in the August 19 meeting. It is my sincere hope that additional time and meetings are scheduled to further refine the plan. Sincerely, Tom Kouri cc: Myrna Kragness,Mayor I I Memorandum To: Ron Warren, Planning and Zoning Specialist From: Tom Bublitz, Community Development SpecialisC � t Date: July 21, 1997 Subject: Housing Commission Review of Neighborhoods and Housing Plan Draft for City Comprehensive Plan The purpose of this memorandum is to summarize the Brooklyn Center Housing Commission's review of the neighborhoods and housing plan section of the City's Comprehensive Plan. Generally speaking, I believe the Housing Commission was comfortable with the draft plan and had the following comments and requests for revisions to the draft: ♦ The focus of the commission's first comments were on page 17 of the draft plan. The commission believed that the City has a good opportunity to provide businesses that pay relatively higher salaries. An example cited by commission members is the area along 694 which may be conducive to Class A office space. The assumption here is that higher salaries are paid in businesses located in Class A office space than in the hotel and hospitality industry. The commission felt there is a need to emphasize the need for Class A office space in the Comprehensive Plan. The commission believed that there should be a few sentences in the plan to reflect the need for Class A office space and the benefit of this type of space as related to employment opportunities in the City. In making this observation, the commission wants to establish the link between housing and employment in that a solid employment base tends to reflect upon the health of the City's housing market. ♦ The commission requested the following language be considered for inclusion in the Comprehensive Plan on page 27 of the draft: "The City should seek and recruit Class A office or corporate office space to attract and enhance higher paying employment opportunities in the city." The commission believed that a separate heading below the marketing paragraph could be created to accommodate this language. The commission also believed that it may be possible to link some type of language on higher-end housing relative to the creation of Class A office space. ♦ The commission's second area of comment on the draft plan is contained on page one of the draft under the background section. The fourth bullet in the background paragraph refers to "the ability of Brooklyn Center to deal with inner-city problems." The commission felt that the term"inner-city"was unnecessarily vague and created an inappropriate image. The commission felt strongly that either the specific problems referenced in this bullet should be spelled out or the entire bullet sentence referencing "inner-city"problems should be left out of the plan. In general, I believe the Housing Commission felt the draft Comprehensive Plan was adequate and covered the areas which needed to be addressed. The above comments are the major areas of concern expressed by the Housing Commission. Response to Comment/Concern 1, Stephen Erdmann Yes, it is true that there is concern about the future capacity of the Jordan aquifer given the continued growth in the region. All deep well permits are issued by the DNR. The DNR continues to monitor the Jordan, and will discontinue issuing permits when it appears the aquifer is at capacity. This does not mean that the aquifer would be "usedup." Because it is continuously recharged, it would still produce sufficient water to meet Brooklyn Center's needs, and we would not have to look for any alternate sources of water. A joint water system with Brooklyn Park might be feasible in the long run, but a system which is supplied by the Mississippi River is not. Surface and ground waters require very different types of treatment, and are usually incompatible. This is why we could construct an emergency cross-connect with Brooklyn Park but not Minneapolis. A surface water system would require Brooklyn Center (and Brooklyn Park, if it were part of a joint venture) to abandon all our deep wells and rely solely on surface water. Alternatively, the City's water distribution system could be reconfigured to provide two different, closed systems, one using surface water, and one using well water. A treatment plant will require careful future consideration. A treatment plant which would provide only removal of iron and manganese was several years ago estimated to cost in the $5-6 million range. A treatment plant which provided alternate chlorination and softening would cost considerably more than that, and would require additional utility staff for operation. At the time of the last water system study in 1989, it was estimated that full treatment would probably almost triple water rates. Palmer Lake is part of a protected wetland complex. This complex could not be altered under current law to enlarge and deepen the lake itself for recreational purposes as this would fundamentally change the wetland ecosystem. Tom Kouri, Item 2, Transportation Under state law and Metropolitan policy, Metro Transit(formerly MCTO) is responsible for all basic public transportation planning. While the City's Comprehensive Plan could establish numerical goals regarding clustering population and employment around public transportation, in reality we are not involved in the decision making process regarding implementation. This would only be the case if we "opted out" of the metropolitan transit system and chose to find and run our own public transit. Tom Kouri, Item 4, Parks The idea of"pocket parks" along the Mississippi River is one that can be explored for the long term. Certainly it is a goal of the Mississippi Natural Recreational River Area (MNRAA) to provide more public access to the river. It is also a feature of the City's own Critical Area Plan, which is separate from the Comprehensive Plan. I'm not sure how the suggestion of a public transportation-only road would be constructed to connect Willow Lane to the North Mississippi Regional Park. There is a paved bicycle/pedestrian path under the I-694 bridge connecting Willow Lane and the regional park. There is also a trail link up to the I- 694 bridge. The pathway under the bridge is probably no wider than 15 feet between the bridge abutments and the edge, and may not be capable of supporting sustained traffic. It was certainly not intended to carry traffic when it was constructed.