HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.b. Comp Plan 2040-Inital Project Overview and Demographic Update
E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y
Planning Commission Meeting: February 23, 2016
AGENDA ITEM: Comprehensive Plan 2040 - Initial Project
Overview and Demographic Update
AGENDA SECTION:
New Business
PREPARED BY: Kyle Klatt, Senior Planner AGENDA NO. 7.b.
ATTACHMENTS: Proposed Comprehensive Elements,
Planning Commissioners Journal Article,
State of the City Presentation (handed out at
meeting)
APPROVED BY: K. L.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: No action required
ISSUE
The Planning Commission is being asked to review information concerning the required decennial update
to the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The City’s updated plan must be submitted to the Metropolitan Council
before the end of 2018, and given the broad scope of the project, staff recommends that the initial
planning work for the project commence in the spring of this year. In order to help prepare the Planning
Commission for this work, staff would like to discuss four elements of the planning process with the
Commission as part of the City’s initial planning work for this important project. These elements include
the following:
State of the City Report. As staff begins updating some of the key demographic information that
will be included in the Comprehensive Plan, we would like to take some time to review several
key community indicators with the Commission that are intended to serve as the major
component of the land use plan. The information to be covered includes population and
household trends and forecasts, housing statistics, and economic indicators. This information will
be presented at the meeting along with a handout of the slides to be used.
Overall Comprehensive Plan Outline. While the City does have some discretion to address issues
that are of concern in the community when updating the Comprehensive Plan, the Met Council
requires that specific elements be included in the plan. In order to help map out the various
components planned for the City’s update, staff has prepared a general outline for the plan along
with a brief description of each proposed section.
Public Participation/Focused Area Planning Process. Staff is beginning to assess the best manner
in which to move forward with community input for the project and to establish which
geographic areas will receive additional attention as part of the 2040 update.
Over-Arching Goals. The executive summary at the very beginning of the City’s 2030
Comprehensive Plan includes nine overarching goals that served as the basis for the creation of
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the Plan. Staff will be reviewing these goals in the near future and bringing recommendations
forward for any revisions or additions necessary to support the 2040 update
COMP PLAN UPDATE PROCESS
Under the Metropolitan Land Planning Act in Minnesota State Statutes, all municipalities within the seven-
county Twin Cities metropolitan area are required to adopt a Comprehensive Plan, which are subject to
review and approval by the Metropolitan Council, and each city is further required to update these plans
every 10 years. The deadline for submitting the City of Rosemount’s next decennial update is December 31,
2018, and given the size and scope of this document, Staff has begun preparations for the City’s update and
intends to commence work on the update in the spring of 2016. Staff recently prepared a generalized
schedule for the update, along with a map showing the smaller planning areas to be studied in greater detail
as part of the project. The Planning Commission received a copy of these documents at its last meeting.
The ten-year update cycle begins with the release of the Met Council’s regional development guide; the most
recent of which was named Thrive MSP 2040 and released in May of 2014. After releasing the regional
guide, the Met Council adopted various system and policy plans covering a range of topics from
transportation, regional parks, water resources, housing, and water supply. The City of Rosemount has
previously reviewed and provided comments on these documents, all of which have since been adopted as
guiding documents for the region under which local comprehensive pans will be reviewed. The Met
Council’s regional planning work culminates with the release of a system statement for each community,
which Rosemount received in September of 2015. With the receipt of the system statement, Rosemount is
now obligated to review and amend its Comprehensive Plan within three years.
Rosemount last updated the Comprehensive Plan in 2009 (known as the 2030 Comprehensive Plan) which
includes the future land use map currently being used to guide development and redevelopment activity in
the community. Prior to the adoption of this plan, the City completed major planning efforts to study the
future land uses in the Highway 42/52 area and performed an environmental review of proposed land uses
north of Bonaire Path and east of Akron Avenue. The land uses recommendations from these previous
studies were incorporated into the 2030 plan. In the time since the 2030 plan was adopted, the City has also
completed a major environmental review (AUAR) for the UMore park area. There have been no
comprehensive plan amendments brought forward for any UMore land to date.
Staff expects that the majority of work to update the Comprehensive Plan will be performed internally, with
outside assistance only for those portions of the plan requiring special expertise (i.e. storm water and
transportation). In addition to establishing smaller committees to work on the special planning areas, Staff
will also be working with the Planning Commission to establish a general schedule for the Commission’s
review of the various plan elements. In accordance with the draft schedule, the bulk of this work is expected
to occur throughout 2016 and into early 2017.
To help establish expectations for the 2040 update, Staff will be using the following as overall objectives for
the project:
Complete drafting work on the 2040 Plan by end of 2017 to provide ample time for comment,
review and formal adoption by December 31, 2018.
Establish a planning process to focus on the three smaller planning areas that are expected to either
accommodate the bulk of the projected growth between now and 2040 (the southeast portion of the
community) or that are of particular interest because of other development pressures (downtown
and the north rural area).
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Develop public participation strategies that are inclusive and provide opportunities for meaningful
feedback throughout the review process.
Draft a plan that is easy to read and understand using charts, graphics, and other visual aids as much
as possible and that accommodates modern preferences for accessing and viewing the plan.
STATE OF THE CITY REPORT
Prior to commencing work on the Comprehensive Plan, staff has begun assembling and analyzing the
underlying demographic information that will serve as a key element the final document. The review of this
information is intended to give the Planning Commission a better understanding of the issues and trends
that will affect the various components of the 2040 Plan and to hopefully give the Commission additional
insight into the various factors that will impact land use decisions in the future. Staff will present this
information to the Commission at the meeting, which will focus on the following areas:
Population and household demographics and projections
Housing characteristics
Employment statistics
The bulk of this information will be incorporated in the introductory sections of the plan, while the
population and household forecasts will play a key role in the development of the future land use plan.
COMP PLAN OUTLINE
The City will be required to include specific elements (chapters) in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, and these
overall elements will serve as a general outline for the project. Staff has attached a general outline for review
by the Planning Commission that includes a brief description of each Chapter (this outline is consistent with
the project schedule developed earlier). Most of the drafting work will be organized and brought forward as
the specific chapters listed in this document
RECOMMENDATION
No action is required at this time. Staff will be seeking initial reactions or comments concerning the
demographic information presented at the meeting.
2040 City of Rosemount Comprehensive Plan Outline
The Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan will contain several individual elements,
organized by chapters. Each of these sections will address a specific element as required by
the Metropolitan Council, and/or will cover the major functions of municipal government.
The proposed Comprehensive Plan elements are as follows:
1) Executive Summary/Introduction
The introductory chapter will include a broad overview of the plan as well as the over-
arching goals that will help guide the creation of the document.
2) Community Background/Demographics
This element will provide the history of Rosemount, how we got to where we are today,
and the projections for growth in the City through the year 2040. This section will
include a review of the forces that may impact the community now and into the future.
3) Community Facilities
This element will discuss the services, institutions, and facilities that the City and other
entities provide to Rosemount residents. These services include police, fire, and
emergency services; public and private schools; public buildings; and private utilities.
4) Land Use
This element will create a Future Land Use Map to implement the goals and objectives
as identified within the other elements of the Comprehensive Plan. Specific topics
discussed will include appropriate density within the various residential categories, which
land uses are compatible or incompatible, how development will be phased, and process
for development review and approval. A few sections that were separate chapters in the
2030 plan may be folded into the land use chapter, including natural resources and
special resource protection. There subsections will discuss the existing natural resources
of Rosemount and the opportunities that the City has to protect or enhance them, based
in part on the City’s natural resource inventory. Discussion will include the City’s
Stormwater Management Plan, Wetland Management Plan, Mississippi River Corridor
Critical Area Plan, Shoreland Ordinance, and Tree Replacement Ordinance, as well as
the access to the City’s natural areas, agriculture, and mineral resources.
5) Transportation
This element will discuss transportation improvements needed to provide for the
projected 2040 growth. This element will include all modes of transportation, including
pedestrians; bicyclists; transit options; automobiles; truck, rail, and barge freight. The
linkages between transportation and land use issues will also be discussed, such as the
opportunities and constraints of transit orientated development and job/housing balance
with communities. The City will need to allocate future forecasted growth to various
transportation zones within the community in this section. ~ 1 ~
6) Water Resources
This element will discuss the sanitary sewer, water, and stormwater infrastructure needed
to provide for the projected 2040 growth. The specific sections of this chapter will
include: a) a wastewater and comprehensive sewer plan that specifies areas to be sewered
by the public wastewater system, sets standards of operation for private systems, and
identifies areas that are not suitable for public or private systems, b) a local water
management plan that protects water quality and addresses water quantity issues, and c) a
water supply plan that ensures a safe and sufficient water supply now and in the future.
7) Parks and Trails
This element will discuss the function of the parks and recreation within the City. The
element will primarily detail the parks and open space opportunities that the City will
provide and those opportunities that are provided by other entities. The element will
include existing and possible future cooperative efforts with school district, County and
Regional Park Districts, or private interests. The Plan will highlight a Parks Master Plan
section to illustrate where future parks will be necessary for future neighborhoods, based
upon City policies.
8) Housing
This element will discuss the issues surrounding housing for the current and future
residents of Rosemount. Specific topics will include rental and homeownership;
opportunities for workforce housing; continued use of existing housing; providing
housing for all stages of life; and appropriate densities and locations for single-family
homes, townhomes, and apartment/condominiums.
9) Resilience
This element will integrate strategies into the plan that will allow Rosemount to be more
resilient in the face of a changing climate. As communities adjust to increasingly extreme
weather events, stress on public facilities, and higher costs of services, there is growing
need to not only plan for these events, but to also reduce the impacts through conscious
climate adaptation and resilience planning.
10) Economic Competitiveness
This element will discuss the business and employment environment within Rosemount.
The element will focus on opportunities for retail, office, and industrial uses. Specific
topics will include the downtown, redevelopment, business park, and mixed use
opportunities.
11) Implementation
This element will discuss how the goals within the Comprehensive Plan will be
accomplished. The element will include a summary of the major goals identified in the
other elements, the opportunities for cooperative efforts with neighboring communities
and other entities, and the cost of implementing the Comprehensive Plan through
Capital Improvement Planning (CIP).
~ 2 ~
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PLANNING COMMISSIONERS JOURNAL / NUMBER 71 / SUMMER 2008
THE PLANNING COMMISSION AT WORK
This Plan’s For You
by Jim Segedy, FAICP, and Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP
Editor’s Note: Who is your comprehen-
sive plan designed for? Jim and Lisa exam-
ine this critically important question as
they continue their series on the role of the
local comprehensive plan.
L isa was on the city council
agenda to present the concept of
a new comprehensive plan. The
mayor leaned forward after her
presentation. “We had a plan written for
us ten years ago. It hasn’t done us a darn
bit of good.” Lisa had to agree with the
mayor. The consulting firm that had
written the old plan had included all the
relevant data, pages and pages of census
data in tables, statistics in bar graphs,
and percentages in pie charts. It was a
complete inventory, and looked very
impressive, but it really didn’t say any-
thing. What did all those charts and
tables mean?
They had overlooked two important
things: First, the plan contained no inter-
pretation of the data. Second, the public
had no meaningful involvement in the
plan’s creation. The plan simply did not
address the very first question in the list
of ingredients of a good comprehensive
plan. Because of that, its usefulness as a
tool to the community was extremely
limited.
“Who are we?”It is important to ask
and answer that question on several lev-
els throughout the planning process. Part
of the planning process is to understand
the people in your community. This will
help you determine how your communi-
ty functions and how it should (and
shouldn’t) change over the next twenty
years.
It’s also important to remember that
this isn’t just a bunch of background
information – it should be an objective
look at who you are and what’s going on.
It’s about where you live, work, play, and
do business – and the forces that affect
your city or town.
One of the first tools for understand-
ing “Who are we?” is demographic data.
Census information breaks down your
population by age, gender, ethnic back-
ground, home ownership, economic sta-
tus, and more. You can see how your
population has changed over time, but
it’s only a snapshot of the community.
But “Who are we?” is more than just
these statistics and facts compiled into
tion you’ll need to answer is, “What is
causing, or caused, change in our com-
munity?”
A look at your city or town’s history,
particularly since the end of World War
II, will help you understand the demo-
graphic changes. Has your community
gained or lost employment? Has there
been a natural disaster? What about
changes in nearby places that could
affect your community? How could these
things change the population that you’re
expecting in the next two decades?
As the population changes, the
demand for facilities and services shifts,
and the dynamics of local retail evolve.
A population of aging residents requires
a different level of services than does a
population with a greater share of fami-
lies with school-age children. Employ-
ment opportunities will bring new
population into your community, and
these new employees may require specif-
ic housing types. Did these changes hap-
pen at once (e.g., when a factory opened
or closed), or did they appear over time?
If it is apparent that your town will be
gaining population, then it is important
to ask, “Does our community have the
capacity to grow?” Can your infrastruc-
ture handle your anticipated growth? Is
there available land for the growth that
will meet current and future demand?
What is happening around you? Will
growth in nearby towns or cities drive
changes, either positive or negative, in
your community?
Lisa has worked in many small towns
surrounding the Metropolitan Atlanta
area, communities that were being
impacted by growth from the metro area.
It was almost a mantra in these small
towns, “We don’t want to be like
Atlanta,” yet the plans and local regula-
tions in these communities actually set
them up to become just more of the same
in the sea of urban sprawl.
EVEN A QUESTION AS
SIMPLE AS “WHY DO YOU
LIVE HERE?” CAN OPEN
THE DOOR FOR A CLEARER
UNDERSTANDING OF
WHAT’S IMPORTANT ABOUT
A COMMUNITY AND HOW
TO PRESERVE IT OR EXPAND
ON IT.
tables and charts. In planning class, Jim
tells his students, “You’ve told me the
numbers. Now tell me what they mean.”
A good comprehensive plan follows
the presentation of demographic data
with an analysis of who the plan is for.
What are the characteristics of your pop-
ulation? Your citizens will be the ones
living in your community. They may go
to school, own property, raise their fami-
lies, earn a living, shop, play, retire, and
vote there. They are the people who will
be benefiting the most from your com-
prehensive plan. They are the ones you
are planning the community for.
What is your community’s story?
Each town or city is unique and your
plan should reflect that. A wise person
once said: “If you’ve seen one small
town, you’ve seen one small town.”
Comparing the population statistics
over time will help you see how your
community is changing. The next ques-
to accommodate current conditions
while positioning itself for future
changes, and are willing to be creative in
embracing change, your community will
be in position to thrive no matter what.
In the next issue of PCJ, Lisa and Jim
will take on the next question in the list of
ingredients for a successful comprehensive
plan: “Where are we going?” ◆
Free to Download
Go to our PlannersWeb site to
download a free copy of Michael
Chandler’s 3-part series on develop-
ing a capital improvement program –
previously published in the Planning
Commissioners Journal:
www.plannersweb.com/cip.pdf
In each upcoming issue of the
Journal we’ll also be providing links
to free copies of one or more articles
from our archives.
makers to consider the long-term costs of
growth, and educating community lead-
ers about the importance of following a
comprehensive plan that establishes a
template for balanced and appropriate
growth.
After you’ve reviewed your communi-
ty profile and honestly answered, “What
does this mean?” you are ready to move
to the next level in determining your
community’s identity and collective per-
sonality. Perhaps the most important tool
for answering “Who are we?” is to ask
the community itself. This will give you
the story behind the numbers and tell
you what those numbers really mean.
Through a well-run public involve-
ment program, residents can define what
is important to them personally as well as
to the larger community. They can iden-
tify what they like and what they don’t.
They can capture the essence of their
community’s spirit by telling stories of
things that have happened there. Even a
question as simple as “Why do you live
here?” can open the door for a clearer
understanding of what’s important about
a community and how to preserve it or
expand on it.
As you, the planning commissioner,
assist your town or city in developing its
comprehensive plan, be prepared for
some honest self-evaluation and soul
searching at the community level. Focus
not on how you wish things would be,
but on what’s real, to help your commu-
nity determine “who we are.” Gain the
perspective of hard data, understand
what’s causing change, and learn how
your citizens feel about where they live.
For many years, when Jim took his
students into communities he always
taught them to ask the citizens two ques-
tions: First, “When Aunt Harriet comes
to visit, where do you take her?” and sec-
ond, “When Aunt Harriet comes to visit,
where don’t you take her?” Honest
answers to these two questions will tell
you exactly what you need to work on,
and sometimes give the community star-
tling insights into what it has overlooked
for a long time.
If you ask and answer questions can-
didly, evaluate your community’s options
In preparing their comprehensive
plans, these towns had not dug deeply
into the question of, “Who are we?”
Because they had not defined their com-
munity identity, they were unprepared to
embrace the spillover that was inevitable
because of their location. They accepted
developer-driven land use decisions
because their plan didn’t provide them
with a definable and defensible commu-
nity identity on which to base their
growth.
As your town or city answers the
question, “Who are we?” make certain to
ask enough follow-up questions to com-
pletely understand how the community
defines itself so the plan can establish
defensible growth priorities.
If your city or town expects to lose
population in the coming years, ask
yourself, “How can we be the best com-
munity we can be, even if we have to do
it with fewer people and fewer
resources?”
Even places that have lost jobs and
population can thrive and be successful.
Youngstown, Ohio is a prime example.
Once a steel manufacturing mecca of
over 200,000 people, the city lost much
of its core manufacturing base in the
1990s. Instead of becoming a ghost
town, the city asked itself, “How can we
be the best smaller community possi-
ble?” and set about the task of reinvent-
ing itself. Youngstown is well on its way
towards becoming a thriving city of
80,000.
As your community develops its com-
prehensive plan, you, the planning com-
missioner, must realize that: (1) growth
is not always possible; (2) growth is not
always avoidable; (3) growth is not
always good; and (4) balanced growth is
often the only way that your community
can sustain itself.
Residential growth is frequently an
elected official’s panacea, boosting the
municipal tax base in the short run, but
outstripping the community’s ability to
provide for the level of public services
needed to support it in the long run. As a
planning commissioner, you will become
the advocate for good planning in your
community. You will be asking decision-
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PLANNING COMMISSIONERS JOURNAL / NUMBER 71 / SUMMER 2008
www.plannersweb.com
City&RegionalPlanningResources
PLANNING COMMISSIONERS JOURNAL
PlannersWeb
Jim Segedy is the Director of Community Planning
for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. Lisa
Hollingsworth-Segedy is the Managing Partner
and Senior Planner for The Community Partner-
ship. Send any questions, comments, or “war sto-
ries” you’d like to share to Jim and Lisa at
the_community_partnership@yahoo.com. Editor’s
Note: Sharp-eyed PCJ readers might have noticed
that Lisa Hollingsworth is now Lisa
Hollingsworth-Segedy. Our congratulations to
both Jim and Lisa!