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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/01/2007CTI'Y OF APPLE VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES August 1, 2007 1. CALL TO ORDER The City of Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting was called to order by Chair Jeannine Churchill at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Jeannine Churchill, Tim Burke, Tom Melander, Thomas Helgeson, Keith Diekmann and Frank Blundetto Members Absent: David Schindler Staff Present: Community Development Director Bruce Nordquist, City Planner Tom Lovelace, Associate City Planner Kathy Bodmer, Associate City Planner Mazgazet Dykes, Planning Intern Nick Meyers and Department Assistant Barbara Wolff 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Churchill noted that the Planning Commission received handbooks this evening. The book has been put together primarily by Churchill with input from Commissioners Diekmann, Melander and Helgeson and Community Development Director, Bruce Nordquist. Its intent is to be an informal guide; used for informational purposes only. Chair Churchill. asked if there were any changes to the agenda. There being no changes to the agenda, Churchill called for approval of the agenda. MOTION: Commissioner Helgeson moved, seconded by Commissioner Melander, to approve the Agenda. The motion carried 6-0. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF July 18, 2007 Chair Churchill asked if there were any changes to the minutes. There being none, she called for approval of the minutes. MOTION:. Commissioner Helgeson moved, seconded by Commissioner Burke, to recommend approval of the minutes of July 18, 2007, meeting. The motion carried 6-0. 4. 2030 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE/ACTIONS Nordquist stated that there was a small handout, in front of each Commissioner, announcing the 2030 Comp Plan that will be going out to all the block clubs for the National Night Out on Tuesday, August 7th Nordquist introduced Rusty Fifield, the Project Manager of the 2030 Comp Plan, from Hoisington-Koegler Group, Inc. S:\planning\PLANCOMM\2007 agenda & minutes\080207m.doc Fifield presented a PowerPoint presentation to the Planning Commission highlighting the following points: • Expectations - Ensuring the work meets the needs of the City of Apple Valley • Meeting with the Planning Commission each month for the next 11 months - Comp Plan update at each meeting • Project Handbook for each Commission Member - Evolving resource for the planning process • Metropolitan Council Requirements • What a Comp Plan is - Achieve a vision for the future of Apple Valley and Land Use • Engage the Public . At the end of the presentation, Fifield asked for questions from the Planning Commission. Commissioner Melander inquired how much freedom. we have to put this plan together in light of the overarching guidance of the Metropolitan Council. Fifield answered that Apple Valley is required by state law to update the plan every 10 years. He said that the City is first and primarily creating a plan to meet the needs of Apple Valley and secondly creating a plan that meets the needs of the Metropolitan Council. Chair Churchill asked Fifield to discuss the plan for obtaining public input and the types of input that they are seeking. Fifield answered that it will be important to hear from the public about those qualities that each citizen feels are the best qualities of Apple Valley and which make it a great place to live. He said it will also be important to listen to their issues and concerns. Workshops will beheld to engage in a face-to-face forum. Most of this will happen within the first quarter of 2008. Fifield then asked for each Commissioner to take two minutes to talk about their first reaction to the biggest issues facing the community. Commissioner Blundetto brought up the issues of employment and head of household jobs. He would like to discuss the definition of head of household jobs. He said he would like to see more nice restaurants in the city. He said, in his opinion, we have a ring route that doesn't function well for pedestrians and that County Road 42 and Cedar Avenue are major obstacles. Cornrnissioner Diekmann brought up the issues of connectivity; connecting our parks, connecting our neighborhoods, connecting people with public transportation and how the City will provide ways to get to these places. He said it will also be important to create connections to countyregional systems. Commissioner Blundetto got called away at 7:32pm and left the meeting. S:\planning\PLANCOMM\2007 agenda & minutes\080207m.doc Commissioner Helgeson also has concerns regarding employment and traffic within the city. He asked how much do we want to invest and how much can we sustain in people walking everywhere. He noted that the city isn't a bike friendly City yet. He would like to see a connection to our green spaces. Lastly, he would like to see some further extension of higher learning, such as a remote campus with evening classes. Commissioner Burke would like to see if there are any parts of our community that would be set for redevelopment. He would like the Comp Plan to discuss how to accomplish and guide redevelopment. Commissioner Melander would like to be responsive. to building what the community wants as opposed to what is the latest trend. In his opinion, this has not been successful in the past. Chair Churchill also thinks we need to spend some time thinking about our older neighborhoods and what we envision for them in 2030. We may need to be creative to help the property owners keep their properties up to date. Also, she would like to address life cycle housing -encouraging people to buy homes here, raise their families here and stay here for the course of their lifetimes. Fifield stated that the consultants will be getting the Comp Plan page up and running on the City's website very soon. This is a great way for people to get information and to interact with the Comp Plan. He will be back in front of the Planning Commission on September 5"' or 19th, but Planning Staff will continue to bring updates to the Planning Commission at each of their meetings. 5. ACTION ITEMS A. Tour of Summit Place -Consideration of a special meeting of the Planning Commission on August 2, 2007, at 6pm to tour the Summit Place in Eden Prairie, for the purpose of reviewing a new housing concept for the Cobblestone Lake area. MOTION: Commissioner Burke moved, seconded by Commissioner Diekmann. The motion carried 5-0. 6. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: CommissionerHelgeson moved, seconded by Commissioner Diekmann, to adjourn the meeting at 7:44 p.m. The motion carried 5-0. S:\planningU'LANCOMM\2007 agenda & minutes\080207m.doc 3