As Plymouth prepares for the future of the northwest corner of the city, residents attending recent meetings organized by the city expressed various visions of what the area should look like.
For purposes of planning, the corner has been divided into two planning areas.
Planning Area 1 is a smaller amount of land east of Vicksburg Lane between the Canadian Pacific Railroad and County Road 47. Planning Area 2 is west of Vicksburg Lane and north of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, with a small nugget south of Highway 55.
In general, participants of the recent city meetings expressed a preference to keep Planning Area 1 more rural and to make Planning Area 2 more urban.
A petition was received by the city at the Nov. 30 meeting calling for the "immediate full development" of the area west of Vicksburg Lane. The petition was signed by 365 people, from 355 residences in Plymouth.
In October, about 200 people attended meetings organized by the city to gather information from residents about their visions for the northwest corner of Plymouth.
The results of the meetings were reviewed at a joint City Council and Planning Commission meeting held Nov. 30.
It was the first time the two bodies met to talk about the plans for the northwest corner of Plymouth.
The discussions are part of the city's process in updating its comprehensive plan, which it is required to do every 10 years.
The city's comprehensive plan is used when the council considers development applications.
In addition to reviewing citizens' feedback, the City Council and Planning Commission reviewed current comprehensive plan vision statements, land use policies and the Metropolitan Council's role in the update.
In terms of residents' feedback, almost half of the participants showed Planning Area 1 as rural in a exercise at an October meeting.
The participants showed the former Hampton Hills Golf Course as rural or as a park.
About 45 percent of those participating in a mapping exercise for Planning Area 2 showed the area urban, with about 25 percent of the maps showing completed commercial/industrial uses in addition to residential.
Participants at meetings for both of the planning areas ranked the natural amenities, low crime and good schools as community assets.
Weaknesses included traffic congestion, too few open spaces and high taxes.
While the northwest corner is the focus of current discussions, the city will be updating its comprehensive plan for the entire city over the next three years.
The Met Council, through the System Statement it issued to Plymouth, forecasted growth in terms of population, households and employment.
The city must sufficiently plan for this growth or give the Met Council justifications why it can't met the standards.
By 2030, the Met Council forecasts a population of 78,500 in Plymouth, with 33,500 households.
According to the 2000 census, there were 24,800 household in Plymouth.
In terms of planning and land use, the number of households projected for the city is a more significant number, according to according to Anne Hurlburt, the city's community development director.
The Met Council also forecast growth in employment opportunities within the city, with 64,500 by 2030. As of the 2000 census, there were 52,600 jobs in Plymouth.
Because of limited commercial land available in the Plymouth, the job growth is likely to occur through redevelopment, according Hurlburt.
A significant finding in the Met Council System Statement was the projection of three to five housing units per acre for areas using the Elm Creek Interceptor. An interceptor is the main conduit carrying wastewater to a treatment plant.
The minimum housing density is set to obtain efficiency in regional systems, according to the System Statement.
What's to come
The City Council and Planning Commission will meet Dec. 6 to discuss various land use issues related to the comp plan update.
The existing land use policies for the city and the northwest corner and specific land use issues to the two planning areas will be discussed.
In addition, population, employment and housing trends that relate to land use will be discussed.
A listening session is scheduled Dec. 12 for the public to share input with the council.
Both meetings will be held at the Plymouth Creek Center at 3400 Plymouth Blvd. at 7 p.m.
A draft land use plan is expected to be reviewed by the council and the planning commission in February or March of 2006.
Neighborhood meetings to obtain public comment on the draft plan are expected in April or May of 2006.
The citywide plan will be reviewed beginning in June of next year, with completion expected in June of 2007.
"We are at the beginning of a fairly lengthy process," said Hurlburt.