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08-07-17 PC Minutes - Comp Plan Special Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission August 7, 2017 A special meeting of the Planning Commission was held at the Golden Valley City Hall, Council Chambers, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota, on Monday, August 7, 2017. Chair Baker called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Those present were Planning Commissioners Baker, Black, Blum, Johnson, Kluchka, Segelbaum, and Waldhauser. Also present were Planning Manager Jason Zimmerman, Associate Planner/Grant Writer Emily Goellner, Director of Parks and Recreation Rick Birno, Public Works Specialist Eric Eckman and Administrative Assistant Lisa Wittman. Commissioner Blenker was absent. 1. 6-6:30 pm: Open House (Parks and Natural Resources) 2. 6:30-7:30 pm: Presentation and Discussion (Parks and Natural Resources) Goellner stated that this Comp Plan discussion will focus on the Parks and Natural Resources chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. She referred to the Comprehensive Plan word cloud that staff created from residents' comments and stated that staff has incorporated the comments into Parks and Natural Resources chapter. She reminded the Commission of some of the themes in the Comp Plan include: supporting a dynamic town center, showcasing Golden Valley as a "green" community, emphasizing all aspects of a multi-modal transportation system, ensuring policies, procedures, and decisions are inclusive, and making important investments in infrastructure. Birno stated that the Open Space and Recreation Commission has had multiple work sessions regarding this chapter and the surveys done show that the community values parks, outdoor amenities, nature areas, and green space. He discussed some of the chapter's highlights which include: maintaining, improving, adding, and replacing recreation amenities, a commitment to lifelong learning and active lifestyles, promoting social equity by eliminating barriers and providing access to all recreation services, moving the trail plan to the transportation chapter, emphasizing Brookview Recreation Area, and incorporating the Natural Resources Management Plan into this chapter. Birno stated that there are four goals in this chapter. Goal 1 is to preserve parks and acquire additional land, goal 2 is to deliver recreation and education opportunities, goal 3 is to protect and enhance open spaces and natural resources, and goal 4 is to grow the Brookview Golf and Recreation Area. Birno pointed out that part of goal 1 is to maintain a no net-loss of acreage for specific use land, open space, parks, and nature areas owned and operated by the City and that the acreage baseline is 480 acres which represents park land the City owns, operates, and maintains. He added that there is a lot of park land that the City maintains and uses, but does not own such as Sandburg Middle School, the General Mills Nature Area, and Wirth Park. Special Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission August 7, 2017 Page 2 Eckman referred to goal 3 which is to protect and enhance open spaces and natural resources and stated that the City completed a Natural Resources Management Plan and did a natural resources inventory several years ago. Eckman stated that the Open Space and Recreation Commission worked with the Environmental Commission to protect, preserve, restore, enhance, and develop the natural resources within the City and implement the Natural Resources Management Plan. He stated that the other objectives in goal 3 are: controlling existing and emerging invasive plant species, pests, and diseases, providing access and connectivity, maintaining and monitoring natural resources, supporting and providing public outreach, education, and citizen participation, fostering partnerships and inter-governmental cooperation, protecting and managing wildlife, and supporting the goals and policies outlined in the resilience and sustainability chapter of the Comp Plan. Waldhauser said she thinks overall the chapter addresses all the areas that she has heard from the residents and that a lot of the goals are carry-overs from the last Comp Plan. She said one example is connectivity and asked Eckman what he thinks will be different with this update of the Comp Plan compared to the last one, and if the City can do something differently to make the goals happen. Eckman said in the past connectivity was just talked about, but in this update the connections are being put on a map. He stated that with the connections mapped the City can focus on development and redevelopment when planning trails and connections. Baker stated that one change that has occurred since the last Comp Plan update is the State Legacy Fund which has money available for these types of projects and acquisition. Kluchka asked how successful park dedication fees have been. Birno said without park dedication fees they would be struggling. He stated that the City can use the park dedication fees to match funds for grants and partnerships. Segelbaum questioned if detailed ways to pursue funding should be in the Comp Plan to help support the effort with grants and partnerships. Eckman stated that many of the natural resources projects the City has done are based on having grants and partnerships and it is a good way to leverage some funds and be able to match grant dollars. Birno discussed several projects they've also been able to complete using grants and partnerships. Johnson stated that there are two competing interests in the Comp Plan. In one place it states that there is modest population growth and in this chapter it talks about the growth of green space and parks and maintaining a ratio. He questioned how those two are reconciled and what the tipping point is. Birno stated that the community is changing and becoming younger and that most of the City's parks were built in the 1960s and 1970s and those are the amenities the City still has. He stated that staff has to be efficient and use technology such as lighting instead of adding amenities. Johnson asked about the current ratio between the population and green space needed. Baker noted that the 2030 Comp Plan has a ratio of 15 acres per 1,000 residents and this current plan has a ratio of 22.5 acres per 1,000 residents. He questioned if these numbers are realistic. Birno stated that he is not sure where the 2030 Comp Plan Special Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission August 7, 2017 Page 3 numbers came from and the current numbers are a placeholder because they have to consider land the City doesn't own. He added that ultimately the goal is no net-loss of land. Baker asked how the ratio of 22.5 acres per 1,000 residents compares to other first ring suburbs. Birno said he wasn't sure but he would guess it is high. Eckman added that during City projects they try to add green space as well by reducing the width of roads, adding islands to parking lots, adding rain gardens, etc. Baker opened the meeting to public comments. Dawn Hill, 2000 Kelly Drive, stated there are two bullet points in the policies regarding Brookview that seem redundant and questioned if they should be combined. Gillian Rosenquist, 2321 Kyle Avenue North, referred to Commissioner Waldhauser's comments about connectivity and stated that it has been moved to the Transportation chapter of the Comp Plan but it is something that the Open Space and Recreation Commission talks about a lot so she wants to assure the Planning Commission that there is a high priority on connectivity and making sure these spaces are accessible. Waldhauser stated that connectivity has two meanings. Connectivity in transportation means getting from point A to point B. The connectivity she is interested in is the more recreational connectivity and being able to walk in a circle, not from point A to point B. Baker said when he thinks about connectivity he thinks about travel routes for wildlife. Shayne Fettig, 1230 Orkla Drive, said her son is very much into wildlife and nature and raises butterflies. She said one thing she's learned is how important native gardens and plants are and she would like to see native plants incorporated into the Comp Plan because it also increases home values. Black stated that there are a lot of spaces in the City that could be converted to wildflowers like alongside roads. Seeing and hearing no one else wishing to comment, Baker closed the public comment period. Segelbaum referred to goal 1 and said he would be interested in adding language in the policies about seeking funding. Waldhauser said private donations should be in the policies too. Johnson agreed and said there seems to be a lot of success with grants and partnerships and he would encourage that the City not lose focus of the things that have been successfuL Segelbaum said there was very little mentioned about dog parks. Kluchka said he is sure a dog park is intended but agreed it should be written down. Baker said he is hoping they will see action items listed in future drafts of the Comp Plan. Baker noted that one of the policies in goal 3 speaks to using native plants in City projects. He said he would like a policy regarding replacing blue grass with native plants. Special Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission August 7, 2017 Page 4 Segelbaum asked for clarification regarding parks and land owned by the City versus parks and land owned by others. He asked if the City should be acquiring land for more uses. Birno stated that the Comp Plan only identifies who owns the properties and who uses them. He also clarified that Brookview Golf is an enterprise fund and no tax dollars are used to fund golf operations. Eckman added that the City uses easements and agreements for access when the City doesn't own the land, such as the General Mills Nature Area. He atso stated that converting turf areas to native plantings is also addressed in the resilience chapter of the Comp Plan. The meeting adjourned at 7:35 pm. , ��1 � 'C`�- John Kluc <a, Secretary Lisa ittman, Administrative Assistant