06-06-12-Special - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Simultaneous to the review of design standards in the B-2 District, the City Council has also moved forward with Phase I of developing an implementation plan for the public improvements proposed in the Guiding Plan for the B-2 District. These improvements will include streetscaping to create a more pedestrian and bicycle friendly environment, as well as traffic management solutions that will improve the traffic flow and function of County Road E. The City has contracted with engineering firm Bolten & Menk to assist with this process, and the Council has appointed a Corridor Advisory Committee, consisting of area business and property owners to provide recommendations to the Council. Bolten& Menk is scheduled to submit their final implementation plan this fall. Discussion The Guiding Plan for the B-2 District envisions a walkable downtown area in Arden Hills that is distinct, with a sense of arrival and destination that is unique in the community. The Guiding Plan identifies principals for the B-2 District that include allowing greater intensity of land uses in order to create a sense of place. As part of the process of developing the Guiding Plan the City had a traffic study done to identify how much development was possible along County Road E, and what traffic management improvements would be necessary to accommodate additional intensity of use. The traffic study found that current left turns on to County Road E could function, though with extended wait times, in the short-term, but that as traffic increased in the area the left turn waits could become an impediment to development and negatively impact property values. The traffic study indicated that some traffic management improvements would be necessary in order to accommodate additional intensity of land uses, and recommended the addition of a traffic signal halfway between Lexington Avenue and Pine Tree Drive on County Road E. The traffic signal would allow multiple accesses to be consolidated at one controlled intersection, which would greatly improve the left turn movements onto County Road E. The Guiding Plan identified land uses, including multi-family dwellings, as well as densities that were predicated on the assumption that a traffic light, or other traffic management solution that improves left turns onto County Road E, would be implemented in order to accommodate the additional traffic in this area. Since the 2008, adoption of Zoning Code amendments which pertain to this plan, concern has been raised by the Council that a traffic light can be installed. If the assumptions regarding traffic management, upon which the Guiding Plan and subsequent Zoning Code amendments were created, are not valid, then alternative solutions need to be identified or the outcomes of those assumptions revisited. City of Arden Hills Planning Commission Work Session for June 6, 2012 P:Wlanning0anning Cases12012U2-011-Zoning Code Amendment-Multi family housingW6-06-12- PC Memo-B-2 Ordinance Amendment.doc Page 2 of 3