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Arden Hills City Council, June 6, 2013, Pg. 2 <br />The first public open house remains scheduled for September 2013. With two <br />public open houses approved in the scope of work, we looked for the best points <br />in the process at which we can provide useful and informative facts about the site <br />to the public, and to solicit feedback from the public that will be meaningful for <br />them and the project. These two points, and the case for each, are described <br />below. <br />Open House #1-September 2013 <br />We want the firstopen house to be well-attended, to build momentum and <br />excitement for the project, and to let people know they have a voice in the <br />project. To do this, we don’t feel we can show people the same things that have <br />been shown before; nor can we bring a blank slate. As a team we need a period of <br />discoveryto establish the parameters under which the site must be developed. <br />For example, traffic, with two access points instead of three as previously <br />planned, will play a defining role in dictating how much development can occur <br />on the site. We do not want to be disingenuous with the public by asking an <br />open-ended question too early –“what do you want to see on the site?” –when in <br />fact, there are limiting factorsto what can be done.Instead, we would like to <br />share information with them about the capacity of the site, and about the Master <br />Planning process and what it entails, so they can provide focused input that <br />makes a difference in determining specific development scenarios that will be <br />developed. We will nothave a draft Master Plan at this September meeting. Plans <br />will be drafted based on input received.We have refined the purposecolumn on <br />page7of the PIP to clarify this approach. <br />Open House #2 –early 2014 <br />At the second open house, draft Master Planning scenarios will be presented to <br />the public for input, and the next steps for implementation will be provided. The <br />timing of this meeting allows for changes to be made based on this input, before <br />the plan is finalized and approved by the CityCouncil.Again, we have refined <br />the purposecolumn on page7of the PIP to clarify this approach. <br />Clarification of Stakeholders <br />To respond to additional JDA comments, we have also added specific references <br />to the City of Arden Hills and Ramsey County throughout the PIP document <br />(instead of just city and county) for clarification. <br />Conclusion <br />At Kimley-Horn we very much value transparency and integrity in a public <br />process, for all stakeholders. We know from experience that public input can <br />make a valuable difference in the final product, and that in a project like this, <br />public understanding and support is very important. We value the comments of <br />the City Council and JDA, as you know your communities best. We look forward <br />to working with you to make this a successful publicinvolvement process. <br />