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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 16, 2014 5 Mayor Grant stated that the City currently has six ball fields and a population of 10,000. This is one ball field for every 1,500 residents. He reported that the City had roughly 12,000 jobs in Arden Hills, which meant one ball field for every 2,000 jobs. Public Works Director Maurer explained that adult softball fields are used more heavily by businesses and considering the amount of commercial/business uses that would be developed on TCAAP, the softball complex was proposed. Mayor Grant indicated that the consultants and staff have estimated that TCAAP would have approximately 4,000 jobs and 3,200 residents. At this time, two softball fields and two youth fields are being proposed. He estimated that two ball fields would be sufficient given the correlation between jobs and fields when compared to the rest of the City. Discussion ensued regarding horizontal versus vertical commercial development. Mayor Grant inquired if there was a way to project how many ball fields were needed for a development. Public Works Director Maurer reported that staff calculated adult fields separately from youth fields. Andrew Dresdner believed it was important for the City to have programmed fields and unprogrammed fields. This would allow for residents to use green space in both organized and unorganized ways. Councilmember Holden stated that the Northwest Quadrant was also developing at this time and would need recreational space. She questioned how many acres would be eliminated from the master plan land use map if only a single ball field was proposed on the flex area. Mr. Dresdner stated that this was a 9.2 acre park currently and by having only one ball field, the park size would be reduced to 4.5 acres. Councilmember McClung commented that the residents in this area could still recreate on a 4.5 acre park and then the remaining 4.5 acres could be turned back into flex space. He was in favor of placing additional green space in the Town Center area given its higher density. Councilmember Holden asked how the parks in the Creek and Hill neighborhoods have changed. Community Development Director Hutmacher reported that the Creek park was originally 3 acres in size and has increased to 4.2 acres. The Hill park was previously 5 acres and is now 7.7 acres. Mayor Grant questioned if the adult softball fields could be moved into a neighborhood. Public Works Director Maurer discouraged the Council from moving adult softball fields to a residential area as it could become a problem for the surrounding residents. He requested further comment from the Council on how to proceed with the park land.