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