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ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION – July 8, 2015 5 <br /> <br />the goals of Ramsey County for the TCAAP site. He appreciated the work of the City Planning <br />Commission and the Energy Resilience Advisory Board (ERAB) and noted how their efforts had <br />been incorporated into the TRC. <br /> <br />Associate Planner Bachler provided comment on the TCAAP Regulating Plan and the proposed <br />overall density in detail with the Commission. He then discussed the landscaping and open space <br />requirements. Staff then commented on building design requirements and the gateway design <br />enhancements. The recommendations made by ERAB regarding energy efficiency and <br />sustainability were reviewed. He discussed the unique characteristics of the TRC noting that it <br />focused on the physical form of development as the organizing principle of code. He explained <br />that the TRC addressed the relationship between building facades and the public realm, the form <br />and mass of buildings in relation to one another, and the scale and types of streets and blocks. It <br />was noted that the TRC offered greater flexibility in land use and development parameters than <br />typical zoning codes. <br /> <br />City Planner Streff indicated that the Comprehensive Plan is a policy document that reflects the <br />City’s value system and creates a framework for the future by providing an overall vision for the <br />City. As a guiding tool, the Plan provides a system for measuring progress and direction for <br />setting priorities in key areas critical to the efficient functioning of a community, such as land <br />use, housing, transportation, and public facilities. The Comprehensive Plan is implemented <br />through land use and development regulations, the budgeting process, and community and <br />economic development programs. <br /> <br />City Planner Streff explained that the Arden Hills 2030 Comprehensive Plan was officially <br />approved in September 2009. While the Plan was being prepared, the City was also engaged in a <br />community planning process to better define how the surplus land on the TCAAP property <br />should be redeveloped. Since a final plan was not approved at the time the Comprehensive Plan <br />was adopted, the Plan only included an overall vision for the redevelopment and preliminary <br />elements of the potential reuse plan. The intent was for the City to amend the Comprehensive <br />Plan once a final TCAAP redevelopment plan was approved so that any required data, such as <br />future land use designations, housing densities, transportation infrastructure, and parks and open <br />space resources, could be included in the relevant chapters of the Comprehensive Plan. <br /> <br />City Planner Streff commented that as part of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment, a change <br />in land use designation from Mixed Business and Mixed Residential to Neighborhood <br />Residential, Neighborhood Transition, Town Center, Campus Commercial, Retail Mixed-Use, <br />Office Mixed-Use, Flex Office, Public and Institutional, Utility, and Parks and Open Space is <br />being proposed. In order to proceed with these changes, the City’s Future Land Use Map would <br />be amended to re-designate the property to reflect the changes in land use classifications. The <br />proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendment also includes updates to the following chapters and <br />appendixes within the Comprehensive Plan to ensure compatibility with the TCAAP Master <br />Plan: <br /> <br />Chapter 5 provides a history of the former TCAAP site, the decommissioning process, and the <br />transfer of federal land for redevelopment purposes. This chapter has been updated to provide an <br />overview of the current master planning process, the status of the environmental remediation <br />being undertaken on the site, and the expected construction schedule for public utilities and <br />roadways and private development