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Center. Citizens in Arden Hills question where the city center may be at this time. A master plan,zoning changes and development/redevelopment efforts designed to create a city center would benefit Arden Hills greatly. This center would be addressed through the way-finding signage presented elsewhere in this strategy and supported through various fairs and festivals held purposely in this area to help create greater awareness and presence for the city center in the community. 11)Trails & Recreation Program Arden Hills is challenged by the presence of major segregating assets which are highways and lakes. These bisect the community into small pockets allowing for separate and unique residential opportunities. However, this separation also increases the need for attention to be paid on linking the individual pieces together. Citizens in Arden Hills reflect their interest in a trails program as they often site the segmented nature of the community in discussions and surveys. DeSCo recommends that this become a major initiative for the community through the development of a Recreation Master Plan. This plan would link the trail system into a unified network of pedestrian transportation throughout the community. • Late: Years 4—5 12) Development Sites. As a land locked community, Arden Hills is rapidly running out of developable sites for consideration. This places the community's priorities from a development to a redevelopment nature. Due to development pressures in and around the community, single site redevelopments can and will most often be handled by market forces. However, the need to look at the community from a higher level and to take larger tracks of land that are under or non-performing and convert them to a higher and better use is what we are talking about here. Arden Hills is at a point where master planning entire neighborhoods, retail districts, business parks and yes, the city center needs to move onto the public agenda. Through this process, a more proactive vision for the city can be implemented. Accomplishing this vision will require the city's participation in the development process through financing, incenting and negotiating key partners to participate in the process. Business Retention Business development represents some of the core activities of any economic development program. Over time, the importance of a successful retention and expansion program has risen over that of the traditional attraction efforts. The most Strategic Plan for Economic Development Page 16 of 23 Draft—Subject to Approval and Adoption