CC 05-31-1966 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I. INTRODUCTION . The basic objective of urban planning is to help assure the best use and proper development of land. This planning process is designed to help create a total or community-wide environment of superior quality. A stated goal in the Village Plan is: "The maintenance of a public image which associates Arden Hills with excellence of design, structural quality, and good taste, is a desirable objective." The associated policy. statement is: "As in housing developments, excellence of design and structural quality will be encouraged in commercial developments; the proposition that each commercial development need be only as good as the average suburban development is rejected on the basis that the average is often only the resu It of expedience and lack of planning." It is recognized, however, that good planning is very often difficult to achieve for a variety of reasons. First, the effectuation of a total community plan is difficult since there are many land parcels with many land owners and developers. In a free economy, many proposals are made for a variety of land uses and development plans; planning by its very nature begins to limit the choices available for the use of land. In a multiple ownership situation, the total community environment is created by a variety of land owners as land is developed on a parcel-by-parcel basis'; The quality of each development and its relationship to adjacent and nearby develop- ments very often creates the total environment which may be superior or inferior. Although many suburban commercial developments are planned and developed by a single land owner or developer, not all developments are created by such a process. Many suburban "shopping centers" have been planned and developed as a single unit; other commercial centers have grown under multiple ownership and without a general plan for the entire area. . Without a general plan, the final results are merely the sum total of indivIdual commercial lot plans which mayor may not be desirable. The poor results of this process can be noted in many areas, especially in the older central cities. The results are often detrimental to the community and to the commercial interests involved. · As related to commercial development.