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'ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION - JULY 2, 2008 8 PLANNING CASE # 08-021 - 2030 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE- PUBLIC HEARING Chair Larson commended Mr. Lehnhoff for receiving the employee of the year award for the City of Arden Hills. Mr. Lehnhoff thanked him for the kind words and clarified that he is co-employee of the year. Mr. Lehnhoff explained the background of the comprehensive plan. He stated that State Statute (473.864) requires all cities and townships in the seven county metropolitan area to update their comprehensive plans every 10 years, and the next update must be submitted to the Metropolitan Council by the end of the 2008. While there are certain items that are required to be addressed within the comprehensive plan document, the process gives the City an opportunity to reflect on the previous Comprehensive Plan and review the community's vision, long-term goals, and policies. The Metropolitan Council is concerned with coordinating region-wide growth and change and certain policies must be followed; nevertheless, the City has a great deal of flexibility in the document to fit local needs. Although the Plan will presumably be viewed again in 2018, the Plan is required to look toward 2030. He stated that Staff recommends approval of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan update. Chair Larson opened the floor to Commission questions. Commissioner Zimmerman inquired if the zoning code and the comprehensive plan will match. Mr. Lehnhoff stated that the Met Council requires the zoning code to be brought into conformance with the Comprehensive Plan within pine months. However, we do not expect that significant changes will be needed in the developed part of Arden Hills. Some tweaks and adjustments may be needed to make the Code function more efficiently. Commissioner Zimmerman stated that in the past there have been difficulties because the zoning map indicated how things were currently and the comprehensive plan indicated how they would like the City to be. Mr. Lehnhoff stated that the conflicts are not uncommon, but there should be conformance between the Plan and the Zoning Codes. That doesn't mean that the Code and the Comp Plan need to match exactly since the Zoning Code is more detailed than the Plan. For example, the Future Land Use Map may designate most residential area as "low density residential," but the Zoning Map may further refine that into two or more zoning districts. Commissioner Zimmerman stated that it will be a challenge to keep the public engaged, but he would like to continue to receive public input throughout the process. Commissioner Holewa stated that there was a comment from Cynthia Wheeler about daring to take risks. He stated that the comprehensive plan has come a long ways from where it began. He complimented Mr. Lehnhoff for his work on it. He stated that the comprehensive plan lacks specificity including how and when things are going to be