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To help facilitate the meetings and guide the planning process, the City Council hired Bill Weber of McCombs Frank Roos Associates (MFRA) to assist Staff in preparing this plan. The MFRA planning team included three sub -consultants: Maxfield Research for the residential/commercial market study, Spack Consulting for the transportation analysis, and Hay Dobbs for the urban design portion. The steering committee is comprised of 15 members of the community, including residents, businesses, and property owners. The planning process included evaluating existing conditions, creating a long-range redevelopment vision and guiding principles, addressing transportation questions, evaluating market potential, reviewing land uses, and drafting design guidelines. The draft plan includes a range of recommendations and an implementation plan. If the Plan is accepted by the City Council, the design guidelines will likely be the first item that is implemented. Redevelopment of the properties at the northwest and southwest intersection of County Road E and Lexington Avenue is almost certain. This draft master plan will be instrumental in moving forward a community vision on how this and other redevelopment and enhancement can occur in the study area. Notable Findings and Recommendations The guiding principles, findings, and recommendations in the draft plan are based on the information collected at the May 20 community meeting, the steering committee meetings, and the technical information prepared by the consultants (Attachment B). The steering committee attendees at the September 4, 2008, meeting unanimously agreed to send the draft version of the Plan to the City Council work session and Planning Commission. To help guide the review, a list of notable findings and recommendations in the draft plan has been included: The plan has set the stage for consensus on public and private improvements that will help achieve the development potential of both Arden Plaza and the former Holiday Inn site. That is, the committee, affected landowners, staff and consultants have agreed in principle on site plans and revised access design that will allow a moderate amount of redevelopment on the Arden Plaza site with manageable short-term traffic impacts. Longer-term, a scheme is proposed to allow further development on both the Arden Plaza and Holiday Inn sites using a signalized intersection at a new location on County Road E. County Road E is proposed to be redesigned as a landscaped boulevard with a central, landscaped median that will focus the left -turn movements, improve traffic safety, greatly enhance appearances and set the tone for private redevelopment. The redesign of the County Road will also introduce a pair of bicycling lanes, a greatly needed addition. City of Arden Hills Planning Commission Meeting for October 1, 2008 I WhdocsllahWHdatalPlanningl Community DevelopmentlB2 Small Area Plan Meetings Dct 12008 PCMeeting1100108 - B2 Small Area Plan - PC Memo.doc Page 2 of 4