1982 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN - Laserfiche WebLink

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Topogra2hy. The topography of the community is generally rolling exhibiting glacial morainic surface features (see Figure 3). hevations vary approximately 90 feet (from 920 feet to 1.,010 feet above sea level). The greatest elevation variations are in the west central and northwestern portions of the City where there are several knobs of higher elevations. Virtually all steeper slopes over 19 percent grade are also in this portion of the City. The northeast and southern portions of the City range from gently rolling to fiat. Surface Water and Drainage. Most of Gem Lake lies on a low plateau over 950 feet above sea. level. This plateau drains north,. west, and south (see Figure 3). Since Gem Lake is in a relatively high elevation with respect to surrounding land no permanent streams exist within the corporate: limits. However, as. is typical of glacial landscapes, much of the municipality is imperfectly drained with much of the surface water draining into low lying depressions with no surface outlets. The largest of these depressions is. Gem Lake which covers approximately 38 acres counting its attendant wetlands. Much of the central portion of the City drains into this feature. The second largest. area of :standing water is a pond covering about six acres in the northeastern portion of the City. Most of the lands north of the Gem Lake Drainage Area and south of Goose Lake Road drains into this surface feature. There are many other smaller pockets of intermittent and permanent surface water storage areas scattered throughout the municipality. Soils. Much, if not most, of the surface soils within Gem Lake are glacial tills. Consequently, the .character of soils can vary considerable in a relatively small area. Gravel pits displaying course soils are located in the northwestern portion of the City. Gravel might also be expected in some of the other knobs in this location. In contrast, fine sediments are located in. the "Gem. Lake" and associated wetland area not far away, Overall, the soils might be characterized as medium to fine in all but (1) the knob areas and (2) in the northeastern area of the City where coarser soils predominate, Vegetation. Much of the City is wooded especially in the central portion around Gem Lake. There are also extensive stands of trees in the northwestern portion of the City along Goose Lake Road. Population Growth of Gem Lake and Vicinity Gem Lake is located in the northeast portion of the Minneapolis -St. Paul metropolitan area which is experiencing very rapid urbanization. This area reached the population "take -,off" stage during the 1950's, and this population increase accelerated during the 1960's. It is expected that these population trends will continue during the 1970's. r s seen in Table 1, the population. of governmental units located, primarily :within a five mile radius of Gem Lake increased 42 percent during the 1960-1970 time period. The City of Vadnais Heights, the City of White Bear Lake, and the Town of White gear, all contiguous to Gem Lake, increased an aggregate of 51 percent during this same time period. Current population trends as estimated by the Metropolitan Council substantiate the expectation that rapid population growth in the vicinity of Gem Lake will