2022 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN - Laserfiche WebLink

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City of Gem Lake Comprehensive Plan Page 3 2 Use of the Plan 2.1 Purpose of Preparing the Plan The Gem Lake Comprehensive Plan has been prepared with the primary purpose of guiding the long-term physical development of the City. This includes investments in both privately and publicly owned resources. The City Planning Commission and City Council have both recognized that investments in physical facilities within Gem Lake are usually long-term fixed assets that establish the development character of the City for many years. Accordingly, this document has been prepared to firmly establish the manner in which citizens and their elected and appointed representatives wish the City of Gem Lake to develop. This plan document is the fifth Comprehensive Plan prepared for the City. The first plan was prepared in 1962, but was not officially adopted by the municipal government. A second plan was prepared in 1978, and revised in 1982 to meet Metropolitan Council (hereafter referred to as the Met Council) approval. The third and fourth plans were completed in 1997 and 2010. This plan draws freely upon the proposals of the 2010 plan, but incorporates more recent development trends within Gem Lake and in the immediate vicinity of the City. It also introduces a new mixed use planning area to the City. New goals and policies of the City are also established. This plan supersedes all of the contents of the 2010 plan document. The Comprehensive Plan represents the collective position of the City Planning Commission and the City Council at the time of its adoption. While consultant assistance was sought in the preparation of this plan, the actual recommendations and policy statements represent solely those of the City Council, the Planning Commission and, to the maximum extent possible, the citizens of Gem Lake. While the plan is intended primarily as a policy document with the main objective of guiding the orderly physical development of the City, the plan should not be considered a detailed program for the implementation of City policies nor should it be considered a regulatory device for accomplishing this end. Rather, it is expected that all plan procedures and regulatory devices legally available to the City will be used in accordance with the provisions of the plan. The general time frame of the plan is approximately 15 to 20 years, at which time it is anticipated that most, if not all, land holdings within Gem Lake will be committed to some form of urban development. 2.2 Use of Plan by the City Planning Commission The Planning Commission of Gem Lake is a three-member body appointed by the City Council of Gem Lake. Members of the Commission serve at the pleasure of the City Council. They may be reappointed. Specifically, with regard to the Comprehensive Plan, the Planning Commission has the following major responsibilities to: • Periodically review (not less than biannually) and make suggested additions and amendments to the Comprehensive Plan • Assure that all provisions of the City’s development control ordinances (or proposed amendments or additions to these ordinances) are in accordance with the principles of the plan