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Planning Commission Meeting <br />Minutes – Wednesday, May 07, 2008 <br />Page 7 <br />Area West of I-35W <br />Mr. Fifield highlighted the City’s northwest corner guided as high density residential due <br />to access restrictions making it less amenable to other uses. <br />Further discussion included the William’s pipeline area, fuel depots and adjacent truck <br />terminal parcels and current designation remaining unchanged in 2030 land use <br />designations and the Steering Committee’s rationale for the unchanged status; strength <br />of retaining strong industrial and/or manufacturing base in the community and <br />metropolitan area, given limited growth for that type of use in today’s marketplace and <br />impacts on adjacent parcels and uses; recent growth of the FedEx freight terminals and <br />potential future impacts; and the need to be mindful of the City’s goods and services. <br />Mr. Fifield, based on his planning work with other communities around the metropolitan <br />area, opined that the City had a good, quality industrial area and that its continuing <br />operation indicated that it was economically strong and viable, and didn’t impair any other <br />land uses at this time. Mr. Fifield further opined that the City could deviate from the <br />current use with another redevelopment opportunity, but cautioned against spreading <br />itself too thin in a fully developed community based on land use and market place <br />realities. <br />Rice Street Corridor <br />Mr. Fifield opined that this area was the most challenging, influenced not just by the City <br />of Roseville’s plans, but also that of the Cities of Maplewood and Little Canada. Mr. <br />Fifield advised that the Steering Committee had simply reinforced today’s land use <br />pattern, and Community/Commercial business designation, recognizing the need to <br />provide a broad range of business opportunities. Mr. Fifield noted that the only proposed <br />land use change was for those current single-family residential parcels, proposing that <br />they be guided to another future use, probably commercial or less desirably mixed use. <br />Mr. Fifield suggested strategizing with the Cities of Maplewood and Little Canada to <br />determine what areas are sustainable, and creating joint strategies for attracting and/or <br />sustaining redevelopment. <br />Chair Bakeman noted the importance of the upcoming meeting with the Public Works, <br />Environment and Transportation Commission with Ramsey County for discussions of this <br />major transportation corridor, opining that the designated land use will be critical to the <br />transportation role. <br />Further discussion included the Rice Street and Snelling Avenue transportation corridors, <br />influences and impacts to the community and region; existing and future transit <br />opportunities; light rail environment and political ramifications for development of those <br />lines; development of express transit routes and their frequencies; the need for more and <br />ongoing planning and collaboration with other communities; economic feasibility of the <br />limited size of parcels available for mixed use along the Rice Street corridor; and <br />potential configurations that may allow larger redevelopment through joint efforts of all <br />three communities. <br />Mr. Fifield clarified that the purpose of the Comprehensive Plan Update is to attract and <br />sustain investment in the community, not about starting over or for major redevelopment; <br />but as a way to make the existing overall land use plan better. <br />neighborhood nodes <br />Mr. Fifield concluded by focusing on several areas identified as “,” <br />noting several interesting commercial, non-residential areas at intersections of major <br />roadways forming the Roseville grid. Mr. Fifield noted the need to reinforce those nodes <br />with the right investment, guided by Neighborhood Business designation. Mr. Fifield <br />advised that the areas were smaller in size, and could be designated for more intense <br />development (i.e., retail, office, multi-family residential), with each representing a different <br />perspective. <br />Mr. Fifield opined that the most interesting node was at the intersection of Hamline <br />Avenue and County Road B with the location of the Ramsey County library. Mr. Fifield <br />expressed the opportunity available in trying to facilitate some enhancements around this <br /> <br />