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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,May 09,2011 <br /> Page 9 <br /> Councilmember Pust concurred with Chair Boerigter on his perceptions related to mixes <br /> uses such as Excelsior and Grand or Arbor Lakes; and suggested that if that was what the <br /> new urban design was trying to accomplish, those efforts needed to be re-evaluated, as it <br /> was last year's news. Councilmember Pust opined that single-family homes would not <br /> spring up in Twin Lakes, but that additional multi-family housing was needed; and would <br /> be suitable there. However, Councilmember Pust opined that it was critical that the City <br /> Council and Roseville residents realize that the free market had the whole role in the <br /> Twin Lakes area, since the City did not own the property. Councilmember Pust noted <br /> that the community could talk about what they wanted to try to influence in the area; <br /> however, there were private pieces of property and the individual applications brought <br /> forward would need to be considered on their own merits, not being designed by or for <br /> the City. Personally, Councilmember Pust supported a Trader Joe's store in the Twin <br /> Lakes area if she were doing the design; opining that it was appropriately scaled for such <br /> a neighborhood, and with new multi-family housing stock, it would be a good fit. <br /> Commissioner Boguszewski noted that Trader Joe's did market to multi-family housing <br /> demographics; and noted the attractiveness of existing commercial/office uses relocating <br /> to Twin Lakes to provide a greener environment for their staff. <br /> Councilmember Willmus concurred with Commissioner Gisselquist's comments; and rei- <br /> terated cautions that the City did not control the property, and the market would drive de- <br /> velopment. Councilmember Willmus also cautioned that, if the regulating map was over- <br /> ly restrictive and hindered a particular segment of the market that was recovering earlier <br /> than other segments, such as retail versus office, it could seriously impede development. <br /> Councilmember Willmus noted that the City had been awaiting development for the Twin <br /> Lakes area since the late 1980's and opined that the more the City became involved or the <br /> more cautious about its regulating map, the more difficult it would be to attract reliable <br /> developers. Councilmember Willmus expressed his personal interest in office devel- <br /> opment; however, he was unsure of the current market for that type of development; and <br /> opined that the retail sector may recover faster than the office sector, noting the consider- <br /> able vacant office space currently available in the metropolitan area. Councilmember <br /> Willmus expressed his appreciation of the Commissioners, their comments, and the lively <br /> discussions held at their meetings. <br /> Mayor Roe, in expressing his personal vision for the Twin Lakes area, advised that he <br /> didn't envision mixed use to be vertical; but thought more of a mixture of uses spread <br /> throughout it, with the purpose of the regulating map not to define use, but space those <br /> uses and their relationship to the streets, pathways and park systems. Mayor Roe encour- <br /> aged the discussion remain focused in those terms, to provide a flexible framework to <br /> provide the best opportunities possible to allow development to happen in the current <br /> economic times. Mayor Roe opined that the development would happen in a piecemeal <br /> way; but as long as the regulating map provided a broad vision and definition or how it <br /> related to the rest of the community; the City could prove itself a good steward and make <br /> it a successful development. <br />