Laserfiche WebLink
Ensure that new housing is properly scaled to the neighborhood and designed in a way that enhances the <br /> public realm. If Pequot Lakes is to be able to afford to maintain the infrastructure in its historic <br /> neighborhoods, the value of the investments in these neighborhoods needs to increase. This will not <br /> happen if the scale and design of new investments is of a different model than the neighborhood is <br /> designed for. New housing must complement the historic development pattern in order to attract <br /> additional investment. <br /> Expand housing options and provide regulatory flexibility in the city's urban areas. Pequot Lakes is <br /> saturated with rental housing in large, multi-family buildings. The majority of this housing is located in the <br /> downtown.It is appropriate for the density but not for the scale of the buildings,which are not compatible with <br /> the neighborhoods they are part of. Flexibility is needed so that affordable options for meeting the housing <br /> demand can happen within these existing neighborhoods. <br /> Land surrounding the downtown in the rural/urban transition zone is appropriate for expanding the <br /> downtown development pattern. Such expansion should accommodate families as well as seniors. <br /> Providing for population growth within the urban areas of Pequot Lakes will benefit commercial <br /> businesses located downtown, will make efficient use of existing infrastructure investments and will <br /> provide viable alternatives to the suburban pattern migrating into rural,more natural areas. <br /> Ensure that public improvements in the right-of-way are properly scaled to the neighborhood it serves.The <br /> form and intensity of private sector investments in housing will respond to the improvements that are made <br /> in the public realm. Where streets are high-speed and reserved only for auto trafFic, the adjacent <br /> development pattern will tend to be low density and auto-oriented. Where streets are neighborhood <br /> speed and accommodate a wide range of travel options,the adjacent development pattern can become more <br /> intense in a traditional, neighborhood pattern. It is important that the public improvements scale <br /> properly to the development pattern that is served. <br /> Encourage new medium- and high-density housing units to include amenities designed to <br /> accommodate seniors. A portion of the rental housing stock in Pequot Lakes is geared toward today's <br /> seniors. Tomorrow's seniors will have higher demands and expectations. If Pequot lakes is to remain <br /> competitive, housing stock in the city should be modernized to service the upcoming elderly <br /> demographic. <br /> Seek to eliminate substandard housing to provide for safe living environments. Substandard housing <br /> poses a health and safety threat to those who occupy it, which are often poor families who are renting. <br /> Substandard housing also undermines overall property values throughout the city and can cause pockets of <br /> blight where the market will not reinvest. Through public and private reinvestment, the City should <br /> encourage new homes of quality construction and ensure that existing substandard homes are brought up to <br /> code orremoved. <br /> ACTION ITEMS TO SUPPORT POLICIES <br /> ❑ Adjust the City's land use regulations to provide for more flexibility for rural property owners <br /> engaging in historic agriculture and related activities. <br /> ❑ Adjust the City's road standards to provide for low-volume,rustic roads,to be used in the rural areas. <br /> ❑ Extend the Grow Zone approach to the surrounding traditional neighborhoods through adoption of a <br /> form-based code for these places. <br /> 10 � Page <br />