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COMMUNITY C irROWT'H ey of INSTITUTE PCqC;'u'y��t�� PRE-MEETING DISCUSSION Ues—- Background Information: The"Pequot Lakes Downtown Plan"has been a work in progress since 2007. The plan has not officially been adopted. It was last updated in 2orr. The City Council has directed to Planning Commission to review/update the plan since revitalization of the downtown area is a critical to the long-term financial health to the City. This month we will review the changes made to the"Trailside Park Improvements"after our site visit there last month.The draft is attached. Section VI"Proposed Improvements"should also be reviewed and updated. VI.Proposed Improvements The committees set up to discuss downtown improvements assisted in creating an overall plan for making improvements to the downtown. The components of the plan are discussed in the following. Gateway Enhancements The intersection of Highway 371 and County Road 1 l will be the principle entrance to the Downtown. There All be an enticement,despite the setback imposed by MnUOT for a future overpass,to simply provide for �.andard commercial development at this intersection. While that may be appropriate,great care should be taken to ensure that this intersection,and of equal importance the boulevard into the downtown,is a unique gateway to the City. Commented[HP21]:With the realignment coming,it is still lunknown whether this with be an"all city"intersection or a The road,and the development that lines it,should frame the City,both physically by providing a straight and "city/county"intersection. Either way,this statement holds true. I� picturesque drive into the downtown and thematically giving drivers and pedestrians a taste of the character they will experience in the Downtown. This needs to be offset and designed so as to be visible and appealing from the highway clearly indicating to the driver that a unique place is waiting down this short corridor. The bobber water tower,which should be able to be seen from the intersection,should remain unobstructed as it is a unique curiosity that will draw people's attention. The roadway improvements needed to create a memorable boulevard and gateway to the City may be beyond what would be provided for or allowed by Crow Wing County in their maintenance and potential reconstruction of this corridor. The City may need to assume responsibility for this short stretch of road if it becomes necessary to create this critical element of the Downtown gateway. i In addition to these improvements,the City must regulate construction along the highway corridor to ensure that it does not detract from creating the sense of destination. This stretch will be unique as most of the highway from Baxter north will be lined with development while this area will be largely forested. The forested gateway,as described in the Comprehensive Plan,helps to give context to Pequot's destination downtown. It is essential that this be maintained. Commented[H P221:Road/bighway and governing body vernacular will have to change once it's determined what govt.body l Parking Strategy owns which ROW. Pequot Lakes currently has roughly 390 public parking spaces in the downtown area.On street parking represents 334 of the spaces. The public off street parking is located in three lots:the Pequot Visitors Center Pequot takes Staff Report August 21,2014 1