3 - Downtown Mast Plan Discussion

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Planning and Zoning operations were a counterweight seeking to "deal with" the impacts of high levels of growth.The regulatory process inherited from Sibley Township and adapted to the City "cooled" the passions for growth in the City. It created a framework that was sometimes long and cumbersome, but also afforded an opportunity to air public concerns and troubleshoot potential problems. This was not a perfect system, but it was a reaction to its time. We're now in a different time, and this Planning Commission has made a tremendous effort to adapt. We've streamlined regulations. We've reformed processes. And we've worked really hard to understand how changing times are impacting the City, businesses and residents. We've talked to people, brought in all kinds of viewpoints and challenged our own thinking.This is what a good group of citizen-planners does. The Comprehensive Plan that was just approved by the Planning Commission sets out an aggressive set of strategies to carry this even further. Even though the plan has not been adopted, we're working to implement it right now. The Downtown Plan is part of that effort. By broadening this discussion and connecting it with the other Comprehensive Plan implementation items we are working on, my hope is that we can get the 4t" vote we need to actually adopt the Downtown Plan (as well as the Comp Plan) and hopefully reduce the urge by some to be a counterweight to a counterweight that no longer exists. As a final thought, I would urge all of the Planning Commission members to do what they can to reach out to all of the elected officials and discuss with them where we might work together, where areas of disagreement are and how those disagreements — real or perceived — may be overcome.This is something you can do effectively that I, as staff, cannot. There is a constituency in the public that believes that planning is a waste of time and resources. It is all of our jobs to demonstrate why now more than ever, during this time of tremendous change, it is critical that we be working to understand our town and plan for its future.