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CommuNITYGROWTH I N S T I T U T E MEMORANDUM Experts in Small Town Planning Date: October 29, 2009 To: Pequot Lakes Planning Commission From: Charles Marohn, City Planner Re: Oppidan Applications For the November 5 special meeting, we will be reviewing an application that, in all significant respects, looks exactly like the application that received a unanimously cold reception from the Planning Commission last summer.At that time, Planning Commission members were not inclined to approve the application, as submitted.Commission members made clear to the applicant that: ➢ The road connection south to Pillsbury was not desired and, if it were to be maintained by the City,was expensive infrastructure that served no significant public purpose. ➢ A vehicle connection to the north was essential. As an example straight out of the lessons we learned from the first two Duany videos we watched earlier this year, it made no sense for residents of the apartments living a mere 1,000 feet away to be forced to drive through city streets, out to the congested highway and then along the highway corridor to get to the store. Interconnectivity was deemed critical. ➢ Pedestrian connections—at a pedestrian scale, not as an afterthought—was also essential. If we are going to facilitate the replacement of the existing grocery store through subsidy of a competitor then we had an obligation to ensure that the elderly people that rely on the current store have the ability to access the new one. Another community-building lesson from the Duany video series. ➢ The design was too suburban and did not fit with the character of the community.We discussed the screening at Von-Ro and the Kline Funeral Home (where we just did an enforcement action for the removal of underbrush) as a model for the intentions of our screening provisions. ➢ If higher impervious coverage were desired via a rezoning to Downtown Mixed Use, the site design would need to abandon its highway orientation and adopt of downtown orientation.This meant,for starters,a reorientation of the parking to be to the rear of the lot. Besides time and many hours of negotiation, there are only a couple of significant things that have transpired since the original plan,which is now again in front of us,was rejected. The first is that the City of Peauot Lakes approved SuperValu's permit, along with tax subsidies that were approved by the City Council. That permit, as approved, resolved the initial concerns of the Planning Commission and provided for a grocery store that not only met the needs of the applicant but was consistent with the vision, plans and regulations of the City. No variances were needed and,just as importantly, no tortured interpretations of the Code were required. 14084 Baxter Drive, Suite 7 1 Baxter, Minnesota 56425 1 866.900.3064 1 www.communitygrowth.com