05-19-2011 Planning Commission Minutes

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Council Member Ryan had the following comments: - • Our community does not support entrepreneurship. • We have barrier after barrier for them to move forward. • We are the third highest tax city in Crow Wing County; • This community wants a bedroom, quiet,retirement based community. • The bypass vote sent a strong signal that this community does not want the traffic in town that would be its life blood. • We are not extending services out there. You are going around town but you are not extending any water and sewer out there. • The more commerce we've got going the better we'll be. • This (Plan) is a destination, a retail destination,tourist plan generally, with a couple of other lip service for other stuff around. That's what your gut is telling you. And I have the same sense for it but from my perspective it's well, if that's what the community wants,to be a bedroom community, we're gonna get it. And everything's in place from very restrictive land use ordinances to lack of desire to extend city services out to any place that we can actually do it. • We're schizophrenic half the time in Pequot. We aren't consistent in our message. • When the road was coming through town we had visibility and this retail community was viable. There was excitement. Now, that's not the case. • We could implement a plan that contemplates the next 20 years growth. I always have believed commerce follows traffic. There is gonna be traffic out there. I could have been for a bypass that said this is where the growth needs to be. • Everything is just so painful sometimes to do things that seem like common sense to me. • I'd say go to Jenkins where it's easy. Go to Cass County. It is not an easy place here. A motion was made by Bill Habein, seconded by Mark Hallan,to end the discussion. All members voted"aye". Motion carried. VOTE ON MOTION TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE COMP PLAN AND SEND IT TO THE CITY COUNCIL: 6 Aye; 1 Nay (Derksen) Motion carried. ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA: None. OPEN FORUM: None. NEW BUSINESS: A. John Derksen suggested with the Government Drive Improvement Project perhaps now was a good time to change the name since there are no government buildings along the street. Chairman Pederson suggested this could be included in the Improvement discussions. MINUTES 4 Pequot Lakes Planning Commission May 19, 2011