07.02 - Planning Proposal from Community Growth Institute for 2005

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• In January,we are adding the domain name www.peguotplanning.info as a quick link to the Pequot Lakes section of the Community Growth Institute website. We keep a lot of information on the web site, including application forms, staff reports,meeting minutes and copies of the Comprehensive Plan and draft ordinances. In 2004, our site at www.communilyprowth.com received over 315,000 hits. In December alone,there were 59 different computers that sought Pequot Lakes information from our site. The new domain name should be easier to remember and provide even more convenient access. As was the case in 2004, CGI's staff in 2005 will include one or two planning interns— planners who are in their final year of a masters program. If the situation presents itself, we may use them in a technical capacity on Pequot Lakes items. If we do so, it will be at an hourly rate of$42. Planning interns will not be used at office hours or for meetings. In the 2005 budget,we budgeted$4,750 for preparing a lake plan for Sibley Lake and $4,500 for preparation of a downtown master plan. These budgeted amounts were half of the estimated cost of the lake plan and a third of the estimated cost of the downtown master plan. We are recommending that preparation of the Sibley Lake plan be postponed for a year so that we can proceed immediately with a Downtown Master Plan. This would be consistent with the recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan and also the October 2004 recommendation from the Planning Commission indicating this is an urgent priority. A Downtown Master Plan will include the following: Meetings with downtown business and property owners to create a common `.. vision for how the downtown should be developed. An examination of the City's zoning strategies and land use regulations in relation to the developed vision. An evaluation of the impacts of improvements to TH 371 and CSAH 11. Development of a strategy to capitalize on the improvement projects. Concept drawings of proposed improvements or themes. Development of basic architectural design standards for all new developments and renovations of existing properties. (Short-term strategy from Comprehensive Plan) Establishment of a municipal parking strategy in the downtown. (Short-term strategy from Comprehensive Plan) An implementation plan including areas of coordination with other municipal, state or county projects,estimated costs and timelines. We would propose to begin the planning process immediately with completion estimated some time in the early summer of 2005. The cost for preparation of the Downtown Master Plan would be $13,500. We have worked with Pequot Lakes since 2002 during a period of time that has seen a tremendous amount of change. As we move forward to implement the Comprehensive Plan and prepare for significant improvements to our transportation system,2005 will be another challenging year. The entire staff at the Community Growth Institute is excited about the future of Pequot Lakes. We hope we have the opportunity to work with you 217 South 7`h Street, Suite 114 Brainerd, MN 56401 (218) 828-3064 www.communitygrowth.com