05.01 Planning and Zoning Administrator's Report

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February 26, 2004 Mayor and City Council City of Pequot Lakes P.O. Box 361 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472 Re: Highway 371 Future Alignment Dear Honorable Mayor and City Council, As appointed city officials, we understand that we serve at the discretion of the elected City Council. We also believe that the City of Pequot Lakes is a great place to live and to work. No matter what highway alignment is ultimately constructed within the City, we are dedicated to working with the City Council to make sure that Pequot Lakes remains a great city to live and to work. Working together we can make it happen. In our advisory capacity, we believe it is our obligation to review the highway proposals and compare them to the community's long-range plans to give you some guidance as you proceed in making a critical decision that will define the shape and function of our community for generations. Our overwhelming conclusion is that a through-town option will severely and permanently damage those things that are most important to the entire Pequot Lakes community; residents and seasonal visitors, business owners and non-business owners, children and seniors and all ages in between. It will dramatically impact Pequot's community character-the small-town, up-north feeling that we all share in. That character and feeling is not only what makes life in the Pequot Lakes area so enjoyable; it is also what gives our business community a distinct competitive advantage. In many public hearings we have conducted over the years about growth and development, the one overwhelming consensus point was that we did not want to grow as another Baxter. In fact, there was even a term coined for this: Baxterization. If we Baxterize our City, we will not only lose the charm that makes the downtown enjoyable for us, we will lose the distinct character that defines our community and gives us a competitive advantage over Baxter. What is Baxterization? It is not simply big-box retail and fast food. It is a development model that separates things. The highway is separated from the commerce through frontage roads and controlled accesses. Commercial stops are separated from each other by parking lots and traffic lights. People are separated from each other by a high- capacity freeway that runs through the middle. It is quick to get there and quick to get out but it is difficult, sometimes nearly impossible, to get around in. In other words, it is designed to move vehicles through town quickly, not to help them get from place to place within town.