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Special Joint City Council and Planning Commission Meeting March 9, 1998 Page 2 • 5. Joint Meeting Issues a. Growth in Elk River Planning Commission Chair Tom Mesich expressed his concern that the increasing residential growth will overwhelm the city's and school district's infrastructure. He stated that if the growth is allowed to continue at its present rate, the taxes on the city's residents could become unbearable. Mayor Duitsman indicated the City's Comprehensive Plan is in place to plan for the City's growth. He stated it is the City Council's responsibility to implement the Comprehensive Plan. He stated the Council has more of a political role, and the Council relies on the Planning Commission's technical review of issues. Duane Kropuenske indicated the impact of residential growth on the school district goes beyond Elk River, and is affected by growth in Zimmerman and Rogers, as well. Discussion followed regarding the need for industrial development in Elk River. Mayor Duitsman indicated some of the gravel pits are nearly mined out, and the City needs to begin looking at these areas for possible industrial development. b. Development Standards The Council and Planning Commission discussed the following issues: • Sidewalks and trails The Councilmembers encouraged the Planning Commission to be more proactive and vocal in commenting at Council meetings on new plats. The Councilmembers also felt it was important a representative of the Park & Recreation Commission attend Council meetings when discussing new plats, in order to state their position and reasons for the recommendations regarding trails and sidewalks. Tree Preservation The group discussed the problem of more trees being removed than expected in new subdivisions such as Cherrywood Hills, Cottages of Elk River and Lafayette Woods. Steve Ach, City Planner, explained how tree preservation plans may vary from what is displayed on paper and what takes place on the site. Discussion followed regarding the loss of saved trees 2-3 years after construction. Methods of dealing with this issue were discussed including a tree inventory, tagging trees to be saved, and a tree replacement program. It was the consensus of the Council and Planning Commission that a tree replacement program may be the most realistic way to approach this issue. c. Downtown Master Plan Mayor Duitsman indicated the HRA will be meeting jointly with the Planning Commission on Tuesday, March 10th, to discuss the downtown. Duane • Kropuenske suggested Jim Brimeyer of the Brimeyer Group facilitate the downtown "visioning" process.