Posted: 1/16/07
City, townships discuss comprehensive plan
By Jane Palen
Managing Editor
A meeting between Caledonia City Council members and township residents held January 11 resulted in several changes to the language contained in the comprehensive plan recently drafted for the city.
The city has been working for about a year with Shannon Sweeney of David Drown Associates to develop a comprehensive plan to guide future development and land use in the city. Meetings were held monthly in 2006 with council members and interested citizens to develop the plan.
A draft of the comprehensive plan was released late in 2006 and drew some attention from township residents who interpreted portions of the plan as promoting annexation of portions of the townships.
Thursdayís meeting, held in the commissionersí room at the Houston County Courthouse, was led by county zoning and planning supervisor Rick Frank. In addition to four members of the Caledonia City Council and City Clerk Administrator Robert Nelson, about 20 township residents and other interested parties attended the meeting. Kermit McRae, a Caledonia Township supervisor, spoke on behalf of the townships.
McRae noted that several of the goals set forth in the plan would not be achievable without cooperation from Caledonia and Mayville Townships.
The first goal in the plan is to promote implementation of a city/regional bike trail.
Mayor Mike Morey explained that this is a long-range goal.
"Eventually, we want a loop around the city to start with," he said.
An initial goal of the plan is to connect to Houston via Beaver Creek Valley State Park.
McRaeís suggestion was that the city add "work in harmony with the Townships affected" to the policies and initiatives.
"I want to see if youíre serious or if itís just words," said McRae.
Another township resident, Martin Ranzenberger, had a stronger opinion on the subject.
"Nobodyís coming through my farm," he said. "I got no sympathy for you guys and your trails. My neighbors are against it too."
Another goal of the plan is to address nuisance issues. At the request of the townships, the city agreed to add language to one of the initiatives which originally read "amending the zoning ordinance to provide regulations regarding buffers to mitigate the impact of adjoining incompatible uses." The statement "within the urban city and adjacent urban countryside" was added to the statement.
Also at the request of the township, the city added a policy statement which reads, "working with the county and townships to develop compatible land use plans for the property along the urban and rural borders."
The consultant suggested that the townships and county incorporate that statement in their plans as well.
Glenn Meiners of Mayville Township questioned whether the city would try to limit feedlots that are located in the townships but near the city. Clerk Nelson responded that the city has no jurisdiction outside the city limits and it would be up to the township to make that decision.
The eighth goal of the plan is to "Strengthen the distinction between the urban city and rural countryside with well-planned and carefully coordinated services. Part B of that goal caused some concern on the part of the townships because it reads, "Promote the annexation of abutting property in an orderly manner when it is necessary for development."
Sweeney explained that the goal was that any new developments receiving municipal services such as water and sewer be located within the corporate limits of the city.
Clerk Nelson added that the goal was not intended to address those properties outside the city limits which are currently receiving those services. He noted that there is a common perception that city means urban and township means rural, but that there are urban areas within the townships and rural areas within the city limits. There are about 500 acres of undeveloped land within the corporate limits of the city, he said.
The change suggested by the townships was, in general, for the city to work cooperatively with the townships to achieve compatible land uses along the borders of the townships and city and to work together to have land use controls in place. McRae also suggested that the city go on record as supporting low density development, including a minimum one acre lot for new rural subdivisions.
Another goal was to "achieve an equitable distribution of the cost of providing city services." The city agreed to change the language to make it clear that there are no immediate plans to annex any areas currently served by city utilities which are outside the city limits.
A new plan will be drafted that incorporates new language suggested by the townships and by the consultant, and provide a new draft to the townships. It will be up to the city to approve or amend the plan after the changes are made. Final adoption of the plan will come only after a public hearing is held. No date has been set for that hearing.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com