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CITY of RICE LAKE, MN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN September, 2020

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CITY of RICE LAKE, MN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN September, 2020 CITY OF RICE LAKE, MN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN September, 2020 Preserving our Future1 City of Rice Lake Acknowledgments With Special Thanks to: Rice Lake Mayor and City Council Public participants who provided Mayor John Werner feedback to help define the final Councilor Suzanne Herstad recommendations for this document. Councilor Bob Quade Councilor Jayme Heim Prepared for: Councilor John Hegstrom City of Rice Lake City Hall Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee 4107 W Beyer Road Toni Blomdahl, City Clerk Duluth MN 55803 Duane Demaris, Resident/Rice Lake Business Trina Gendron, Resident Joe Gregorich, Resident Nancy Grew, Resident Caroline Hegstrom, Resident/Rice Lake Business Prepared by: John Hegstrom, City Council/Resident Bolton & Menk, Inc. Suzanne Herstad, City Council/Resident 12224 Nicollet Avenue Teresa Koivula, Zoning Administrator/Resident Burnsville, MN 55337 Steve Kossett, Planning Commission/Resident P: 952-890-0509 Clint Massie, Rice Lake Business F: 952-890-8065 Ray McClelland, Resident/Rice Lake Business Robert Quade, City Council/Resident Shane Stolp, Rice Lake Business Katie Vukelich, Planning Commission/Resident Robert Whitmyer, Planning Commission/ Resident/Rice Lake Business Bolton & Menk Project Team Jane Kansier, AICP - Senior Urban Planner Angie Bersaw, AICP - Principal in Charge Joe Pelawa, P.E. - Engineer, QA/QC Jonathan Nelsen, PLA Liz Forbes David Sandburg 2 Comprehensive Plan Table of Contents 01Introduction..................................................Pg. 05-16 02Land Use............................................................Pg. 17-28 03Transportation ..........................................Pg. 29-40 04Natural Resources....................................Pg. 41-48 05 Parks, Recreation & Open Space.......Pg. 49-56 06Infrastructure.............................................Pg. 57-66 07Economy & Employment ........................Pg. 67-74 08Implementation............................................Pg. 75-82 3 (Page Intentionally Left Blank) 4 01Introduction 5 Introduction A comprehensive plan is a long-range planning document intended to identify a community’s vision, goals, and policies to guide future development and public investment. Simply put, a comprehensive plan describes the hopes, dreams and aspirations a community holds for itself. Through public input, a Comprehensive comprehensive plan identifies infrastructure needs, promotes the preservation of natural resources, and Plan guides land use and transportation patterns. The City of Rice Lake’s Comprehensive Plan is the policy document providing a foundation for growth and development. It provides an overview of Rice Informs Lake’s historical context, demographics, existing and future land use, economic climate, public utilities, uture Land Use transportation, natural resources and parks and trails. The Comprehensive Plan contains goals, objectives and policies to guide land use development, redevelopment, and preservation of all lands and waters within the City. It also proposes a plan to implement these policies through the 2040 timeframe. Informs Zoning and But the comprehensive plan is more than just a Development document. The process provided an opportunity to Regula ons engage the public in local decisions and to allow people with different perspectives to articulate the sort of community they would like to live in and leave behind. Together, the City and its residents came together to create a plan for “Preserving Our Future.” 6 PURPOSE OF THE PLAN Minnesota Statutes, Section 462.351 describes legislative goals for city and township planning: GUIDE THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF LAND PREPARE FOR ANTICIPATED CHANGE ENSURE A SAFER, MORE PLEASANT ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT PRESERVE FOREST, TIMBERLAND, WETLANDS AND OTHER OPEN LANDS ENABLE PUBLIC/PRIVATE AGENCIES TO PLAN IN HARMONY WITH THE PLAN ASSIST IN DEVELOPING LANDS MORE WISELY TO SERVE CITIZENS EFFECTIVELY A comprehensive plan creates a framework to make sound decisions that positively affect the City of Rice Lake and provide guidance for the community to reach its’ long-term goals. USING THE PLAN The Comprehensive Plan provides the foundation for the City’s zoning, subdivision and other land use regulations. The Plan also provides the basis for the City’s fiscal decisions, such as infrastructure improvements, purchase or disposal of City property, or economic development. Simply put, the Comprehensive Plan is a practical working guide for the Planning Commission and City Council in making everyday decisions. These decisions may fall into two categories: Developing and implementing regulatory controls, and financial tools and programs. These include the zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, capital improvement plans, transportation plans, and investments in parks and trails . In each of these cases, the Planning Commission and City Council evaluates the control, tool or program to ensure it is implementing the goals and policies established by the Comprehensive Plan. Project proposals by private citizens, builders/developers, and other public agencies. The Planning Commission and City Council evaluate the proposed project in view of its conformance with the Comprehensive Plan. 7 PROCESS Beginning in September 2019, the City of Rice Lake worked with Bolton and Menk, Inc. to complete the Comprehensive Plan. Descriptive data about the City were gathered through a variety of sources, including: A community survey was available online in September of 2019. Questions in the survey asked basic demographic data of the respondent, community assets and weaknesses, visions for the future, and investment priorities. Approximately 350 responses were collected. The responses helped form the goals and objectives of the Plan. A summary of the Community Survey response is provided in Appendix A. A Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee was formed to inform the overall comprehensive process and guide policy goals and recommendations. The group was comprised of key community leaders from public, private, and government spheres. The committee met once at the beginning of the comprehensive planning process and reviewed the draft plan prior to submittal to the City Council. Information from previous plans has been incorporated into this plan where appropriate. The City used a variety of resources to gather public input on the Plan, including: The City held one “pop-up” meeting to raise awareness about this project and to discuss different elements of the plan. A public open house was held on July 23, 2020 to discuss the draft comprehensive plan. A project website provided regular updates and links to the plan as it was developed. Regular updates on the plan were provided to the Planning Commission as part of its regular meeting schedule. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the plan on September 15, 2020. The City Council formerly reviewed and adopted the final plan on September 28, 2020. A VISION FOR RICE LAKE The City of Rice Lake established the following vision statement: The City of Rice Lake, with its recreational amenities and rich rural character, strives to provide a well-balanced, secure, and enjoyable living environment for citizens of all ages. As a friendly, quiet, family oriented community, the citizens of “ the City appreciate and respect the needs of their neighbors. Families will raise their children in safety, peace and quiet, away from the congestion and noise of the city. The City will work together with its residents to sustain moderate commercial, residential and recreational growth, while making sure not to alter the existing character of the City. Proactive decision-making, and the provision of services on the part of the City will maintain the existing quality of life. 8 ” Goals The planning process identified a set of overarching goals to expand on the vision statement and to guide the preparation of the Comprehensive Plan. Guide Land and Manage Growth An important role of the Comprehensive Plan is to appropriately guide the use of land and manage the timing by which it is developed. This important challenge is met with careful decisions about land uses, including the location and amount of specific land uses necessary to meet the need and demand for new housing of all types, provide increased areas of commercial, industrial and job growth, and to meet park and recreation facility needs. The timing of development is based on the location and characteristics of growth and on the logical and practical use and extension of municipal services and infrastructure. Protect Natural Resources The City of Rice Lake has a diversity of natural resources within the community. Rice Lake is committed to preserving these resources as they are integral parts of the community and provide food, as well as animal and fish habitat. Access to these resources connects residents to nature, encourages active and healthy lifestyles, and promotes community interaction. Allow a variety of land uses and residential densities while maintaining the City’s existing rural character Rice Lake has diverse land uses emphasizing its rural nature and natural landscape, including wooded areas, large lot rural residential housing, open spaces, and more intense uses where municipal sewer and water are available. The mix of land uses in different parts of the City changes with the geography, and is preserved and maintained by sound, intentional land use policies. Provide economic opportunities for residents and businesses Economic opportunities in the City continue to evolve. The City will explore
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