Joint Northfield Planning Commission/City Council Meeting
November 27,2007
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Jane McWilliams, League Observer
Members of the Planning Commission, City Council, Economic Development Authority and others as well as Dan Olson, City Planner, Katy Gehler-Hess, City Engineer, Joel Walinski, Public Services Director, Brian O’connell, Community Development Director and Al Roder, City Administrator and several members of the public were in attendance. The city’s consultant, Chris Chromy of Bolton Menk, Inc. was the presenter.
The purpose of the meeting was to bring the groups up to date on the work of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), appointed by the council to draft a transportation plan. Members of the committee are: Joel Walinski; Dan Olson; Katy Gehler-Hess; Ross Currier, Planning Commission Chair; Betsy Buckheit, Park Board/Non-Motorized Transportation Task Force.
There has been a series of public meetings to gather information from transportation partnering agencies, businesses and large transportation users, as well as the public at large. Based on the input, as well as technical background information, the committee is working on goals and objectives for the plan. Under consideration are all modes of transportation, motorized, non-motorized, mass transit, rail and air. A starting point for their study was the 1998 Transportation Plan.
Mr. Chromy presented the four goals for consideration. The objectives were not ready for this meeting, but, along with the goals, will be presented to the city council on December 17. The committee will be asked whether the plan is moving in the direction the council wishes. The anticipated date of completion of the plan is April or May. Work on the Transportation Plan is being done both parallel to and in conjunction with the work on the Comprehensive Plan: for example, the Comp Plan land use map informs in the Transportation Plan. Because the Comp Plan progress is slower than anticipated, this has affected the Transportation Plan’s pace.
Comments from the commissioners and others mostly reflected their desire for more content than is evident from looking solely at the goals. There was concern that additional public input be permitted. Olson noted that there would be at least two more open houses, scheduled in late January and in April.
Gehler-Hess informed the League Observer that they hope to have a draft of the goals and objectives up on the website some time during the week of December 3. Draft chapters of the Comprehensive Plan are available at: northfieldplan.org.