Precedent Studies for Transitioning Highway Commercial Corridors from Rural to Urban Services and Land Uses

One of Scott County’s main commercial corridors is U.S. Highway 169, which runs along the Minnesota River between Shakopee and Belle Plaine. MnDOT has slated this highway for future conversion to a freeway from the Twin Cities to Mankato, with limited access and grade-separated interchanges. Currently, the corridor is guided for a mix of rural businesses, industries, and extraction uses. Two major regional investments will dramatically change the nature of this corridor: the future TH 41 river freeway bridge connecting Highways 169 and 212; and a future regional wastewater treatment plant that will allow much of the highway corridor to develop with urban services and land uses in the future. This report discusses several case studies showing how similar rural highway corridors have transitioned to urban services, including the processes or organizational frameworks used to engage multiple jurisdictions, stakeholders, landowners, and business interests; visualization tools or other techniques used to engage the public in such planning efforts; appropriate interim land uses in a rural highway commercial corridor planned for future urbanization; and lessons learned from these efforts. The findings from this project were used to formulate a comprehensive work plan and grant applications to undertake a major corridor study in 2010–2011.This project was supported by a grant from the Community Growth Options (U-CGO) program, a joint project of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) and the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, with funding from the McKnight Foundation

Hassan Area Historic Preservation

Hassan Township, which will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2010, has many historic structures at risk of demolition as development encroaches. A graduate student in urban and regional planning helped the township to identify and inventory historically and culturally significant structures in the community, conduct interviews with long-time residents of the community to record their recollections about historic structures and sites in the community Hassan, and identify methods to preserve and protect the community's local heritage. Project partners included the Hassan Historical Society, the Minnesota Historical Society, the Hennepin County Historical Society, and Three Rivers Park District. Hassan Township and the Hassan Area Historical Society will use the information from this report to determine the best approach to historic preservation in the community, and to prioritize historic sites and structures for preservation. The project has resulted in discussions with staff from the neighboring City of Rogers to coordinate historic preservation efforts in light of the orderly annexation agreement between the two communities.This project was supported by a grant from the Community Growth Options (U-CGO) program, a joint project of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) and the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, with funding from the McKnight Foundation

Updating and Incorporating Sustainability into Scott County’s Zoning Code

The Scott County Planning Department was updating the county’s zoning and subdivision ordinances to implement its newly adopted 2030 Comprehensive Plan Update. The County had recently formed a farm advisory task force to help the Planning Department, among other things, evaluate the county’s zoning rules as they relate to farming and agricultural land uses. However, the department did not have the resources to research emerging trends and best practices in agricultural zoning approaches. In addition, the Planning Department was concerned that the county development code does not adequately acknowledge or address emerging trends in sustainable development practices. A graduate student in urban and regional planning researched agricultural zoning approaches in other counties in large metropolitan areas that are experiencing rapid urbanization, and conducted an audit of the county’s development code with respect to emerging sustainability practices in the areas of alternative energy systems, tree preservation, water quality, and stormwater management. The resulting report and audit, which included a series of example and model ordinances, were used by the Farm Advisory Task Force and the Scott County Planning Advisory Commission to recommend specific ordinance updates to the Planning Department and Planning Commission.This project was supported by a grant from the Community Growth Options (U-CGO) program, a joint project of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) and the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, with funding from the McKnight Foundation

Lent Township Rural Transit Center

Lent Township is located in Chisago County, along Interstate 35W. A large percentage of Lent's residents are employed in the Twin Cities and patronize merchants in communities along the I-35 travel corridor. The township also borders several well-established commercial centers in North Branch and Stacy that compete for local consumers. In 2008, Lent assumed planning and zoning authority from the county. One of its first acts was to establish a 320-acre Rural Transit Center (RTC) at the intersection of Interstate 35 and County Road 17, a busy local feeder route. Limited commercial uses are now permitted in the RTC by right or as conditional uses. Graduate students in urban and regional planning helped the township assess the potential for future commercial-industrial development in the RTC. This final report assesses market demand for, infrastructure and service needs of, employment opportunities from, and overall feasibility of three development scenarios for the RTC: (1) a light-industrial and manufacturing park (the township's preferred alternative); (2) a trail-oriented development along the Sunrise Prairie Trail, a multiuse recreational trail that has been identified as the alignment for the proposed Rush Line commuter-rail corridor; and (3) a mixed-use assisted-living and senior housing development with supportive service-retail establishments.This project was supported by a grant from the Community Growth Options (U-CGO) program, a joint project of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) and the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, with funding from the McKnight Foundation