Draft of comp plan passes hurdle

Published 9:17 am Thursday, December 11, 2008

The Albert Lea Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee gave an almost unanimous approval Wednesday of the final draft of the city’s new comprehensive plan.

After making a few changes to the plan, the committee members nodded their heads in indication that they would be recommending approval of the plan to the Albert Lea Planning Commission.

Albert Lea Economic Development Agency Executive Director Dan Dorman voiced his concern with several parts of the plan and did not indicate his approval.

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Despite his concerns, however, the plan will now go before the Albert Lea Planning Commission at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in City Hall. At that time, consultant Brad Scheib, project manager from Hoisington Koegler Group Inc., will make a presentation about the comprehensive plan and there will be a public hearing to seek input from community members.

At the end of that meeting, Planning Commission members will make their recommendation to the Albert Lea City Council. The council will vote on the plan during its meeting on Dec. 22.

The comprehensive plan is a culmination of a public process that began several years ago with Albert Lea Area Listens and was followed by a visit from the Minnesota Design Team.

When the time to form the plan began, 32 people came together on the steering committee to stand as members of the greater community and help serve as a sound board as the plan would take shape.

The Wednesday meeting was the 11th time for the committee to meet.

The last public meeting was in June, and since that time the plan has been available for public comment.

Some changes have been made, and the plan is now 100-pages long.

“Every time I go back to this I think it’s a good plan,” Scheib said.

The city’s last comprehensive plan — which covers several aspects of the community including housing and the downtown to traffic flows and parks and recreation —was made in the early 1970s.

After discussions Wednesday about some parts of the plan, a few other areas were modified.

Steering committee member Tony Trow asked to see the appendices of the plan, and Scheib explained he and City Engineer Steven Jahnke are still completing those.

The group decided to massage the language under a section about growth management policy.

Committee members also decided to take out the majority of a section that talked about making change “on our terms.”

“Is that screaming no about new development?” Scheib said.

Dorman said he thought if he was someone from outside of the community reading that part, it would seem confrontational.

Albert Lea Housing and Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Jon Ford echoed that thought.

He said if he were developing a business in Albert Lea, that passage would turn him away.

Albert Lea Area Schools Superintendent Dave Prescott suggested making it say “make change thoughtfully or planfully.”

Someone from the outside would like to know that decisions within the city are made thoughtfully, Prescott said.

Community Development Director Bob Graham gave some other suggestions in a memorandum that the committee had to view.

One of those suggestions included removing negative statements about the past in the plan and instead looking positively into the future.

“The document needs to lead the city with enthusiasm toward the future,” he wrote. “Planning is a continuum and this plan needs to guide the community as we create opportunity and as opportunity presents itself.”

Staker was worried about some of the implementation steps for the plan, and Scheib said he would recommend conducting an annual meeting to look at the city’s progress.

The draft of the plan is available for review at the city’s Web site or at the public library.