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Adopting the Greater Lowertown Master Plan Summary as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan.
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WHEREAS, there has long been interest in the downtown community in updating the Historic Lowertown Plan, adopted in 1994 as part of the City's Comprehensive Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Downtown Station Area Plan was adopted in 2010 as part of the City's Comprehensive Plan, and addresses development opportunities and issues related to the construction of light rail transit through downtown, starting at Union Station in Lowertown; and
WHEREAS, the Downtown Station Area Plan called for a Lowertown Master Plan to address outstanding issues that were beyond the scope of the Downtown Station Area Plan, and recommended that the Lowertown Master Plan be guided by a community-based task force representing Lowertown's residential, commercial, entertainment, arts and cultural communities; and
WHEREAS, the Greater Lowertown Master Plan Task Force was created in 2009 to craft a Scope of Work for the Greater Lowertown Master Plan, issue a Request for Proposals, interview consultant teams and select a consultant team; and
WHEREAS, the Greater Lowertown Master Plan Task Force raised nearly $200,000 from the Lowertown Future Fund, Central Corridor Funders Collaborative and The Saint Paul Foundation to hire a multi-disciplinary consultant team led by the Cuningham Group; and
WHEREAS, the Greater Lowertown Master Plan Task Force worked from 2010-2011 to prepare the Greater Lowertown Master Plan; and
WHEREAS, City staff attended all task force meetings, participated in several focus group sessions, advised the task force on consistency with City policy, reviewed drafts of the Plan and helped write some of the language in the final draft; and
WHEREAS, in October 2011, the CapitolRiver Council Board voted to support the Greater Lowertown Master Plan at a vision, goal and conceptual level, and recommended it for approval by the Planning Commission and City Council; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission released the Greater Lowertown Master Plan Summary for public review on January 13, 2012; and held a public hearing on February 24, 2012; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission reviewed the Greater Lowertown Master Plan Summary on February 9, 2012 and forwarded its comments and recommended changes to the Planning Commission, finding the Summary consistent with the City's policy to protect and promote Saint Paul's heritage, and to preserve its architecturally and historically significant structures; and
WHEREAS, on March 23, 2012, the Planning Commission found the Greater Lowertown Master Plan Summary consistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan, and recommended adoption by the City Council of the Greater Lowertown Master Plan Summary as an amendment to the City's Comprehensive Plan with the following changes/additions:
1. A statement should be added to the Summary discouraging new skyways within the Lowertown Historic District, consistent with current adopted City policies.
2. The Summary should recognize the need for accommodating surface/tailgating parking for the regional ballpark, should it be built. The likely location for this parking is the area between the Lafayette Bridge and Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, which will remove some land from the area proposed for urban agriculture.
3. A statement should be added to the Summary that detailed soil contamination studies should be conducted to determine how and where the urban agriculture vision between the Lafayette Bridge and Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary can be implemented.
4. Text should be changed in the Summary to clarify that the interior layout of the northerly Diamond Products building may limit its suitability for indoor recreation and/or large-scale art production.
5. Text should be added to the Summary to recognize that part of Lowertown is located in the 100-year floodplain, and encourage the neighborhood to work with the City's Department of Public Works to determine the appropriate system(s) to protect the neighborhood from future flooding.
6. Text should be added to the full Plan regarding the suspected level of soil contamination along the south side of Prince Street east of Broadway.
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission also recommended that the Historic Lowertown Plan (1994) be decertified by the City Council upon adoption of the Greater Lowertown Master Plan Summary; and
WHEREAS, the City Council held a public hearing on the Greater Lowertown Master Plan Summary on April 18, 2012, at which all interested persons were heard.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council hereby finds the Greater Lowertown Master Plan Summary consistent with the Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan, and adopts it as an amendment to the Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan, subject to Metropolitan Council review, with the following changes/additions:
1. A statement should be added to the Summary discouraging new skyways within the Lowertown Historic District, consistent with current adopted City policies.
2. The Summary should recognize the need for accommodating surface/tailgating parking for the regional ballpark, should it be built. The likely location for this parking is the area between the Lafayette Bridge and Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, which will remove some land from the area proposed for urban agriculture.
3. A statement should be added to the Summary that detailed soil contamination studies should be conducted to determine how and where the urban agriculture vision between the Lafayette Bridge and Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary can be implemented.
4. Text should be changed in the Summary to clarify that the interior layout of the northerly Diamond Products building may limit its suitability for indoor recreation and/or large-scale art production.
5. Text should be added to the Summary to recognize that part of Lowertown is located in the 100-year floodplain, and encourage the neighborhood to work with the City's Department of Public Works to determine the appropriate system(s) to protect the neighborhood from future flooding.
6. Text should be added to the full Plan regarding the suspected level of soil contamination along the south side of Prince Street east of Broadway; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council hereby decertifies the Historic Lowertown Plan (1994).