Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Dear Rosemount Planning Commission,
We attended the recent public hearing of the planning commission regarding the possible rezoning of the parks in Rosemount from P/I to Residential.
After listening to the city planning commission’s ideas, and listening to the many Rosemount residents who spoke on the issue, we had some thoughts we’d like to share with you and ask that you give them consideration.
First to recap the meeting:
City Planning Commissions goals for rezoning the parks:
1. Keep zoning labels consistent for all parks, both newer and older ones.
2. Implement standards for development of Public/Institutional properties.
3. Protect against litigation related to Privately Owned/Public, Institution properties.
Rosemount Residents' goals for the parks:
1. Protect the parks and ensure that they always stay parkland/open space.
2. Protect property values of homes that are adjacent to park property.
3. Clearly designate parks as parks and not residential property.
Now for solutions:
We think it is possible to study what both groups want and to try to come up with a solution that meets the needs of both parties. We are hopeful that this can be done if the planning commission really looks at what both groups desire for the parks.
We heard both groups state that they want the parks to stay parks, and not ever be used for residential use. The dictionary defines residential as "adapted or used for residence"; residence is defined as "the place, esp. the house, in which a person lives or resides; dwelling place, home". There are no plans to build houses there for people to live in, according to the city. The Rosemount residents get nervous when they hear the zoning label "residential", as it means houses. So let's not zone our parks as "Residential".
Solutions:
1. Remove all parks from the commission’s current proposal; either zone all parks as Public/Institutional, or create an appropriate new zoning category for all of them, such as Parks/Open Spaces.
2. To provide consistent zoning labels for all parks, we recommend rezoning the parks currently zoned as Residential to Public/Institution, or other designation that you adopt to zone all parks.
3. Develop and implement desired standards of development for schools, churches, golf courses and privately owned properties (building materials, lighting, parking lot and landscaping).
4. Design and implement desired standards of development (e.g., lighting, parking lot parameters, green space rules, etc.) specifically for parks.
5. Rezone privately held property (e.g., churches, golf courses) to an appropriate new zoning designation to deal with litigation concerns (e.g., Private Institution).
These 5 solutions meet the needs of the planning commission (for consistency, for developing standards for privately owned land, and avoiding litigation). These solutions also meet the needs of the residents who shared their thoughts at the meeting: the solutions protect the parks so that they will remain parks and not be used or zoned for residential use, and they protect residents’ property values.
Sincerely,
Steve and Kathy Mann
3465 143rd St. W.
Rosemount, MN 55068
651-423-1801