OK’d plan is about the future and the past

If you thought the Eden Prairie City Council’s approval Tuesday of a five-year strategic plan for its Community Development Department was only about looking ahead, you’d be wrong.

The council and especially Mayor Ron Case on Nov. 1 said they preferred to think of the five-year plan as a continuation of the city’s 54-year-old history of mapping out in detail how Eden Prairie should be developed in an orderly and attractive way.

The new plan takes development-related goals from the city’s latest long-range plan, called Aspire 2040, and outlines a phased approach to initiating those goals. 

But, the city has been using long-range plans – most often called Guide Plans – since 1968, and Case noted that the plans are one reason why Eden Prairie has developed into a unique and sought-after community.

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And, actually “not” developed in one sense, he noted, pointing out that Eden Prairie has comparatively more parks and open space than most, if not all, Twin Cities suburbs of EP’s size.

“This is a progression of 54 years of planning,” said Case. “And we have stayed faithful to that plan.”

The plan of 60-plus pages outlines the priorities for the city’s Community Development Department for the next five years within its wide range of responsibilities: overseeing redevelopment as well as “infill” development on small vacant parcels, but also initiatives in the areas of affordable housing and economic development.

Many of the goals are also in the city’s Aspire 2040 plan, but Community Development Director Julie Klima said Tuesday that formal council approval of the departmental plan “gives staff some assurance that we’re headed in the right direction on these initiatives.”

The plan also addresses funding sources, including the use of tax-increment financing at the local level and the use of federal Community Development Block Grant dollars.

Here are a few highlights from the five-year development plan:

Race Equity Initiative – The entire city organization, including the Community Development Department, is already working to implement recommendations from the Race Equity Report approved by the council in January. That includes brainstorming on how to implement the recommendations and making headway through an inter-departmental group.

Housing Programs & Initiatives – Timing is uncertain, but the department plans to work with developers to encourage affordable housing on a few vacant parcels, including areas near transit stations planned as part of the Green Line LRT Extension. Another idea the department wishes to explore, in the area of affordable housing, is a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that specializes in building low-cost housing.

Economic Development Partnerships and Promotion – Work will continue on the  “Innovation Sandbox,” a proposal to encourage entrepreneurship on the part of youth by having dedicated space at Eden Prairie High School where students might learn about and work on ideas that advance Eden Prairie’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Redevelopment – The city views construction of the Green Line LRT and several Eden Prairie future transit stations as an opportunity to create high-density development near those stations, including housing and retail. An example of what they envision is SouthWest Station, located across the street from Purgatory Creek Park.

Infill Development – This refers to small Eden Prairie properties that remain undeveloped. The department keeps tabs on where these are located and how the city’s long-range plan views them regarding zoning, so that the information is at hand when developers make inquiries.

City Manager Rick Getschow said the department’s five-year plan will be displayed prominently on the city’s website.