Minnesota law requires communities within the seven-county metropolitan area to create and adopt a comprehensive plan and grants the Metropolitan Council the authority to review and approve municipal comprehensive plans. Comprehensive plans span a twenty-year period and cities are required to update them every ten years. Staff started the process of creating the 2040 Comprehensive Plan in 2017.

In many ways, the 2040 Comprehensive Plan is a continuation of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan with no substantive changes proposed to the city’s land use plan and minor updates to the city’s goals and policies. Most of the changes between these comprehensive plans are the result of new or revised requirements from the Metropolitan Council. A draft comprehensive plan was presented to City Council on December 10, 2018 and City Council authorized staff to submit the draft to the Metropolitan Council for review.

During their review of the city’s draft comprehensive plan, the Metropolitan Council required that the city make several revisions, include supplemental information, and clarify several sections. A timeline of the comprehensive planning process and a discussion of the differences between the draft comprehensive plan and the current version is provided below.

On January 22, 2020, the Metropolitan Council found that the city's 2040 Comprehensive Plan meets all Metropolitan Land Planning Act requirements; conforms to the regional system plans including transportation, aviation, water resources management, and parks; is consistent with Thrive MSP 2040; and is compatible with the plans of adjacent jurisdictions.

In addition to the Advisory Comments and Review Record, the Council adopted the following recommendations:

1. Authorize the City of Chanhassen to put its 2040 Comprehensive Plan into effect.
2. Revise the city's forecasts upward as shown in Table 1 of the attached Review Record. (Note that the Metropolitan Council is revising their forecasts to be consistent with the city’s forecast.)
3. Revise the city's sewer-serviced forecasts upward as shown in Table 2 of the attached Review Record. (Note that the Metropolitan Council is revising its forecasts to be consistent with the city’s forecast.)
4. Advise the city to implement the advisory comments noted in the Review Record for Surface Water Management.
5. Approve the City of Chanhassen Comprehensive Sewer Plan.
6. Implement the advisory comments in the Review Record for Wastewater.

The city may now adopt the 2040 Comprehensive Plan and put it into effect.

Timeline:

SUMMARY OF REVISIONS AND UPDATES

Chapter 1:  Introduction

No Revisions

Chapter 2:  Land Use

• Staff revised the Net Developable Residential Acreage table to list minimum rather than average density and include acreage expected to develop as residential within the downtown and regional/lifestyle center.
  

• Staff added narrative text clarifying, updated and reconciled several land use tables that the increase in the city’s total acreage was the result of more accurate mapping technology between the 2030 plan and 2040 plan.
  

• Staff add a 16 unit per acre minimum and 33 unit per acre historic maximum density range for residential developments within the Central Business District (CBD). These numbers were derived from past development patterns within the CBD. Previously no maximum or minimum density was listed.
  

• Footnotes were added to land use tables stating the expected percentage of downtown that would redevelop as residential high density during each decade, and noting the acreage that had developed as residential high density between 2015 and 2020.
  

• Footnotes were added to land use tables explaining what percentage of land guided for commercial and office would develop as residential within the Avienda development during each decade.
  

• Staff added narrative text clarifying that 30 percent of the land guided for regional/lifestyle center commercial will develop with net densities between 10 and 16 units and acre.
  

• Staff removed the business fringe (BF) district from the list of commercial land use subcategories to avoid confusion (the BF district is a zoning district and not a land use subcategory).
  

• Staff revised narrative text throughout the land use chapter to maintain and clarify the distinction between zoning districts, land use, and commercial land use subcategories. 

• Staff added a map showing the location of the commercial land use subcategories within the city.
  

• Staff provided a list of zoning districts and intent of each district at the request of the Metropolitan Council.
  

• Staff revised the narrative description of Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA) to emphasize that the city and Metropolitan Council collaborate to identify the location of the MUSA.
  

• Added text below Figure 2-9 stating (page 28):  This map depicts the land uses listed in Figure 2-7 ‘2015 Land Use Table’.

Chapter 3:  Housing

• Staff revised the Capacity to Meet Affordable Housing Need Allocation table to include residential acreage within the regional/lifestyle center commercial/office and downtown areas and to list the relevant minimum densities for these areas.
  
• Staff revised the Capacity to Meet Affordable Housing Need Allocation table to only include acreage expected to develop between 2021 and 2030. Narrative text was added clarifying how the table’s numbers were determined.
  
• A note was added clarifying the function of an asterisk in the Land Use Table in 5-Year Stages, Existing, and Planned Land Use in Actions Table.
• At the direction of the Metropolitan Council, staff added a discussion of additional affordable housing resources and programs (Carver County CDA Land Trust, MN Housing, preservation of expiring low-income housing tax credits, Consolidated RFPs, etc.) to its implementation plan.
  
• Staff removed increasing the supply of rental housing from the list of existing housing needs, and removed related items from the current needs implementation plan.
  
• Staff removed information relating to the Livable Communities Act’s 2015 Housing Action Plan from the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.
  
• Staff replaced existing Livable Communities Act (LCA) narrative text with text acknowledging that the city was committed to following State and Federal fair housing standards, is aware that participants in the LCA will be required to adopt local fair housing policies, and that the city will investigate adopting a local fair housing policy.
• Staff updated tables containing information on housing cost-burdened households, the existing housing assessment, ownership housing, HUD affordability levels, affordable apartment rents, and publically subsidized units to reflect data that was updated subsequent to the plan being drafted.
  
  

Chapter 4:  Natural Resources

No Revisions

Chapter 5:  Parks and Trails

• Maps revised to include labeling for Regional Park and Trail facilities.
  
• The Regional Bicycle Transportation Network (RBTN).  A new RBTN section was added to the Parks chapter. A description of the RBTN has been added to the Parks and Trail chapter (chapter 5, page 86).
• A new figure was created to depict the RBTN and areas designated for commercial, employment, and office were included in the RBTN map in chapter 5, page 90.
• The maps were changed to state Existing/State Trails and the trails were labeled to correctly identify, map, and label Regional Park and Trail facilities, to all Regional Parks System facilities depicted in Figure 5-2, Figure 5-3, Figure 5-6, and Figure 5-7.
  

• Maps have been revised differentiating the appearance of the "Existing Regional Trails" from the Minnesota Valley State Trail on the south side of the Minnesota River in Figure 5-2, Figure 5-3, Figure 5-6, and Figure 5-7.  
  
  

Chapter 6:  Transportation

• The city was requested to provide written summaries of the transit service (Southwest Transit) for the city.  Staff has modified the map on page 131 to incorporate both the park and ride locations and the bus routes (http://www.swtransit.org/schedules/). Figure number and legend where also added to the map. Please note that there are no local circulator bus routes in Chanhassen.
  
• The city is located within Metropolitan Council transit market areas III and IV. The city was directed to modify the discussion on page 131 to describe Market Area IV and service appropriate for that market.
• The reference to “B” arterials has been changed to “Other” arterials (Lyman Boulevard) (pages 125 and 127).  We advised the Metropolitan Council that the city had addressed the Highway 101 realignment as part of Figure 6.6 (page 118).  There are no other significant right-of-way corridors in Chanhassen for preservation.
• The discussion of the Green Line Extension (page 134) has been revised to include revisions to the proposed light rail plans by the Metropolitan Council.
• Discussion expanded to emphasize city policies, connections and inter-local cooperation regarding the pedestrian system.

Chapter 7:  Sewer

• The city submitted maps via a follow-up email showing:  Existing connection points to the metropolitan disposal system; Future connection points for new growth; Local sewer service districts by connection point; and, Intercommunity connections.
  
• The narrative was updated to indicate that no intercommunity service agreements have been entered into since 2008 (page 150).
• Narrative revised on pages 154–155 describing the management program for sub-surface sewage treatment systems. The correct citation is Chapter 19, Article IV of the Chanhassen City Code.  We have summarized that this chapter provides regulation for the design and maintenance of SSTS.
• The plan discussion on I/I strategies on pages 161–163 was updated and revised. Infiltration is clear water that enters the sanitary sewer system through defects in the sewer pipes, joints, manholes, and service laterals. Water that enters the sewer system from cross connections with storm sewer, sump pumps, roof drains, or manhole covers is considered inflow.
• The table and clarifying narrative was added to Section 7.5 Future Sanitary Sewer System, Wastewater Flow Projections (page 166, Figure 7.17).
• The city added the map and table in Section 7.5, Future Sanitary Sewer System (p. 168).

• The city submitted the Eden Prairie Cooperative Agreement for Metropolitan Council files.  This area covers the Settlers West Development in Chanhassen south of Pioneer Trail (CSAH 14) in the Eden Prairie boundary.  We have added language about cities’ reimbursement for wastewater charges as well as a map of the interconnection areas (p. 179).
• Figure added on page 183 added new direct connections to the regional interceptor.
  
  

Chapter 8:  Water

No revisions. The city will provide the completed final local water supply plan in an appendix, which was submitted in 2016 and approved by the Department of Natural Resources on June 11, 2019.

Chapter 9:  Local Surface Water Management Plan

No Revisions.

Chapter 10:  Comprehensive Plan Implementation & Capital Improvements Plan

The city provided a link to the City Code:  www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us/citycode. Zoning is in Chapter 20. Also included the local zoning map and zoning category descriptions and intent statements for each district. The Plan identifies corresponding zoning categories for each land use.

ACTION

Following is the proposed action requested by the Metropolitan Council:

• Submit a copy of the adoption resolution to the Metropolitan Council for their records.

• Submit one hard copy of the adopted City of Chanhassen 2040 Comprehensive Plan to the Metropolitan Council and an electronic copy of the Plan.

• Submit any updated ordinances or controls intended to implement the Comprehensive Plan to the Metropolitan Council.

Staff recommends that City Council approve the resolution adopting the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.