City Council Study Session Agenda and Packet 2011 12 13

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PAGE TWO SUBJECT: UPDATE /DISCUSSION - COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 2012 REVIEW DATE: OCTOBER 25, 2011 with periods of relative stability. The 2005 Comprehensive Plan was created near the end of significant City growth and anticipated change associated with RTD's FasTracks Program. The 2009 update occurred during a period of stability. DISCUSSION Staff's intent is to facilitate conversations during two City Council Study Sessions with City Council and the Planning Commission prior to initiating work on the 2012 Comprehensive Plan. The 2005 Comprehensive Plan and the 2009 Update provided the City with a cohesive Community Vision. Staff believes that a 2012 Update can further strengthen the Comprehensive Plan in three key ways: 1) Better meet today's unique challenges that were not factors in 2005 and 2009 Several conditions which influence the City's ability to implement the Community's Vision have changed, or emerged, including: a. Redevelopment vs. new development – The General Development Plan (GDP) approval for ConocoPhillips and the Planned Unit Development (PUD) approval of North End and Steel Ranch commit the City's last large vacant parcels for development. Future change in Louisville will come almost exclusively in the form of redevelopment. The current Comprehensive Plan notes this shift in growth patterns, but it does not provide the tools necessary for the community to adequately review, discuss, and implement future infill development requests. The development issues and concerns of an expanding greenfield community are quite different than those of a redeveloping infill community. Louisville's policies generally align with those of an expanding greenfield community. The policies focus on measuring, accommodating and mitigating the impact of new development on the capacity of the City's infrastructure, services and quality of life. In a redeveloping infill community the capacity of community infrastructure and services is still a concern. However, efficiency —the ability to achieve economies of scale by using existing infrastructure to serve more customers at a lower unit cost to each customer —also becomes a consideration. Also, because infill development can positively or negatively affect existing land uses, understanding how the design, physical character and other aspects of an infill project affect the adjacent neighbors and the City as a whole is critical to determining whether the project is likely to enhance or undermine the existing quality of life. The current Comprehensive Plan provides little flexibility, or guidance to address redevelopment outside of the Revitalization District and Downtown. We need clearer policies to guide redevelopment as the McCaslin and South Boulder Road 68