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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5 - Comprehencive Plan PHPlanning Commission Memorandum To: Planning Commission From: Justin Fortney, City Planner Date: April 22, 2019 Item: Public Hearing: Comprehensive Plan Update PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION REQUESTED: Hold a Public Hearing and make a recommendation to the City Council to consider sending it to the Metropolitan Council for review. Background Information: A Comprehensive Plan is the policy document that details the vision and goals for the City of Hastings and outlines the steps to take in order to achieve that vision. Our Comprehensive Plan guides future decisions regarding physical, social, and economic character of the City. The current plan was developed in 2007-2008 and looked out 20-years to 2030. The community has spent the past two years updating the plan, but will now look out 20-years to 2040. Due to the extensive work performed on the brand new 2030 Comprehensive Plan, its continued relevance, and the low growth since its adoption, it was determined that this 2040 plan would be an update of the existing plan. This time however, we placed much of our resources into extensive community outreach to determine if the direction of the plan is correct and what the priorities of the community are. We utilized a 19-member steering committee of citizen volunteers and the chairs of our Hastings Advisory Commissions, which included former Planning Commission Chair Adam Estenson and transitioned to Chair Jeffrey Deaver. This steering committee met monthly for just over a year providing direction on the community outreach, plan direction, and even editing of the draft document. In addition to the Planning Commission having a representative on the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, the Commission provided direction at the beginning of the process and held a joint SWOT analysis workshop with the City Council. Staff also provided periodic updates over the past year, in addition to the information provided on the project website. The Planning Commission reviewed a draft of the updated plan on June 25th, 2018 and recommended approval to the City Council along with other City Commissions. After City Council approval on July 9, 2018, the plan was disseminated to affected jurisdictions for a 6- month comment period. We have now incorporated comments received into the plan. Public Outreach The public outreach for the project was kicked off in July, 2017 with an interactive booth at Rivertown Days where we also handed out leaflets that highlighted the projects purpose and listed participation opportunities. We have been maintaining a project website where citizens can sign up for project updates, participate in a community survey and mapping, view project progress, review Steering Committee meeting materials, and the draft plan. We have also implemented the following engagement techniques. • Press releases to local press • In Studio interviews at HCTV • Open Public Workshop (August) – published in Star Gazette, KDWA, website, social media • Newsletters mailed to all Hastings residents (September) Front page article focusing on Community Development included an explanation of the Comp Plan and asked residents to participate in engagement tools. • Joint City Council and Planning Commission SWAT analysis • Social media: (ongoing) Facebook and Twitter posts encouraging people to get involved, attend meetings, and take survey/use map • Website: multiple stories placed in News section of our website • An open ended student survey for youth participation. • Paper copies (120) of the community survey were delivered to the Senor Center and churches. • Key stake holder interviews have been held over two days with 30 individuals and four hour-long focus groups • Flyers were given to all Stakeholder and Focus Group participants in September with links to the project website and encouraged to take the survey and follow the project. • Chris has done interviews with Kelly Casey at KDWA mentioning the process, upcoming engagement activities, mentioning the website and asking listeners to take the survey. He has another scheduled for early November to discuss where we are in the plan and advertised the upcoming Pop-Up meeting. • Held the Pop-up meeting at Spiral Brewery during Holiday Hoopla downtown. • Flyers were on the counter at City Hall with project information, website, and schedule. • Monthly Steering Committee Meetings through April 2018. • Open house to receive public input from the draft plan. Live streamed online and replayed on HCTV. Next Steps The City Council will consider authorizing staff to send the plan to the Metropolitan Council for review as required by State Statute. Digital Attachment: 2040 Comprehensive Plan: https://hastings2040plan.com/ Attachment: Consultant memo showing the affected jurisdiction comments and the incorporation of them into the plan. 60 PLATO BLVD. EAST, SUITE 140, ST. PAUL, MN 55107-1835 P (612) 548-3132 • TF (866) 452-9454 • F (763) 786-4574 WWW.MSA-PS.COM Page 1 of 12 Hastings 2040 Comp Plan Edits from Surrounding Jurisdictions To: Justin Fortney, City Planner, Hastings, MN From: Chris Janson & Claire Michelson, MSA Subject: Hastings 2040 Comp Plan Edits from Surrounding Jurisdictions Date: April 1, 2019 Justin, Below is a list of Washington County, Minnesota DNR, National Park Services and Dakota County review comments and the corresponding response, explanation and/or changes to the City of Hastings 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The comments from the responding jurisdictions are in grey font and the action/explanation is in red font. Please review these along with PDF’s of the updated chapters and let me know if you have any questions or additional edits. I have updated the Chapters on the project website as well. Thanks! -Chris Janson Washington County Good afternoon, Thank you for the opportunity to review the draft City of Hastings Comprehensive Plan. Washington County offers the following comment: Chapter 10: Parks, Open Space and Trails • Page 62: Recommend addition of Point Douglas Regional Trail in this section. • More information on the trail can be found in the draft 2040 Washington County Comprehensive Plan on page 7-43. Added this trail in the trails section in Chapter 10 on Page 10-64. That’s it! Again, we appreciate the opportunity to review the draft City of Hastings Comprehensive Plan and look forward to working with the city to create a common vision for the future of the region. Update Hastings Comprehensive Plan April 1, 2019 Page 2 of 12 Regards, Colin Minnesota DNR Specific Comments on Parks, Trails and Open Space. We appreciate the extensive and thoughtful discussion of the Natural and Open Space (Greenway) System. • P. 10-34. The discussion of the DNR’s properties contains some incomplete information. The Hastings Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is different from the Hastings Sand Coulee Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) and should be labelled as separate management units on the map. The DNR has sold the northern section of the Hastings WMA and is interested in selling the southern portion. The DNR has no interest in selling the Hastings Sand Coulee SNA, and may be expanding this unit as willing sellers and funding become available. Like a majority of SNAs, this area is open to the public, but no formal trails are permitted, since the purpose of an SNA is to protect fragile/threatened species and ecosystems. Therefore, any trails designated as future trails on this property should be removed from the Planned + Existing park maps, pp. 10-17 and 10-45. The City of Hastings, perhaps Parks and Recreation, will need to edit this map (this map is located twice on in chapter 10). • Regarding the Maps Entitled: Planned + Existing Parks and Trails Map (pp. 10-17, 10-45). Existing and planned trails are denoted in the same line style. We recommended showing proposed trails as dashed lines, to provide clarity. The City of Hastings, perhaps Parks and Recreation, will need to edit this map (this map is located twice on in chapter 10). • Here is some language from our website about the Hastings Sand Coulee that could be included to describe this area: The Hastings Coulee SNA provides a unique recreational opportunity to explore an undeveloped, mostly intact landscape. Visitors may enjoy bird and other wildlife watching, hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, and nature photography. Originally designated in 2007 as a 77-acre SNA and since expanded to include three parcels totaling more than 267 acres, this site takes its name from the Hastings Sand Coulee, a 2.5 mile-long valley once occupied by a glacial stream that now supports the most significant dry prairie in Dakota County. A tributary stream to the Vermillion River meanders through all three parcels of this SNA, which serve to protect high quality native plant communities including dry sand-gravel prairie, mesic prairie, oak woodland and oak forest in an area otherwise dominated by agricultural land use and expanding housing developments. A remarkable assembly of native species find critical habitat within this SNA, among them plants such as James' polanisia, sea- beach needlegrass, and clasping milkweed, and animals such as the regal fritillary butterfly, Ottoe skipper, gopher snake, blue racer and loggerhead shrike. Update Hastings Comprehensive Plan April 1, 2019 Page 3 of 12 Section on the SNA was added on page 10-33, there is a paragraph describing the area and its natural importance the description above has been added. The Hastings Sand Coulee SNA provides a unique recreational opportunity to explore an undeveloped mostly intact landscape. Visitors may enjoy bird and other wildlife watching, hiking, show shoeing and cross-country skiing and natural photography. This area is open to the public but no formal trails are permitted as the primary focus of the SNA is to protect fragile species and ecosystems. A tributary stream to the Vermillion River meanders through all three parcels of this SNA, which serve to protect high quality native plant communities in an area otherwise dominated by agricultural land use and expanding housing developments. A remarkable assembly of native species find critical habitat within this SNA, among them plants such as James’ polanisia, sea- beach needlegrass, and clasping milkweed, and animals such as the regal fritillary butterfly, Ottoe skipper, gopher snake, blue racer and loggerhead shrike. Conservation Planning and Rare Species. We applaud stewardship strategy for public parks and natural open spaces, including Action Step 1 to Develop Overall Mapping of Ecological Systems. The DNR supports including data from the Natural Heritage Information System (NHIS) in the Comprehensive Plan. We recommend that the plan include goals and strategies to address how rare species and plant communities will be protected. Two data layers useful for land use and conservation planning include the MBS Native Plant Communities and the MBS Sites of Biodiversity Significance. GIS shapefiles of these data layers can be downloaded from the Minnesota Geospatial Commons. The DNR recommends avoidance of these ecologically significant areas, especially MBS Sites of Outstanding or High Biodiversity Significance and DNR Native Plant Communities with a conservation status rank of S1 (critically imperiled), S2 (imperiled), or S3 (vulnerable to extirpation). We recommend that Comprehensive Plans include a map of both of these layers and a list of the types of native plant communities documented within the plan’s boundaries. Maps added into page 10-37 For further conservation planning and to ensure compliance with the Minnesota endangered species laws, the DNR encourages communities to check the NHIS Rare Features Data for known occurrences of state-listed species. The NHIS Rare Features Data contains nonpublic data and can only be accessed by submitting a License Agreement Application Form for a GIS shapefile or by submitting a NHIS Data Request Form for a database printout. Both of these forms are available at the NHIS webpage. For more information on the biology, habitat use, and conservation measures of these rare species, please visit the DNR Rare Species Guide. NHIS training includes rules for using/displaying nonpublic data in public documents. Links: o MBS Sites of Biodiversity Significance http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/eco/mcbs/biodiversity_guidelines.html o MBS Native Plant Communities http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/npc/index.html Specific Comments on the Natural Resource Analysis section we recommend: Update Hastings Comprehensive Plan April 1, 2019 Page 4 of 12 • P. 4-11. A minor addition, shown in yellow highlight “Indigenous plants are adapted to the natural fertility, low organic matter, and drought hazard characteristics of Hastings soils. To conserve, preserve and reduce maintenance and costs, careful consideration must be given to planting native species and the maintenance of indigenous planting materials.” Added the following to page 4-11: To conserve, preserve and reduce maintenance and costs, careful consideration must be given to planting native species and the maintenance of indigenous planting materials. • Discuss current issue of threat to ash trees in the Vegetation section, due to infestation of Emerald Ash Borer. Added the following to page 4-11: The county has a large amount of Ash trees and the existing threat of invasive Emerald Ash Borer is a concern. This is a threat to the area and those trees and can be costly to the city budget to treat and remove trees dead trees. • Create a composite natural resource map (see section above) or add information to the draft maps with labels on key resources such as the Vermillion River and tributaries on the maps, protected lands such as the Scientific and Natural Areas and Aquatic Management areas. Added to 4-11: For additional natural resources, maps and information please see Chapter 10: Parks, Trails and Open Space and Chapter 11: Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area. We have much of this information in maps already that were provided by the MetCouncil or Dakota County Online Mapping. If you would like us to make this map please let me know. Development / Transportation Policies to Protect Wildlife. Consider adding policies that take wildlife into consideration as transportation and redevelopment projects occur, especially when crossing or adjacent to Vermillion River or other natural resource areas. To enhance the health and diversity of wildlife populations, encourage developers of private and public lands to retain natural areas or restore them with native species after construction. As noted in your “Enhancing Wildlife Habitat” discussion, one larger area is better than several small “islands” or patches; and connectivity of habitat is important. Animals such as frogs and turtles need to travel between wetlands and uplands throughout their life cycle. Consult DNR’s Best Practices for protection of species and Roadways and Turtles Flyer for self- mitigating measures to incorporate into design and construction plans. Examples of more specific measures include: • Preventing entrapment and death of small animals especially reptiles and amphibians, by specifying biodegradable erosion control netting (‘bio-netting’ or ‘natural netting’ types (category 3N or 4N)), and specifically not allow plastic mesh netting. (p. 25) Update Hastings Comprehensive Plan April 1, 2019 Page 5 of 12 • Providing wider culverts or other passageways under paths, driveways and roads while still considering impacts to the floodplain. • Including a passage bench under bridge water crossings. (p. 17) because typical bridge riprap can be a barrier to animal movement along streambanks. • Curb and storm water inlet designs that don’t inadvertently direct small mammals and reptiles into the storm sewer. (p. 24). Installing “surmountable curbs” (Type D or S curbs) allows animals (e.g., turtles) to climb over and exit roadways. Traditional curbs/gutters tend to trap animals on the roadway. Another option is to install/create curb breaks every, say, 100 feet (especially important near wetlands). • Using smart salting practices to reduce impacts to downstream mussel beds, as well as other aquatic species. • Fencing could be installed near wetlands to help keep turtles off the road (fences that have a j- hook at each end are more effective than those that don’t). Added a the following text on page 4-23 to encourage the City to continue practices or adopt policies: The city should consider adding policies that take wildlife into consideration as transportation and development projects occur. Especially when the projects are in proximity to the Vermillion River and other natural resource areas. This will help enhance the health and diversity of wildlife populations, encourage developers of private and public lands to retain natural areas or restore them with native species after construction. Specific policies and more information are provided in the DNR’s Best Practices for Protection of Species document available on their website. Policies that encourage private and public developments to be planted with native flowers, grasses, shrubs and tree species should be explored. Adding these policies could increase the amount of pollinators and wildlife populations as well as help filter and store storm water. Suggestions for Incorporation - Requiring biodegradable erosion control netting - Providing wider culverts around th floodplain - Including passage benches under bridges - Installing surmountable curbs - Adding small natural play areas to parks - Adding native plantings along play fields - Using smart salting practices - Install wetlands fencing - Additional street tree plantings - Additional planting along waterways - City gateway feature with native plantings Community Forestry. The value trees and need for their protection is discussed in various places in the plan. The loss of tree canopy due to threats such as emerald ash borer and oak wilt has negative impacts on the health and environment of many Minnesota cities, and a planned community forest can provide numerous community benefits. The first step to achieving a resilient community forest is conducting a tree inventory. The second step is developing a community forestry management plan that includes strategies for managing trees, especially ash, and encouraging a diverse tree canopy on private and public lands. It would be worth mentioning in the narrative of the comprehensive plan if Hastings has Update Hastings Comprehensive Plan April 1, 2019 Page 6 of 12 developed a plan for the city’s forestry needs as part of an overall strategy to meet its environmental goals and policies. I don’t know if Hastings has a City Forestry policy; if so we can add it to page 4-23 or 4-24. Native Species. We suggest you include policies that encourage private and public developments to be planted with native flowers, grasses, shrubs and tree species. Species such as monarchs rely on these plants, and it does not take many plants to attract butterflies, other beneficial pollinators as well as migrating and resident birds. Adding more native plants into landscaping, not only enhances the health and diversity of pollinators and wildlife populations, these plants can also help filter and store storm water – other goals in your plan. For more information consult DNR’s pollinator page. Plant lists and suggestions for native plants can be incorporated into: o Proposed landscape guidelines for commercial and industrial areas o Street tree planting plans o City gateway feature o Along ponds and waterways. o Small nature play areas in children’s parks o Along the edges of ballfield complexes. Added text to 4-23, mentioned above. Tourism. Parks and recreation contribute to the local economy. It may be worth noting in the plan that the Great River Road, part of a ten-state network, runs through Hastings, as well as the Mississippi River Trail Mentioned in Chapter 10 MRCCA. • The previous comments do not assess whether the draft comprehensive plan complies with the MRCCA plan minimum requirements. If you are interested in a preliminary review of your MRCCA chapter for consistency with the MRCCA plan minimum requirements, please submit your draft plan to Matt Bauman via email at matthew.bauman@state.mn.us. • P. 4-48. The text in Objective 6, Policy 3 should reference the updated MRCCA Plan, rather than “Continue to follow the Hastings Mississippi River corridor Plan (adopted in 2001).” Changed to "Follow the updated Minnesota River Critical Corridor Act Plan and Chapter 11 of this Comprehensive Plan.” NPS COMMENTS Draft 2040 Hasting Comprehensive Plan 12/12/2018 Comment #1 PG. 11-3 - Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) informational paragraph Update Hastings Comprehensive Plan April 1, 2019 Page 7 of 12 • We appreciate the information provided about MNRRA. Many other plans did not include such information, so we provided the suggested language below. We have no issues with the language about MNRRA in your plan but are including this for reference. o In 1988, the U.S. Congress established the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA), a unit of the National Park System. The MNRRA shares the same boundary as the MRCCA, and the park’s Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP), signed by the Governor and Secretary of the Interior, incorporates by reference the MRCCA program for land use management. Rather than institute a separate layer of federal regulations, the MNRRA largely relies on the MRCCA to manage land use within the park. This reliance establishes a unique partnership and framework for land use management amongst the local, state and federal governments to protect the intrinsic resources of the Mississippi River Corridor. Reworked the 3rd paragraph on page 11-3 to state: The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) was established in 1988 by the United States Congress coincident with the boundaries of the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area and became part of the National Park System. The state Critical Area (MRCCA) program was incorporated into the MNRRA as part of the Comprehensive Management Plan for the river, signed by the Governor and Secretary of the Interior. Rather than institute a separate layer of federal regulations, the MNRRA largely relies on the MRCCA to manage land use, resource protection and open space within the park. Comment #2 PG. 11-4 – MNRRA Purpose • Again, we appreciate the language regarding MNRRA and our Comprehensive Management Plan. Our Comprehensive Management Plan identifies three specific reasons MNRRA was established. We think listing those three reasons would be more appropriate than the generalized statement included in the Plan currently. o “The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area was established by Congress to • (1) protect, preserve, and enhance the significant values of the Mississippi River corridor through the Twin Cities metropolitan area, • (2) encourage coordination of federal, state, and local programs, and • (3) provide a management framework to assist the state of Minnesota and units of local government in the development and implementation of integrated resource management programs and to ensure orderly public and private development in the area.”1 Rewrote paragraph 3 on page 11-4 to state: The Mississippi River and Recreation Area was established by Congress to: • Protect, preserve and enhance the significant values of the Mississippi River corridor through the Twin Cities metropolitan area • Encourage coordination of federal, state, and local programs • Provide a management framework to assist entities in the development and implementation of integrated resource management programs to ensure orderly public and private development. Update Hastings Comprehensive Plan April 1, 2019 Page 8 of 12 Comment #3 PG. 11-6 – River Corridor Districts • The plan says there are four districts when there are actually six. 1 Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, Comprehensive Management Plan, Summary, pg. 2, https://www.nps.gov/miss/learn/management/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=320239 5 Changed to: The Critical Areas Act established six general districts within the entire corridor. Comment #4 PG. 11-10 - Shore Impact Zones (SIZ) • The map depicting the SIZ is helpful, but some communities have expressed difficulty in effectively mapping the SIZ at a city-wide scale. We have suggested including the SIZ diagram that is in the MRCCA rules and we suggest including it in your plan also to accompany the map. 2 Added SIZ diagram to 11-10 Comment #5 PG. 13 – Bluffs and Bluff Impact Zones (BIZ) • Similarly to the SIZ suggestion, we think including the diagram depicting the BIZ from the MRCCA rules may be a helpful addition to the Plan and would complement the BIZ map.3 Added BIZ diagram to 11-14 Comment #6 PG. 11-17 – Urban Diversified District • There are two references to the “Urban Diversified District.” That is a district from the old classifications and the reference should be corrected. PG. 11-21 • There is another reference to the “Urban Diversified District” that should be corrected. PG. 11-36 • There is another reference to the “Urban Diversified District” that should be corrected. PG. 11-43 • There is another reference to the “Urban Diversified District” that should be corrected. PG. 11-49 through 11-52 • There are multiple references to the “Urban Diversified District” that should be corrected. Changed all these references to Urban Mixed District which is the updated terminology for the classification. Comment #7 PG. 11-42 – Mississippi River Bridge (TH 61) • The Plan discusses anticipation of a new bridge in 2010. The new bridge is completed. This chapter could be updated to describe the bridge. Updated to read: Update Hastings Comprehensive Plan April 1, 2019 Page 9 of 12 Mn/DOT constructed a new Mississippi River Bridge in 2013. The design of the new bridge follows the aesthetics of the river and the historic downtown. The reconstruction and widening (to four lanes) of the bridge affected Veterans Memorial Levee Park, the Riverfront trail, local access, abutting properties and views of the river. Some more issues that were addressed included access from the bridge to downtown and Second Street, traffic and noise impacts, right of way impacts, pedestrian/bicycle access, use of space under the bridge and views from the bridge. In addition, the old bridge was an important visual symbol of the cultural heritage of Hastings downtown setting. The historic spiral bridge is continually memorialized in displays, artwork and graphics as an important symbol of Hastings past. The graceful appearance and structural design of the new bridge shape the future of Hastings and help bring the city forward. The four lanes of traffic help with congestion issues, and make it easier for visitor to experience downtown. Dakota County CHAPTER 5, TRANSPORTATION The City of Hastings 2040 Transportation Chapter appears to be consistent with Dakota County's plans including the 2030 Dakota County Transportation Plan (adopted in 2012) and the Transportation chapter of the Draft Dakota County 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Note that Dakota County intends to update its full Transportation Plan in 2019 to reflect local Comprehensive Plan updates and any studies, analysis and policy updates that have occurred since 2012. Dakota County staff has the following comments on Hastings 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update: Functional Classification System The functional classification shown by Hastings is consistent with what is shown by the Dakota County and the Metropolitan Council's Functional Classification maps. Travel Demand Forecast After consultation with Metropolitan Council staff, Dakota County used its original 2030 travel demand model projections, with updated existing volumes and appropriate adjustments, as the 2040 travel demand projection for the Dakota County Comprehensive Plan. Dakota County will update the 2030 travel demand model to reflect forecast 2040 population as part of its full Transportation Plan Update after the cities complete their respective comprehensive plan updates. This allows the County model to reflect the 2040 demographic projections currently being established by each community and is consistent with the process used for the last County comprehensive plan update. Dakota County will use the Hastings 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update and travel demand modelling information as a basis for our future travel demand model update. When comparing the County's 2030 travel forecast with the City's 2040 travel forecast several slight differences are identified. New Development and Re-development Impacts to County Systems/ Future Studies The County will continue to monitor and work with the City in addressing the transportation needs of new development and re-development in Hastings. Update Hastings Comprehensive Plan April 1, 2019 Page 10 of 12 The County and City have discussed future re-development of the northwest corner of the CSAH 46/47 and TH 61 intersection. We encourage the City to consider a long-term access plan for the entire block bordered by TH 61 on the east, CSAH 47 on the south, Eddy Street on the west and 19th Street West on the north. The access plan could address the future access needs of redevelopment on the entire block, including ways for commercial properties to connect with each other to support multi-use trips and connections to streets that support safe access to CSAH 46/47. We would be happy to work with the City to develop this access plan in 2019, or, if there is time before redevelopment is expected to occur, we could include this in the planned study of CSAH 46/47 in 2020. Consistency with County Strategies and Policies The City's policies appear to be consistent with the County's policies. The City's plan includes recommendations from the Hastings Area Roadway System Study and appropriately identifies future alignments in the northern, eastern and southern locations of the city as identified by the study. Transit On page 5-9, Transit Market Areas - Please consider adding the Metropolitan Council's description of a freestanding town center and what that suggests for potential transit service. Revised to read: The City of Hastings is outside the Metropolitan Council’s Transit Taxing District. Hastings is a Freestanding Town Center in Market Area III and is in the area of potential of transit service expansion. Transit Market Area III has moderate density but tends to have a less traditional street grid that can limit the effectiveness of transit. It is typically urban with large portions of Suburban and Suburban Edge communities. Transit service in this area is primarily commuter express bus service with some fixed-route local service providing basic coverage. General public dial-a-ride services are available where fixed-route service is not viable. Freestanding Town Centers are areas that historically grew independently of Minneapolis and St. Paul and are still separated from the urban and suburban areas of the metro by rural land. Because of their concentrated downtowns laid out in a traditional urban form, these areas have a Transit Market Index value that would indicate Market Area III or higher. However, their relatively small population and land area, as well as their distance from other transit-supportive land uses, limits the potential for local fixed-route transit. On page 5-10, Transit Services - Please consider clarifying that the LOOP is a service provided by DARTS. Revised to read: Update Hastings Comprehensive Plan April 1, 2019 Page 11 of 12 There is no daily regular route transit service in the City today. The LOOP, a service provided by DARTS, provides circulator bus service on a fixed route around the city with scheduled stops and the flexibility to request a stop nearby. This service operates every Tuesday from 9am to 2pm. On page 5-11- Please consider providing a reference to the Red Rock Corridor Implementation Plan. Revised to read: The need for better public transit within Hastings with connections to the metro was a concern brought up many times during the 2040 comprehensive planning process. Development of Red Rock Corridor bus rapid transit is underway and recently an implementation plan was approved by the Red Rock Corridor Commission. The Red Rock Corridor Implementation Plan describes a proposed 20-mile transit-way, connecting the Twin Cities’ southeastern suburbs to St. Paul and Minneapolis. The transit-way will originate in Hastings and stop in Cottage Grove, Newport and St. Paul’s Battle Creek neighborhood before connecting to the St. Paul Union Depot. Before an investment can be made in bus rapid transit, potential ridership numbers must increase, especially within Hastings. Bicycle and Pedestrian Elements Text on page 5-13 refers to an Existing and Planned Trails and Sidewalks Map, although on the map on page 5-14 it is unclear if the map shows the planned system. If there is a better map or additional map that the City has that we can use we can add or replace the map on page 5-14. CHAPTER 10: PARKS AND TRAILS The City's plan correctly identifies regional greenways along the Mississippi River and the Vermillion rivers. The City of Hastings and Dakota County have worked together on these corridors and we look forward to continuing to work with the City to complete the trails, trailheads, natural resource restoration, and cultural interpretation for these facilities. CHAPTER 14: SURFACE WATER SECTION In 2011, Dakota County conducted a County-wide floodplain restudy including the City of Hastings. Please consider referencing the restudy on page 5-13, Section 5.6.2, paragraph 1, along with a statement indicating that the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) went into effect on December 2, 2011. This Chapter was authored by BARR, please forward comments to them for review. Update Hastings Comprehensive Plan April 1, 2019 Page 12 of 12 Under the discussion of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) on page 4-14, please consider providing a link to Dakota County's AIS page and note that Dakota County provides aid to local government units and lake associations within the County to prevent the spread of AIS. This Chapter was authored by BARR, please forward comments to them for review.