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Zisla asked if Morrish could cite specific examples. For instance how does planning for the arsenal impact an edge community such as Blaine, which is in the Coalition? Morrish replied he would give examples showing the complexity of the Corridor. New Brighton and Roseville are looking at maintenance and upgrade of buildings and some infill. If a city does not have a big tax base to generate the tax increment a city needs for this maintenance and upgrade, the city must get owners focused on the renovation. The available models are not suitable for New Brighton because these models are based on higher density urban development. If a major road, like Highway 96, was expanded to six lanes, many options for land use would be eliminated. The land use problems in Roseville and New Brighton can be lessons from which Blaine can learn. We can begin to utilize internal interconnections. Now, people have to go out on the highway to get to their neighbors. By working with interior arterials, we can begin to go neighbor to neighbor and eliminate some drive trips. Zisla asked if the Coalition was formed because it makes sense due to the economic development patterns. Is there something else beside being along I-35W that makes it a subregion? Morrish answered water could be a connection. I-35W was used as a basic building tool on which to base a subregion. One question is how do you urbanize your employment base and rethink land use. Land use in the gateway areas such as Highway 96 is an example. By reconstituting brown fields, you could make higher amenity sites and clean up groundwater at the same time. We have to make as many mosaics as possible to illustrate how people relate in the area. Benke stated that, at this point, we do not even know what all the questions are, much less the answers to those questions. This is an effort to put all our issues on the table and see what we can do together to make our long-term planning easier. Zisla said that obviously the Met Council level is unwieldy. Many people in the greater area do not know where the community boundaries are. What is the social circle that defines a community? We have to plan in a logical sense rather than in political boundaries, which may divide an area in the middle of a street. Baker stated a problem is this area is that many communities share the same school district. In larger cities like Bloomington or Burnsville, the school district and the city share the same boundaries. This allows for more cooperation. Benke said that might be a strength or a weakness. Since we already collaborate on school issues, cooperating with neighboring communities on other issues may be easier. It is interesting that Roseville may have a totally different community personality than Mounds View. Baker commented the City of Toronto incorporated all its suburbs into one metropolitan community. Morrish said Toronto did use subdistricts. Schiferl said the mayor’s comments on new concepts impressed him. Schiferl said old thinking limited present housing options. Benke commented age demographics could create the need for new housing options. Morrish said the desire for townhouses was growing rapidly. Benke said New Brighton’s strength was that people have a desire to stay here. Morrish asked the participants to send any further comments to the Center. Locke said more information on the Center’s work will be available as time goes on. Highway 8 Corridor Rezoning New Brighton Staff Update I:\COMMISSIONS\PLANNING\MINUTES\1998\02-17-98.WPD 5