---

A deserving couple was greeted by applause as the Taylors Falls City Council gathered Monday night for its regular meeting. Receiving the honors were Andy and Geri Swenson, chosen by the Mayor and Council to receive the 2007 St. Croix River Valley Stewardship Award.

Since 2001 the award has been given to someone who has contributed most to the quality of life in Taylors Falls. Andy and Geri (often seen riding to the task aboard a golf cart) were recognized for continuing efforts to maintain both the North and South Lions Parks. In fact, the local Lions Club recently dedicated the North Park in the Swensons name.

"A lot of people believe the Lions Park would not be in existence if it were not for these people," Mayor Mike Buchite said as he presented the certificate. Their names will be added to a permanent plaque hanging in City Hall.

Following the award ceremony, council opened two public hearings as part of the process toward accepting new Development Standards for a Comprehensive Plan for the city. Zoning Administrator Larry Phillips opened the hearing by giving a summary of actions since the committee began its work in 2006. The plan (a collection of zoning ordinances plus a zoning map) recognizes the cluster housing concept and attempts to divide the city into three general zones based on use. These include Small Town, River and Countryside zones. The latter is also further designated as either Residential Transition or Rural Countryside, depending upon their current status.

More than a dozen people attended the public hearings. Several spoke and questioned portions of the plan. It was likely difficult for those who were not intimately familiar with the plan to determine what specific suggestions for improvement were being made.

At the conclusion of the first of two hearings, Mayor Buchite assured the audience that he and several council members had been part of the planning process, understood what the complaints were, and would address these concerns at the Jan. 28 meeting. The city has declared a moratorium on new developments until the full Comprehensive Plan is approved.

The second public hearing was held immediately following the first. This was legally required to give the public an opportunity to address proposed zoning fees. There were no comments received either for or against. While preparation of the fee schedule obviously involved a lot of careful effort, lists of numbers without schedules from other cities for comparison provided little in the way of information and may possibly have been a cause for the lack of questions from the audience. A notable exception is the recommendation that park dedication fees are proposed to increase from charging developers $300 per lot to $1,450, and trail fees will increase from zero to $350 per new dwelling unit. It was explained that trail fees will go toward future trails and that a future trails map is part of the new package.

Developers may still exchange park and trail fees for donation to the city of land of equal value.

Meanwhile, Mayor Buchite and Council member Ross Rivard are continuing to negotiate with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) over the possibility of the state abandoning its downtown facility in favor of a new location next to City Hall. The city attorney is researching title ownership of the downtown lot and preparing a possible lease agreement to present to MnDOT. The new site would remove disruptive trucking activities as well as add a potential business location to the downtown area.

---