Looking out across the wide open landscape north and south of Fargo, it's easy to envision new housing developments with big yards and more than enough elbow room for everyone.
But if Fargo is to thrive in the next 50 years, it needs to become a more compact, sustainable city made up of "walkable" neighborhoods with a mix of housing styles.
That was the message Fargo planning commissioners heard Wednesday as they reviewed a long-awaited draft of the city's new long-range growth plan.
The 73-page plan - an update of the 2001 growth plan - is nearly finished, and city planners are seeking input from key stakeholders and the public before holding hearings on the plan, Senior Planner Jim Hinderaker said.
Wednesday's brown-bag session focused on the plan's main themes, some of which could be resisted by developers, he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
A key recommendation of the plan is to divide Fargo's growth areas into two tiers.
The first tier covers the area abutting existing city limits and would be the designated growth area for the next 20 to 25 years. Growth would be discouraged in the second tier until the first tier is filled out.
The idea is to avoid the "leapfrog development" of rural residential and commercial subdivisions that popped up around Fargo's outskirts in recent years.
"Growth that is too far out will not have good trails, parks, access to retail or many of the other quality of life amenities associated with a vibrant city," the plan states.
Instead, it recommends developing the city as1-square-mile neighborhoods - each anchored by a park or elementary school and connected by trails - with small commercial areas that can be reached by biking or walking.
Newly built areas also should be denser, the plan says. It recommends raising the average residential density to 12 people per developable acre, up from Fargo's existing density of about 10 people per developable acre.
In the first tier, the higher density would mean that 1,500 acres wouldn't need to be developed with water, sewer, roads and sidewalks, saving the city and residents money.
The plan also recommends mixing single-family developments with townhomes and apartments on the same blocks to encourage housing and economic diversity.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I think this is going to be a real point of contention with the development community," Hinderaker said.
Don Faulkner, whose consulting firm assisted in updating the plan, said the housing model mimics Fargo's older neighborhoods, such as Hawthorne and Roosevelt.
"It's the more recent developments that have gotten away from this," he said.
City planners hope to meet with developers next month and have a public meeting on the plan in late February, Hinderaker said. Public hearings are tentatively scheduled for March 14 before the Planning Commission and in April before the City Commission.
By then, Planning Commission Chairman John Q. Paulsen said the plan must be clear on whether it is proposing suggestions, ideas, recommendations or mandates.
"We've got to be straight with the public in terms of what we're going to be pushing for," he said.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Mike Nowatzki at (701) 241-5528
ADVERTISEMENT
