The screenshot is from City of Oak Grove's web homepage, here, and they have a FAQ page, here.
Click the image to be sure you read and fully understand the statement Mayor Jim Iund signs, with Oak Grove giving that statement the featured position on its website.
I'd bet they are a bit uncomfortable calling themselves a "city" since they want to be something less than anyone's megopolis, and it would not surprise me that most there feel "town" a more appropriate term, but they are a "statutory city" under Minnesota law, hence they adopt the wording.
Furthermore --- Just look at that screenshot. They've got this great, decent, modest, unpretentious, decently-scaled city hall. Wow.
They have a mayor who emphasizes the importance of "the reasons we moved here."
Now, they do lack a failed Town Center, (they have not kept up with the neighboring Jones that way), but that's okay. They're okay. They are friendly in saying things up front on the opening webpage, nonconfrontational. However, they clearly emphasize in those few sentences, they have rights.
They in Oak Grove even are unpretentious enough to have only a five member mayor-council operation, without wards, all elected at large. Not so pretentious that they feel they have to have a cute badging insignia for their community, cattails, whatever. A national flag is their choice. Symbol enough, for them.
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OAK GROVE SAID NO. They even are politely nonconfrontational in saying "No" with BIG SUMO [aka Metropolitan Council]. That's hard, since BIG SUMO seems to want either obsequious compliance to its will or to "Lake Elmo" you, [see photo, BIG SUMO Lake Elmoing a victim community]. The BIG SUMO offers token community baksheesh ["grants" they call it] in exchange for a community's administration and council selling out. Selling the existing residents down the river, the river of "inevitable" growth, BIG SUMO's way. There being no other way.OAK GROVE SAID NO. It is about a concern years into the future, but it is a statement of traditional value that Oak Grove's neighboring Jones don't seem to share. It is also a concern about how things can be flim-flammed around, when a community thought it had a deal.
OAK GROVE SAID NO. ABC Newspapers, except for the "fails" instead of "declines" miswording of the headline, laudably reports:
Oak Grove fails to approve 2030 comprehensive plan
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 - by Kelly Johnson - Staff writer
Oak Grove remains without an approved 2030 comprehensive plan.
The city council July 13 voted down a motion to formally adopt the 2030 comprehensive plan.
Mayor Jim Iund and Councilmember Mike Wylie voted in favor, while Councilmembers Kristen Anderson, Mark Korin and Scott Lawrence voted against.
The main sticking point in the decision was an area of land outlined in the comprehensive plan for municipal sewer and water sometime after 2030.
Oak Grove is designated as a diversified rural community in the Metropolitan Council’s regional blueprint.
Communities with a diversified rural designation are required by the Met Council to accommodate for future growth goals by preserving areas for urban development sometime after 2030.
“The Met Council has the ability to say you’re going to be diversified rural,” said Al Brixius of Northwest Associated Consultants, Inc., which helped with the city’s comprehensive plan update.
Under state statutes, all communities within the seven-county metro area are required to update their comprehensive plan every 10 years and that plan must conform to the regional development framework.
Updating Oak Grove’s 1998 comprehensive plan began in fall 2006, when the city contracted with Northwest Associated Consultants, Inc., to help prepare the update.
During that time, a planning inventory was done and one-on-one interviews were conducted.
The end result was a set of goals and priorities for planning the city’s future.
These goals included securing a commuter rail stop on the Burlington- Northern Santa Fe Railroad in the Cedar neighborhood as part of the proposed Cambridge Corridor.
A second goal was to pursue a 2.5-acre residential density throughout the entire city to preserve the existing rural character (identified as a third goal).
The fourth goal was to expand the city’s commercial land use options to provide a greater variety of retail and service businesses to residents.
The fifth goal identified was to conserve the city’s natural resources.
The final goal was to provide industrial opportunities to expand the non-residential tax base and provide local employment opportunities.
Met Council staff members indicated the city’s second goal of having a 2.5-acre residential density throughout the city, was in conflict with the city’s diversified rural designation.
While it was in conflict, the Met Council said it was willing to work out a compromise that would benefit both the city and the region.
How generous. How expansively special, and gratuitous BIG SUMO can appear; in mongoosing a cobra. It's not a quick kill, it's an almost ritualized dance, but in the end the mongoose eats what it's after. And there is always the MUSA curse of the BIG SUMO [Met Council is in the business of selling flushes, it is how the bonding debt service income is generated, it is expansionary for more flushes equals more cash in the accounts, more cronies on the payroll, planners, planners, more planners, all a big bureau at its worse can represent]. The MUSA curse of the BIG SUMO is the absolute worse thing to be feared, by a community, for, continuing an analogy, it spells the end of the cobra's beauty, uniqueness, and autonomy, so the mongoose can eat; ABC reporting continuing:
That discussion included that a change to a rural residential planning designation, allowing 2.5-acre density, would be allowed if a portion of the city was reserved for future regional sewer and urban development.
What resulted was the establishment of a 2030 Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA) of 2,680 acres with a net buildable acreage of just more than 1,000 acres (or 11.8 percent of the city). The rest of the city (88.2 percent) will be designated rural residential, with 2.5 acre lots, under the proposed comprehensive plan.
“Getting the rural residential wherever we can will give us a bit of protection,” Brixius told the council.
According to Brixius, the Met Council had planned for additional areas to be included in the MUSA, but a lower amount was negotiated.
“I want to make sure that you understand that under diversified rural, these areas remain open for urban development,” Brixius said.
Properties inside the proposed MUSA area are designated as agriculture in the city’s 1998 comprehensive plan and have never been eligible for 2.5-acre lot subdivision, according to a memo provided by Brixius.
Under the proposed comprehensive plan, properties located within the 2030 MUSA could develop in 10-acre lots, a one in 10 cluster development or in a post-2030 urban development.
These development options are the same as those that property owners have with the current diversified rural designation.
“The development rights are the same,” Brixius said.
“This is an opportunity, I think, for the city to preserve everything.”
See, it could have been worse. BIG SUMO is not that bad, even reasonable. Sure. This Al Brixius is a consultant. Selling the service of writing comprehensive plans. What you have to understand, they work for BIG SUMO, not a community, despite gaining contracts with communities, Brixius, as Phil Carlson in Ramsey's case, the cousultants have ongoing business with Met Council, their repeat customer to be kept happy, whereas each city contract is a one-shot affair. Often cities switch consultants, out of dissatisfaction over how "the last one" worked out in dealings via the consultant with BIG SUMO. The report continues with a counterthought to that of consultant Brixius having, in effect, said, as all the consultants will say, "At least we got something, SUMO's table scraps, and that in a way is very significant:"
“It’s hard to have a discussion or debate when we have mandates from the Met Council,” [city council member Mark] Korin said.
The Met Council does what it wants to do, where it wants to do it, when it wants to do it, Anderson said.
Uh, that sounds like the 800 pound gorilla, the bear in the woods, doesn't it.
But it's a fair characterization of exactly who BIG SUMO really is. The report continues, describing how BIG SUMO likes and values community cooperation:
“We have our hands tied behind our back and we’re supposed to roll over,” [city council member Kristin] Anderson said.
She said she is concerned the Met Council won’t stop with the MUSA area designated in the 2030 comprehensive plan.
“I personally don’t believe it will stop there,” Anderson said.
And it is wise to have that view. Read the online ABC report for the remainder of the story, it is worth the time.
That worry about BIG SUMO incrementally changing the rules to be less and less favorable to the community's autonomy, never the other way, was characterized by one former Ramsey council member as, "Dealing with Met Council is like arm-wrestling with a ratchet." Indeed, there is only to be give one way, BIG SUMO likes it and calls it adaptability - a one way street in BIG SUMO land, not give and take, take and take (except for the actually unhelpful baksheesh "grants" handed out now and then).
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LESSONS LEARNED: If there are any Elk River or other Sherburne County people reading this - fight like hell and never give in to the "Metropolitan Area" being expanded to snooker you into the grasps of BIG SUMO.
There should be total community awareness, and a compelling will to push AS HARD AS YOU CAN AS LONG AS YOU MUST on the hilltop in St. Paul against any effort by BIG SUMO or others to convince the legislature to expand "metro" boundaries to disadvantage your town and county.
Who in the world would ever want a place like Elk River to get Lake Elmoed? Who, besides BIG SUMO and the Crabgrass contingent, BIG DEVELOPMENT, as BIG SUMO's hangers-on, if not true bosses, as appears to be more the case.
For the current times while the development market remains in the doldrums the threat appears less. Do not be deceived. It is only an appearance.
Legend has it Crabgrass can lie dormant for years, and take off rampantly all over everywhere at the first whif of change - of black ink instead of red.