Arden Hills
The City of Arden Hills is located approximately eight miles north of the Minneapolis and Saint Paul downtowns. This mostly-developed suburb is home to ~10,000 people, encompasses 9.4 square miles and is a major employment center. The northern one-third of the city is occupied by the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP). The city is working with their master developer, CRR, LLC, and the HKGI to update the Framework Vision and Master Development Plan for 585 acres of excess property on the TCAAP site focused on creating a balanced environment for work, living, and recreation.
Arden Hills used the funds from the BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota Active Community Planning grant to incorporate active community planning principles into the city's comprehensive plan. The city has added a new Active Living chapter to their comprehensive plan. The central goal of this chapter is to remove obstacles to physical activity and increase opportunities for healthy living choices.
At their first community meeting for the comprehensive plan in August 2007, residents took a survey that included questions about mass transit, mixed use, and pedestrian and bicycle opportunities. Participants also played the Arden Hills Game that resembles a visual mini-SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. Participants at this meeting requested more trails, trail connections, green space and recreational opportunities.
In addition to the work completed using the Active Community Planning Grant, health and active living principles are becoming part of the city’s planning process. In a recent request for proposals for consultant services to prepare a small area plan for the B-2: General Business District, the city included a requirement that the study must identify opportunities to incorporate active living principles into the plan. This includes: pedestrian improvements to promote physical activity, enhancing air and water quality, and incorporating CPTED principles into the plan.
Final Plan: Coming soon.
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