INTELLIGENT GROWTH:

REGIONAL PLANNING

FOR THE LAKES AREA

Coordination and Collaboration

Crow Wing and southern Cass County

Presented by the Regional Business Council of the
Brainerd Lakes Area Chambers of Commerce

May 2006

FOREWARD

The Brainerd Lakes Area Chambers of Commerce is a non-profit business organization serving over 1,200 members in the Brainerd Lakes Area. BLACC’s mission is to serve its members by building a healthy and successful business community in the lakes area through active destination marketing, advocating business interests, and coordinating member-focused marketing programs and educational opportunities. The Chamber recognizes that the business community succeeds when all systems of the community are healthy, and is actively engaged in issues such as workforce development, regional planning, transportation, zoning, infrastructure development, etc.

BACKGROUND

The Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce Regional Business Council is a diverse group of business and government leaders focusing on regional issues that impact the health of the business community. In the spring of 2005, the Council completed a broad-based transportation survey of public and private organizations, from Staples to Aitkin and from Hackensack to Little Falls. The survey stems from one of the Regional Business Council’s goals…“To encourage and support the development of a multi-model regional transportation plan.”

The survey isn’t intended to be comprehensive. However, when it is combined with other data as included in this summary, it provides a timely and meaningful snapshot of the current “State of the State” for the Brainerd Lakes Area’s infrastructure needs.

During this same time, the cities of Brainerd and Baxter were planning for an expansion of their shared wastewater treatment plant, and the Chamber’s Brainerd/Baxter Business Council along with the Brainerd Lakes Area Development Corporation (BLADC) Board of Directors were actively engaged in encouraging cooperation between the two cities. BLADC developed an opinion paper that advocated for a coordinated effort to manage the evolution of infrastructure in the region.

The Chamber’s role in advocating for managed growth in the lakes area dates back to 1997 when their Business and Environment Committee developed recommendations for Crow Wing County. The recommendations stated that “continued growth will cause increased pressure on our area lakes and other natural resources. Proper management of growth is essential to the future economic viability of our business community and continued quality of life – both of which are dependent on a clean and high quality environment.”

Because of the close working relationship of the Chamber and BLADC organizations, the Chamber’s Business Council incorporated portions of the BLADC opinion paper into this document in support of regional planning for infrastructure to maintain the quality of life in the Lakes Area.

WHY DO WE NEED LONG-RANGE PLANNING?

POPULATION PROJECTIONS AND GROWTH

1990 and 2000 Population Counts
Geographic Area	1990 Population Count	2000 Population Count	Percent of Change (1990 to 2000)	Population Change (1990 to 2000)
Cass	21,791	27,150	24.6%	5,359
Crow Wing	44,249	55,099	24.5%	10,850
Lakes Area	66,040	82,249	24.5%	16,209
Minnesota	4,375,099	4,919,479	12.4%	544,380
Source: 1990 and 2000 US Census.

The region grew by almost 25% from 1990 to 2000. The counties experienced two times the population growth of other Minnesota counties, growing from 66,040 to 82,249 people between 1990 and 2000.

2000 and 2030 (Projection) Population Counts
Geographic Area	2000 Population Count	2030 Population Projection	Percent of Change (2000 to 2030)	Population Change (2000 to 2030)
Cass	27,150	45,300	66.9%	18,150
Crow Wing	55,099	90,250	63.8%	35,151
Lakes Area	82,249	135,550	64.8%	53,301
Minnesota	4,919,479	6,268,400	27.4%	1,348,921
Source: 2000 US Census. State Demographer.

According to the US Census, the greater Lakes Area’s projected population by 2030 will be more than 60% higher than the population in the year 2000.

This is an increase of over 50,000 people – almost equivalent to adding another Crow Wing County within the same geographic region.

The area has also been recognized as a “micropolitan” – a new word coined by the Census Bureau that recognizes the 100 fastest growing non-metro communities in the United States.

NATURAL AND MAN-MADE ATTRIBUTES IMPACT INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS

Lakes and Wetland Statistics by County
Geographic Area	Water & Wetlands
Cass	40%
Crow Wing	29%
Source: County Land Departments

Much of the anticipated population growth is within a lakes and woods environment. The natural attributes of the area reduce infrastructure opportunities through natural barriers such as lakes or wetlands. In both counties, water, wetlands, and public lands comprise a large percentage of the available land mass.

Man-made impediments include the railroad corridor, future development, existing urban roadways, and developed communities.

HOUSEHOLDS ARE INCREASING
FASTER THAN POPULATION

1990, 2000 and 2030 (Projected) Number of Households
Geographic Area	1990 Number of Households	2000 Number of Households	2030 Projected Number of Households	Percent of Change (1990 to 2000)	Percent of Change (2000 to 2030)
Cass	8,302	10,893	20,080	31.21%	84.34%
Crow Wing	17,204	22,250	39,400	29.33%	77.08%
Lakes Area	25,506	33,143	59,480	29.9%	79.4%
Minnesota	1,647,853	1,895,127	2,652,600	15.00%	40.00%

During the 1990s, the number of households in the counties grew by almost 30%. By 2030, the number of households is projected to swell almost 80%.

Area-wide households will grow roughly 25% faster than the population, resulting in almost 30,000 more households creating greater demand on the region’s transportation system, land use, power, telephone, gas, wastewater, and water, than if population and households were growing at the same rate.

The population in the region is already older than the state wide average, and this trend will continue as retired individuals with no children at home relocate.

The household size is shrinking from 2.7 persons to 2.4 persons – placing more demands on all infrastructures in the region.

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING IS IMPORTANT
TO THE AREA

The Chamber’s transportation survey respondents emphasized the greatest need for transportation improvements was in the urban areas. Because of this, the committee is focusing on the need for transportation planning for the areas with the greatest population growth within Region 5 - Cass and Crow Wing County.

The most pressing transportation needs included Highway 371 expansion, public and mass transportation, expansion of Highway 210 west, decreased congestion in urban areas, and trails near neighborhoods.

In addition, the respondents identified opportunities to improve transportation planning with better collaboration and planning between governmental units by utilizing population and growth projections effectively.

See the detailed summary in Exhibit 1, page 10.

THE EXISTING ROAD SYSTEM WILL NOT MEET SERVICE REQUIREMENTS IN 25 YEARS

Based on MN/DOTs transportation study, the existing road transportation system will not meet the Level of Service requirements in 2030, particularly in the urban areas, using existing resources. When traffic increases on the rural highway system, local roadways experience similar or greater increases where people live and work.

For further details on system service requirements reference: Minnesota Department of Transportation District 3, 2008 – 2030 Long-Range Transportation Plan.

COMMUTERS ARE VEHICLE-DEPENDENT

According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation District 3 2008 – 2030
Long-Range Transportation Plan (2030 Plan), a trend exists that demonstrates more vehicle-dependent commuters, as seen with more commuters choosing to drive alone to work. (The Mn/DOT District encompasses the counties of Benton, Cass, Crow Wing, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, Wadena and Wright.)