Title
RESOLUTION GRANTING APPROVAL OF THE LAKE SUPERIOR ZOO/FAIRMOUNT PARK CONCEPT PLAN.
Body
CITY PROPOSAL:
RESOLVED, the city council hereby approves the Lake Superior Zoo/Fairmount Park Concept Plan and authorizes implementation of the plan as funding becomes available.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: This resolution approves the Lake Superior Zoo/Fairmount Park concept plan (attached as Exhibit A) and authorizes implementation of the plan as funding becomes available. The planning process began in 2014 and has included two City/Zoological Society/Parks Commission planning committees that have met 11 times over two years, four Council Committee of the Whole presentations, and four Parks Commission hearings with associated written input opportunities.
In the most recent round of planning, public open house meetings have been held on January 19, February 10, and February 22, 2016. The City solicited written public comment during and after each open house via forms distributed at the meetings and digital forms available on the City’s website. Draft plans were available on the City’s website throughout the process. The plan was revised on the basis of comments from the Zoological Society, stakeholders, and the public at large. The Parks Commission voted unanimously in support of the final draft plan at their March 9, 2016, meeting.
The concept plan will be further developed this spring, with additional input from the public, via the Fairmount Park mini-master plan process, the Zoological Society’s Lake Superior Zoo master plan process, and the design processes for the Bear Country and Forest Discovery Zone areas of the zoo.