Bemidji is Getting Active!

The Headwaters RDC partnered with Beltrami Wellness Education for Long Life (B-WELL) to complete an active living plan to develop a comprehensive approach to incorporating physical activity into the daily lives of residents of the Bemidji Area.

Partnerships were critical to the development of this plan.  Key partners included BWELL, Bemidji State University, the City of Bemidji, the Greater Bemidji Area Joint Planning Board (JPB), ISD 31 Community Education and MeritCare.

Active living is more about building communities where people are intrinsically more active than it is about building recreational trails for bicyclists that want to go 20 miles before breakfast.  Avid cyclists and runners will be active and find opportunities, while less active individuals need facilities that are convenient, close, desirable and accessible.

Active Living Themes

• Improvements to the community need to be long term solutions – not just a band-aid approach.
• There is a large need for safe and convenient connections between destinations.
• There is a need for an active living component of a future comprehensive plan for the Greater Bemidji Area Joint Planning Board.
• There is a great opportunity to pursue trail connections via Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to school funding.
• There is an opportunity to examine and improve land management tools that either inhibit or promote active living in the Greater Bemidji Area.
• There are several options for low cost improvement within the right-of-way on existing roads.
• The City of Bemidji would benefit from maintaining a commitment to implement high priorities in existing planning documents.

Vision
Through deliberate, collective action, Bemidji will be a place:

• where there exists a mutual respect between all modes of transportation
• that has been recognized nationally as a safe and healthy place to live
• that is as accessible for bicyclists and pedestrians as it is for motor vehicles
• where physical activity is safe, easy, accessible, and a common occurrence for residents
• that has strong connections – allowing people to comfortably navigate to and from high quality destinations
• where children can safely walk to school

Implementation
This Active Living project is supported by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) as part of Prevention Minnesota.  Prevention Minnesota is Blue Cross’ long-term health improvement initiative funded by tobacco settlement dollars to tackle the root causes of preventable heart disease and cancer.

Implementation will begin in early August.  The funding from Blue Cross will position the Bemidji Area to truly become an active living-friendly community.  Key projects include the development of a comprehensive plan for the JPB and securing funding for pedestrian and bicycle facilities, including Safe Routes to School and Transportation Enhancements.  An educational component, with programs and promotions, will also be a critical component of implementation.

If you have any questions about active living in the Bemidji Area, please contact Matthew Dyrdahl.

What is Mahnomen going to look like in 20 years?  Is the industrial park thriving?  Do people have living wage jobs?  Do residents have affordable and quality housing?  Is there enough sewer and water capacity to serve existing and future development?  Are there enough parks for our kids?

The Headwaters RDC recently helped the City of Mahnomen articulate the answer to those questions by creating a comprehensive plan.  The comprehensive plan addressed housing, economic development, land use, and public facilities/infrastructure.  It combines the typical approach to a comprehensive plan by providing a long-term vision, but also includes a strategic component to assist the City with short-term action steps to help gain traction over the next five years.

The following is a summary of the major themes from the plan:

• The next twenty years will see less young families with children and more retired home owners
• There is a need for a variety of housing options for an aging population
• There is a need for affordable multi-family housing
• Mahnomen needs to position itself to compete in a knowledge and skills economy
• There is a large opportunity to integrate the Shooting Star Casino into the community while redeveloping downtown
• The White Earth Tribal and Community College is a great asset to the community
• There is a need to target specific areas for multi-family development to meet the demands of an aging population
• There are opportunities to improve parks and trails

The City of Mahnomen is eager to begin implementing strategies outlined in the plan.  Potential next steps include a strategic planning process to identify needs and opportunities for a parks and trails system and recodifying existing ordinances to reflect the policy direction of the comprehensive plan.

If you have any questions about the Mahnomen Comprehensive Plan, please contact Matthew Dyrdahl.

Lake of the Woods County is known as the “Walleye Capital of the World”, due to the high quality of walleye fishing on Lake of the Woods.  The County is also a resort community and has many popular tourist activities, including fishing, hunting and other forms of recreation.  The amazing natural resources and tourism attractions are drawing people to the County.  Lake of the Woods County has seen an increase in development along TH 172 (Growth Corridor) and nearby shoreland areas, from the City of Baudette to Wheeler’s Point.

Lake of the Woods County has taken steps to effectively manage growth in the County by developing a Land Use Addendum, which focused on the future desired condition of the Growth Corridor and by revising and improving land management tools.

The Growth Corridor is a 12 mile stretch of highway between Baudette and Wheeler’s Point Resort.  The corridor begins at Trunk Highway 172 at the intersection of Highway 11 and follows Highway 172 north to Wheeler’s Point.

Vision
The Lake of the Woods high Growth Corridor will offer an exceptional quality of life to existing residents, future residents, and tourists interested in taking advantage of the unique natural resources and opportunities in the County.

Objective and Policies

• Encourage growth in highly desirable areas while discouraging haphazard, random development patterns
• Clarify and improve implementation of land management tools
• Protect housing from incompatible uses
• Target specific areas for commercial development
• Support uses that target tourist oriented development (including gift shops, resorts, recreational vehicle use, etc.)

Land Management Tools
A second component included a revision of the existing Lake of the Woods Zoning Ordinance.  A key part of this process integrated two separate ordinances (the LOW County Subdivision Ordinance and the Rainy/Rapid Rivers Shoreland Management Ordinance) into the existing Zoning Ordinance.  The purpose of this effort was to provide a greater degree of clarity for county staff and officials, residents and developers.  In addition to consolidation, revisions were made to the subdivision language in order to meet the County’s policy objectives as well as State Statute.  A key feature of the new language is the addition of an “Administrative Subdivision”, which is intended to simplify the subdivision process by avoiding formal platting.

For more information about growth management efforts in Lake of the Woods County, please contact Matthew Dyrdahl.