Future Highway 5/212 Corridor Land Use Plan

Norwood Young America’s 2008 Comprehensive Plan included a 240-acre area designated as Future Study Area on the city’s future land use map. This area is located at the junction of Highway 212 and Highway 5, a major intersection in Western Carver County, and includes a large lake and other high-quality natural resources being considered for inclusion in the city’s Legacy Greenway Corridor. The area was designated as a Future Study Area both because the city lacked resources to plan for this area during its latest comprehensive plan update, and because MnDOT had proposed a major rerouting of Highway 5 in the next 20–30 years to improve safety and access, which would significantly impact this area. A graduate student in landscape architecture helped the city identify appropriate interim and long-term residential and commercial land uses for this area. The city used the information to complete a comprehensive plan amendment that incorporated mixed-use land use designations for the Future Study Area, and to inform a transportation study for the Highway 5 reroute. Other participants in the project included School District 108, MnDOT, MnDNR, and Carver County.