Transit-Oriented Development in Minnetonka

Report, presentation, and poster completed by students enrolled in PA 8081: Land Use and Transportation Capstone Workshop, taught by Mike Greco in spring 2013.This project was completed as part of the 2012-2013 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Minnetonka. The Southwest Light-Rail Transit extension is planned to run through Minnetonka. With station-area planning already starting for the new stations, the City of Minnetonka wanted additional tools, strategies, and case studies from transit-oriented development (TOD) in suburban communities around the country. Minnetonka project lead and city planner Loren Gordon worked with students in PA 8081: Land Use and Transportation Planning Capstone, to create a development toolkit and recommendations for TOD around the three stations planned for Minnetonka. Based on a series of detailed case studies, the students recommended that Minnetonka establish a clear vision for the city’s station areas, use an appropriate zoning framework to achieve the vision, and identify and develop key public-private partnership opportunities. The students' final report, presentation, and poster are available.This project was supported by the Resilient Communities Project (RCP), a program at the University of Minnesota whose mission is to connect communities in Minnesota with U of MN faculty and students to advance local sustainability and resilience through collaborative, course-based projects. RCP is a program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). More information at http://www.rcp.umn.edu