Brainerd Lakes 2008 Relocation Guide - (Page 28) BUSINESS & ECONOMIC TRENDS Planning Ahead Intelligent growth means working together Population growth is on its way. In fact, it’s already started. Statistics show the Brainerd Lakes Area grew by almost 25 percent between 1990 and 2000, and is expected to increase by another 60 percent between 2000 and 2030. This presents the area with a unique set of benefits and challenges. The benefits include offering an enviable recreational lifestyle to the people who live, work, and visit here. The challenges then become clear: how to protect and maintain this quality of life as the population steadily increases. “There are problems and opportunities with the growth,” says Brent Gunsbury, of Bercher Design & Construction, chairman of the Brainerd Lakes Chamber’s Regional Business Council. “The opportunity is to think and act regionally. We’re working to bring together the private and public sectors to preserve our healthy lifestyle and natural amenities in a balanced and efficient manner.” Three years ago, council members, who initially focused solely on transportation issues, discovered a lack of region-wide planning. Seeing a need, and realizing that more than transportation was at stake, the council stepped forward, using the area’s newly defined micropolitan status as a starting point, and defining the region as everything within a 60-mile radius of the business hub of Brainerd/Baxter. Work teams for "Intelligent Growth: Regional Planning for the Lakes Area"—a collaborative effort among local units of government, businesses, and organizations—gather information from community members. The council formed seven volunteer task forces—commercial land use, government services, public land use, residential land use, solid waste/wastewater, transportation, and water planning—and set to work to get business leaders, government representatives, and other decision makers to join the effort. The result is a collaboration among more than 30 units of government, numerous businesses, and organizations, such as the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Region Five Development Commission, Brainerd Lakes Area Development Corporation, and the Initiative Foundation. The goal: to develop a multi-jurisdictional regional plan. The first task was to research what had already been done. “There’s a lot of good work out there,” explains Gunsbury. “We wanted to take that information, build on it, and share it with local units of government.” He cites the cities of Brainerd and Baxter, and the counties of Crow Wing and Cass, as good examples of jurisdictions working together to efficiently deliver services and reduce duplication of effort. “We want to help people begin to act, think, and plan CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 28 Brainerd Lakes Area Business & Relocation Guide
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