Blaine is growing according to plan

It's all in the plan.

That's the way Blaine officials explain how their city has been able to keep up with its growth spurt.

Last month, the Metropolitan Council reported Blaine was the second-fastest growing city in the metro area.

The Met Council's numbers give the city 11,561 new residents between 2000 and spring 2007, when the population reached 56,575. The metro's fastest-growing city, Shakopee, posted a gain of 11,999 new residents in the same period. And even during the nationwide housing slump, Blaine expects to issue 300 or more permits for new housing this year, at least as many as it issued last year.

That kind of growth, managed well, means miles of roads, sidewalks and sewers, acres of land platted for homes, parks and business nodes, added bureaucracy (especially building inspectors), and pressure on schools, police and more.

For Blaine, it's all laid out in the city's 2002 Northeast Area Plan amendment to its 1998 comprehensive plan.

"[The growth] didn't catch anybody by surprise," said Bryan Schafer, Blaine's planning and community development director. "Maybe it was surprising that it went as quickly as it did initially but, nonetheless, it went according to the plan."

The plan was created after the city was approached by landowners and builders who wanted to develop rural areas in central and northeastern Blaine. The plan laid out the 4,000-plus acres into neighborhoods, commercial districts, parks and green space, with consideration for a variety of housing styles and densities, and a strategy to make sure longtime residents didn't end up footing the bill for new construction.

"Development pays for development," Schafer said. "That is a cornerstone of our development plan."

Still, new and longtime residents share the costs of building and maintaining new municipal amenities, such as parks and the new $7 million water tower and a $10 million public works building, both expected to be completed this fall. That cost, however, is increasingly spread over the city's growing tax base.

According to the city's website, Blaine's current population estimate is 57,061. The Met Council's 2030 Regional Development Framework, released at the beginning of the year, predicted that Blaine will continue to grow, reaching 66,700 by decade's end and 78,000 by 2030.

The planning goes on. In the longer term, there are proposals for a senior center, a community center and two new parks. The police department plans to add another officer this year.

In the next few years, the city will continue to work to develop business in Blaine, building on successes such as the recently opened Infinite Campus site, the Medtronic and Aveda headquarters. And Schafer hopes to continue to make the city more of a "full-service community," where residents can live, work, play and attend school.

"You have to plan up front and be ready to accept the growth when it happens," Schafer said. "You have to be politically ready. You've got to be physically ready in terms of infrastructure. You have to have a plan you're comfortable in, and you have to be stable enough to see it through."

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409