Planning

McGhie & Betts has nearly seven decades of experience in designing creative and efficient neighborhoods. Our role as design professionals is to contribute to a better living environment for future homeowners through conservation and environmentally sensitive design. We have designed and platted over 13,000 lots using various methods to achieve the goals established by our clients.

Conventional subdivision planning requires compliance with the specified zoning ordinances and subdivision codes within the various cities, counties and townships to subdivide the land and create neighborhoods.

Innovative Design  using “ Special District” planning method allow developments greater flexibility of land uses by creating new zoning criteria for setbacks, increased landscaping and open space while incorporating environmentally sensitive areas. 

Sustainable Development creates buildings and places that are cleaner and healthier, and cost less to operate and maintain.  Using the principles of Low Impact Development design, neighborhoods are designed and constructed with little or no impact to the significant resources and natural features of the property by designing smaller lots and preserving green space.   

Master Plans define land uses, vehicular and pedestrian patterns, lot patterns, parks and open spaces, environmentally sensitive areas, and drainage needs throughout the site.  Master Plans are generally utilized for large scale mixed use projects to establish the overall development pattern and help to ensure integration with the surrounding land uses and development.

McGhie and Betts Inc. has completed master plans for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional projects using numerous design approaches.  Conventionally designed projects are created using conventional land use and zoning district criteria.

Example projects include:

• Reflections on Mayo Lake
• Bamber Valley Estates
• Fieldstone
• Hart Farm South

Mixed Use Design and Special District  Planning is planning using multiple land uses and/or creating a special district to regulate the uses within the Master Plan boundary.

Example projects include:

• Harvestview
• Pebble Creek
• Highland Preserve
• Mayo Woodlands
• Zumbro Haven
• Fox Hills
• Prairie Crossing

A site plan illustrates specific uses for individual sites with access, parking, landscaping, bufferyards, drainage features and building locations.  McGhie & Betts, Inc. has completed site plans for residential, institutional, commercial and industrial projects.

Residential Projects:

• Boulder Ridge
• Whispering Oaks
• Fairway Ridge
• Hawkridge
• Harvestview
• Bamber Valley Estates
• Fieldstone
• Hart Farm South
• Reflections on Mayo Lake

Institutional Projects:

• Mayo Clinic Facilities
• Autumn Ridge Church
• Olmsted County Human Services Building
• Redeemer Lutheran Church
• Ben Franklin Elementary School
• St Charles Athletic Running Track
• Friends’ School,  St. Paul, MN
• Mayo Convention Center
• Cascade Meadow Wetland & Environmental Science Center
• Lourdes High School

Commercial and Industrial Projects

• Fastenal
• Seneca
• Schuster Industrial Park
• Airport Industrial Park
• Rochester Technology Park

• Northwest Commercial Center
• Rochester Athletic Club
• Broadway Commons
• 41st Street Business Park
• Commerce Park
• Whispering Oaks
• Olmsted National Bank
• Chateau Theaters
• Hy-Vee Stores

Our Land Planning services range from small conventional style developments to large scale conservation design projects.  Through coordination with other in-house disciplines such as engineering, surveying, geotechnical and environmental services, we can integrate the clients goals and target market objectives with  plans that address the development  constraints and environmental issues of the project.

Services:

• Annexations
• Land Use Plan Amendments
• Zone Change
• General Development Plan
• Review & Draft Development Agreements
• Conditional Use Permits
• Substantial Land Alteration Permits
• Variances

The Zoning Ordinance is an official document which typically establishes zoning district regulations and special development standards and provides administration and enforcement to ensure the goals, policies and guidelines to which the Land Use Plan is adhered.

Subdivision Codes establish criteria that govern the division of land and follow the specific zoning regulations.  Through subdivision regulations, planners are able to coordinate and include important elements like schools, parks, utilities and roads into the development plans.

McGhie & Betts has amended numerous subdivision codes and zoning ordinances throughout Southeastern Minnesota for townships and municipalities, including projects within the following jurisdictions:

• City of Chatfield
• City of Rochester
• Marion Township
• Oronoco Township
• Rochester Township

Comprehensive planning establishes long range goals and objectives to guide local government officials in making decisions about the physical, social and economic environment of the community.  Comprehensive plans are created with the input from broad- based citizen participation, the business community, elected and appointed officials, and professional consultants.

Aspects of Comprehensive Planning that we typically review include:

• Water Resources
• General Land Use
• Transportation and parking
• Parks and Open Space
• Public Facilities
• Capital Improvement Budget
• Annexations and Growth/Urban Service Area
• Business and Economic Growth
• Downtown Redevelopment
• Infrastructure

Feasibility Studies are performed for a variety of public and private sector projects.  They range from evaluating a small site for a specific use to large scale projects of potential mixed-use development and single purpose public projects.

Feasibility studies identify and evaluate potential development constraints, both physical and political. These may include: 

• Steep slopes
• Subsurface soil conditions/Decorah Edge
• Wetlands
• Drainage
• Land use and zoning regulations
• Annexation
• Open space requirements
• Utilities
• Traffic Impacts
• Site Access
• Special Assessment
• Appraisals by others

We have completed feasibility studies for the private and public sector.  A sample of these studies are:

We assist our clients, oversee projects and ensure compliance with local governmental regulations and criteria by mapping approval strategies from design to successfully conveying the project before a public audience.

We assist our clients in attaining their goals, building stakeholder support, and ensuring compliance with all levels of regulatory standards, codes, and ordinances.  We approach each project understanding what the client and stakeholders’ desired outcomes are, and find a way to develop a design that successfully addresses them.  We like to work closely with regulatory officials from early in the conceptual phase to minimize potential surprises that may occur in the site plan approval process.  MBI’s 65 years of experience in Southeastern Minnesota provides us with a strong experience base and network of people to be able to anticipate issues, and address them before they become roadblocks that can derail a project. 

One of the ways that we enhance project buy-in is to use a variety of media to disseminate information about the project so that the community can feel informed, and have opportunities to provide comments.  MBI’s strong presentations have been publicly acknowledged by governing bodies for being informative, concise, and appropriately anticipatory of potential issues.  It is clear that MBI’s presentations have pre-empted potential issues and facilitated approval of potentially contentious projects.

Some of the formats that we use include:

• Town Hall meetings
• Charettes
• Public Hearing Presentations
• Open Houses
• Preliminary Development Meetings
• Building Community Relations

Some of the media that we use include:

• Power Point presentations
• 3-D visualization and animation
• Hand-rendered and computer-rendered graphics
• Project-oriented web sites
• Mailings
• Links through local government enterprise