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Community profile: Dayton

Rural city is poised for growth

Note: This is one of a series of community profiles, intended to highlight issues faced by local governments as they update their comprehensive plans.

The slump in the housing market has been hard on some developing cities in the metro area, but for Dayton, it has a silver lining. The downturn has given this largely rural community in northern Hennepin County the opportunity to better prepare for a forecasted population increase from about 5,000 today to 28,700 in 2030.

“The housing downturn has given us a chance to make sure all our ordinances are adequate to deal with the growth that’s coming,” said Doug Anderson, Dayton’s mayor. “We’ve had time to make sure we’re planning good neighborhoods. When the market turns around, as it always does, we’ll be ready.”

The historic village of Dayton is older than Minnesota itself. Located at the confluence of the Crow and Missssippi Rivers, it was platted in 1855. The city is mostly rural and agricultural, with a significant share of the population living in the northeast section of the city along the river, an area largely developed from the late 1960s through the 1990s.

“We’re close to the metro area but have a very rural feel,” said Samantha Orduno, city administrator. “”It’s very scenic, with rolling hills and the beauty of the rivers.” About two-thirds of the 4,900-acre Elm Creek Regional Park Reserve is located in Dayton.

The residents of Dayton are determined to preserve the city’s natural beauty and rural character as it grows. To ensure that, they started their 2030 comprehensive plan update by developing a long-term plan for parks, trails and open space.

“Long-term livability was the cornerstone of that plan,” Orduno said. “Once the parks plan was in place, with new parks, trail connections and nature corridors identified for preservation, then we could begin thinking about land use, housing and commercial development, and transportation in the context of preserving the natural environment.”

The City’s three-phase comprehensive plan update process, which included a visioning exercise and extensive public meetings, is nearing completion. A draft of the plan was prepared for public review in March.

Because of both the existing road system and where municipal sewer is available, development is staged to occur from the edges of the city inward. Dayton has only one main north-south roadway, Brockton Lane, located at the western edge of the city. It has no access to I-94, which cuts through the city’s southwest corner. Dayton has jointly planned with neighboring Rogers and Hassan Township for a future interchange at Brockton and I-94, and has purchased right-of-way for that purpose.

The historic village area gets sewer service from Otsego, just over the border in Sherburne County. Crow River Bluffs, a new development in the northwest corner, will include 19 single-family homes and 46 townhomes.

The Metropolitan Council’s Champlin interceptor was extended to serve the northeast area of Dayton, where the city is also now providing municipal water service. The new infrastructure will allow for further growth in the northern part of the city, including the 165-acre River Hills Farms development, platted for 72 multi-family and 233 single-family homes, with 38 acres of open space.

The regional Elm Creek interceptor will soon serve the southwest area, where the city’s industrial park is located and a new 189-lot housing development is planned.

Orduno said that Dayton is committed to creating life-cycle housing, so people can remain in the city throughout their lives. “The City has positioned itself very well for quality development and the means to control the quantity of development,” she said. “We’re poised for a great future.”