ROCHESTER - With a huge downtown expansion, massive infrastructure projects and near-guaranteed growth to the north and west on the horizon, city officials are starting to rethink the development plans they laid out more than five years ago.

Rochester officials are in the midst of updating the city's 2040 comprehensive plan, first launched in 2018. While updates are common for municipal development plans, Minnesota's third-largest city is in dire need of updated goals after rapid growth over the past several years.

Mayo Clinic's $5 billion downtown expansion starts in earnest next year, bringing at least 2,000 construction workers to the area and likely thousands more employees by the time the project wraps up in 2030. The city's upcoming bus rapid transit line will also connect the West Transit Village development on the northwest edge of downtown, which means more residential and commercial space. A proposed waterfront district will likely kick off development over the next few years as the city readies the 6th Street Bridge project over the Zumbro River.

That's not even counting upcoming developments in the northern part of Rochester, where city officials have installed infrastructure for thousands of potential housing lots. The 2020 U.S. census shows Rochester is among the fastest-growing places in Minnesota.

If all goes well, the Rochester City Council is expected to adopt the updated plan midsummer 2025.

"We want to make it reflective of what's happening today," Elliot Mohler, a planner with the city's community development department, said Monday during a City Council study session.

Council members, none of whom served when the 2018 plan was created, won't start prioritizing city goals until next year, when a number of key reports are either updated or finished.

Mayor Kim Norton said earlier this week that her office's Vision 2050 community survey project is finished and almost ready to go public, while local organizations are redoing housing and transportation studies that will give more accurate estimates on growth needs over the next few years.

A 2020 housing study found Olmsted County needed about 14,000 new housing units by the end of this decade. That was before Mayo Clinic's expansion announcement or all the other projects that have been announced or finished.

It will also include new guidelines suggested by consultant Bolton & Menk. Rochester plans to add a map overlaying environmental concerns over potentially developable land, as well as maps analyzing equity among demographics block by block.

The city is already getting feedback from residents and businesses on the plan. Local officials will hold talks next month on industrial development needs.

Rochester also participated in another National Community Survey, which gauges residents on everything from public safety to how neighborly people are. More than 630 people responded to the recent survey, largely showing more positive reactions to the city compared to 2022 results.

Yet respondents felt slightly worse about the city's quality of life and access to affordable health care, among other issues. They also showed concern over Rochester's lack of affordable housing.

The city recently created a housing fund to help projects and awarded $4 million to a development that promises more than 300 single-family houses and townhouses, and 600 apartment units in the northwest part of town.

Council Member Molly Dennis urged city staff to also focus on disability access after meeting with a resident who struggled to get transportation to a medical appointment. Dennis said she found only one hotel in Rochester offering shuttle service to accommodate people with disabilities, though the city offers a ride service as well.

Norton also pointed out that the city's current plans lack any railway transportation goals as the state looks into potential Amtrak or high-speed rail in the region.

"There are considerable efforts to add rail in the southeast part of the state," she said. "If the state is moving ahead with something, we should have a discussion."