Agenda - Planning Commission - 08/05/2010

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Response from Adjoining Communities City Staff has attended a series of meetings with adjoining communities outside of the scheduled working groups with the DNR. This group of communities has drafted initial response to the current process and proposed districts and descriptions. The responses are as follows. Statement of Principles The northern cities and Anoka County have met to discuss the proposed MRCCA district classifications and proposed district boundaries that were developed by the DNR with assistance from the National Park Service. Because of the general nature of the district descriptions, it is not possible at this point to determine and therefore comment on potential specific restrictions for uses, development, utilities (roadways, sewer and water, electric, etc.), stormwater control, vegetation and erosion control. The following principles were developed from those meetings and are supported by the cities of Anoka, Brooklyn Park, Champlin, Coon Rapids, Dayton, Fridley and Ramsey and Anoka County: • The Rulemaking Process should result in a framework of guidelines for developing regulations and should not prescribe specific standards. The rules shall authorize decision making by the local unit of government, which is consistent with'the authority granted under the statutes for planning and zoning. • Existing and future public and private property owners must not be unnecessarily burdened by prescriptive standards. • The regulations must not remove property rights for accessory use of the shoreline (i.e. docks, recreational use, vegetation and erosion control, etc.). • The standards must not regulate surface water use (i.e. 'No Wake Zones'). • The district standards must accommodate public and private access to the river. It is assumed that districts that include properties of `suburban character' also include private water access (e.g. docks) for riparian properties. • The allowed densities need to be consistent with a community's approved comprehensive plan and adopted zoning ordinance. `Rural densities' in the north segment of the corridor are much different that `rural densities' in the townships that are in the southern end of the MRCCA corridor. • The rules developed through this process should be guidelines and allow for local decision making. • Limited heights in potential redevelopment areas may prevent redevelopment. `Heights' need to be consistent with approved comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances. • Care should be taken such that district boundaries do not extend across or abut prominent transportation corridors. For example, including a boundary that extends onto US as `riverfront' land does not adequately portray or account for what has already happened on that transportation corridor. • Vegetative buffering standards for properties should directly correlate to the intended use or scope of development. For example, single family property owners should not be deprived of their use and enjoyment of their riverfront property by being required to adhere to restrictive 107