Agenda - Council - 08/24/2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 4 • North of the Xcel Riverside Plant in Northeast Minneapolis (Map 22), the area between St. Anthony Parkway and the River; • Central Riverfront Regional Park, from Plymouth to 1-35W (Maps 25 and 26); • The parkland of the Upper Gorge around the University of Minnesota — from St. Anthony Falls to 1-94, currently designated District F (Maps 27 and 28); • The Grey Cloud Dunes SNA in Cottage Grove is designated as Category B (Map 89); • Heritage Park Area in Inver Grove Heights (Map 97); • Riverside Park at Lion's Levee in St. Paul Park (Maps 98 to 99); • Upper Spring Lake Regional Park (Map 112), is designated as Category I; • Just to the east of Levy Park is the Freitag property, which FMR helped to protect as part of a larger DNR WMA (Maps 115 and 116), currently designated either as a "B" or an "I" zone; • Pine Bend Bluffs SNA (Maps 100 to 103); and • All of the Gores WMA in the Vermillion (Maps 116 to 123). RECOMMENDATION 1.3: Based on the new definition of intent for District A, reassess the lands contained within the district. Certainly, in most areas we propose designating District A, strict height controls, setbacks and vegetation controls are in order. However, there are a few sites that seem inherently to belong to the class, but do not currently adhere to the kinds of height and vegetation controls we would propose for A corridor -wide. Harriet Island Regional Park near downtown St. Paul is a prime example of this phenomenon. Harriet Island has structures likely to far exceed the height requirements imposed elsewhere in District A, and has a largely hardscaped riverfront edge, without vegetation. We believe that appropriate language can be found to address these unique conditions in the written standards. For example, something akin to the following provision could be made to address some of the challenges of dimensional standards: "In parkland where facilities already exist that are not in conformance with the dimensional standards put forward in these rules, any modifications or replacement to the existing structures are allowed as long as any modified or replacement structure is only as large as absolutely necessary, and is in greater conformance with the standard(s) in question than the structure being modified or replaced." PRINCIPLE 2. In undeveloped areas, we should retain the ability to protect open space along the river corridor by maintaining the existing requirements for lower densities, and clustering away from the river, as suggested in Executive Order 79-19. That should take place in a unified district for undeveloped lands, a revised District B. Much of the land at the northern and southern ends of the corridor remains to be developed, and the existing development through the Twin Cities metropolitan region offers two models for the future of these areas. One is exemplified in a number of suburbs, where homes occupy the lots along the river's edge. In these areas, the public is sometimes unable to physically or visually connect with the river for miles at a time. This limits the ability of adjacent properties to derive the social, ecological and economic value inherent in the river corridor.