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

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Page 9 RECOMMENDATION 5.1. Draw the boundary of District E to conform to the proposed definition given for District E. When District E is used on or near a bluff face, it generally stands in contradiction to the draft definition provided for District E. That draft definition suggests that, "land in this district is not readily visible from the river surface or opposite bank." Clearly, however, some areas designated as District E do not fit this definition. The bluffs of places like the Mississippi River Gorge and St. Paul's Highwood Hills and West Side neighborhoods are clearly visible from the river, but these areas have been included in District E. Comprehensively, the areas that currently are in District E that do not fit this proposed definition are found in Cottage Grove's River Acres and Mississippi Dunes Golf Course, Inver Grove Heights (above Concord St), Lilydale, Maplewood's Fish Creek area, Mendota, Mendota Heights, Minneapolis and St. Paul's Gorge neighborhoods, St. Paul's Highwood Hills neighborhood, Mounds Park neighborhood, West Seventh neighborhood, West Side neighborhood, as well as the blufflands in South St. Paul. If necessary, we could provide photographic evidence that most of these blufflands are "readily visible from the river surface or opposite bank". RECOMMENDATION 5.2. Establish a clear threshold: all parcels within one-tenth of a mile of a bluff or the river's edge should be ineligible to become District E. We propose that District E should be redrawn to encompass only those areas that have little unique impact on the river corridor's ecological, cultural, and scenic resources. Even the blufftops of many areas have very significant impacts on the river's resources – think of the view of Lilydale from Crosby Farm Regional Park. Even Minneapolis — which has among the most incomplete Critical Area codes — delineates a different height standard for areas within 100 feet of a blufftop, than for areas outside of the bluff. We believe that all lands within a tenth of a mile of the blufftop should in no case be placed in District E. Rather, District E should be reserved for those areas which clearly do not impact our ability to protect corridor resources. In rural areas such as Ramsey and Dayton, this would mean the land beyond Dayton River Road and US 10 should become District E. As described under Principle 2 above, bringing District E any closer to the river than that will upset a delicate and critical long-standing balance surrounding open space preservation that has existed in Ramsey and Dayton. Instead, most of Draft District E should become District B in these areas, as described above. In urbanized areas including Champlin, Anoka, Coon Rapids, and the Gorge through Minneapolis and St. Paul, the areas of District E that are within I/10th of a mile of bluffs or the river's edge should generally either become District C, or alternately District A.