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

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Page 12 The area warrants some more fine-grained thought as to height standards. Lumping the entire area together in a single district would seem in the long-term to indicate that it would be okay to build the entire area up at downtown densities. We believe that controls for diminished densities, particularly on the east bank of the river, nearer to 1-35W, is warranted. Instead, we suggest breaking apart large parts of the area into District A, as described above, which would provide for a more fine-grained opportunity for regulation. RECOMMENDATION 8. I. The totality of the Central Riverfront Regional Park and St. Anthony Falls Historic District should be moved from District J into District A. We suggest simply codifying the Metropolitan Council's Regional Park Boundaries to produce a park district that strings together the very high quality public spaces in this area for long-term protection. While we agree that massing should be more constrained north of where District J is drawn, the current boundaries do little to help recognize the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Zone, from Plymouth Avenue to I -35W. Moreover, further delineations could take place within the written standards. For example, "within the St. Anthony Falls Historic District, on private lands not within a regional park boundary", some additional height might be allowed, beyond the base amount. Any existing historic structure that does not conform to the dimensional standards would presumably be protected by overriding provisions protecting the right to rehabilitate any structure on a local, state, or national register of historic places. PRINCIPLE 9. Create districts that assume corridor -wide water quality standards. We believe water quality standards should be applied corridor wide rather than on a district -by -district basis. Runoff and sedimentation affects the river equally no matter where it originates; we should strive for a uniform set of standards to protect water quality throughout the river corridor instead of a variable set of standards. RECOMMENDATION 9. I. Redefine the districts in a way that implies a consistent set of water quality standards across the entire corridor.