Laserfiche WebLink
Vegetation Management - Comparison of Preliminary Draft & Current MRCCA Standards <br />Notes: <br />• The preliminary draft standards presented at the work group meeting on August 12, 2010 have been revised based on input from work group members, LGUS, other agencies, and the public. <br />• For proposed district boundaries, refer to the proposed MRCCA district maps for your area. For current district boundaries, refer to the EO 79 -19 District Map. All maps are available on the MRCCA rulemaking project website. <br />Sheet 4: Vegetation Management — Revised November 5, 2010 <br />Prepared by Minnesota Deportment of Natural Resources, November 5, 2010 <br />Standard <br />Type. <br />- <br />Preliminary Draft Standards <br />I_ <br />lr <br />Executive Order 79 -19 <br />Current Standards <br />(Currently in effect; all local plans and ordinances must <br />e consistent with these standards and guidelines.) <br />Interim Development Regulations (IDR) <br />(EO 79 -19 provided the IDRS as temporary standards until local MRCCA <br />ordinances were approved by the EQB. Hastings, Brooklyn Center, and <br />a sn roll area in Hennepin County are still subject tnrnelDRSbecause <br />they do not have approved MRCCA ordinances. The DNR used some of <br />the IDRS in drafting new MRCCA rules, and some LOU S used portions of <br />the IDRS in current ordinances. The 1013s are provided here for <br />reference. Local ordinances, which vary widely, will contain the current <br />effective standards in any given community.) <br />Vegetation <br />Management <br />General <br />LGU Program <br />In cooperation with the DNR and other resource agencies, LGUS shall implement an <br />incentive, marketing, or education program to encourage property owners to protect or <br />restore natural vegetation within the BIZ, SIZ, SP2, and other areas identified in MN <br />Statutes, 91160.15, Subd. 4(b). The LGU program must include, at a minimum: <br />C. 1. Each LGU within the river corridor shall prepare plans and <br />regulations to protect environmentally sensitive areas in <br />accordance with the following guidelines: <br />a. Each LGU shall, with assistance of the Metropolitan Council <br />and state agencies: <br />(6) Prepare plans and regulations to minimize site <br />alteration and for beach and riverbank erosion control. <br />(7) Prepare plans and regulations for management of <br />vegetative cutting. <br />C.2. Each LGU and state agency shall prepare plans and regulations <br />to protect and preserve the aesthetic qualities of the river <br />corridor, which provide for the following considerations: <br />a. Site Plans. Site plans shall be required to meet the following <br />guidelines: <br />( Site plans shall include standards to ensure that <br />structure, road, screening, landscaping, construction <br />placement, maintenance, and storm water runoff are <br />compatible with the character and use of the river <br />corridor in that district. <br />(5) Site plans shall....contain specific conditions with regard <br />to buffering, landscaping, and revegetation. <br />b. Structures. Structure site and location shall be regulated to <br />ensure that riverbanks, bluffs, and scenic overlooks remain <br />in their natural state, and to minimize interference with <br />views of and from the river, except for specific uses requiring <br />river access. <br />e. Existing Development. Local plans and regulations shall <br />include provisions to: <br />(1) Retain existing vegetation and landscaping. <br />( Provide for the screening of existing development <br />which constitutes visual intrusion, wherever <br />appropriate. <br />E. Earthwork and vegetation <br />2. Vegetation management. <br />a. In Rural Open Space, Urban Developed, and Urban Open <br />Space districts, the following standards shall apply: <br />(1) On developed islands, public recreation lands, the <br />slope or face of bluffs within 200' of the NHWM of the <br />river, and within the area 40' landward of bluffllnes, <br />clear cutting shall not be permitted. <br />(2) On all other lands within these districts, clear cutting <br />shall be guided by the following provisions: <br />a) clear cutting shall not be used where soil, slope, <br />or other watershed conditions are fragile and <br />subject <br />to injury; <br />b) clear cutting shall be conducted only where clear <br />cut blocks, patches, or strips are, in all cases, <br />shaped and blended with the natural terrain; <br />c) the size of clear cut blocks, patches, or strips shall <br />be kept at the minimum necessary; <br />d) where feasible all clear cuts shall be conducted <br />between September 15 and May 15. If natural <br />regeneration will not result in adequate <br />vegetative cover, areas in which clear cutting is <br />conducted shall be replanted to prevent erosion <br />and to maintain the aesthetic quality of the area; <br />where feasible, replanting shall be performed in <br />the same spring, or the following spring. <br />(3) The selective cutting of trees greater than 4" in <br />diameter may be permitted by LGUs when the cutting <br />is appropriately spaced and staged so that continuous <br />natural cover is maintained. <br />b. In the Urban Diversified district: <br />(1) On the slope or face of bluffs and within areas 40' <br />landward from established bluffllnes, clear cutting <br />shall not be permitted; <br />(2) The selective cutting of trees greater than 4" in <br />diameter may be permitted by LGUS when the cutting <br />is appropriately spaced and staged so that continuous <br />natural cover is maintained. (Continued...) <br />(1) use of educational material developed by the DNR or other resource agency; and <br />(2) monitoring and evaluation. <br />Vegetation <br />Management <br />Vegetation within the SIZ, BIZ, SPZ, and other areas identified in MN Statutes, 91160.15, <br />Subd. 4. b (floodplains, wetlands, gorges, and existing significant vegetative stands) <br />must be managed as follows: <br />• Vegetation currently in a natural state shall be maintained. <br />• Restoration of vegetation to a natural state is encouraged. <br />• Intensive vegetation clearing is not allowed. <br />• Screening of structures, vehicles, and other facilities as viewed from the river or <br />OHWLof the opposite shore (during summer, leaf -on conditions) must be <br />maintained. <br />• Limited cutting, trimming, or clearing of trees, shrubs, and other understory <br />vegetation may be allowed for: <br />1. the minimum necessary to install structures and facilities allowed by these <br />rules, including; <br />o structures and facilities listed as exceptions in Sheet 1— Dimensional <br />Standards and Sheet 2 —Bluffs & Steep Slopes; and <br />o one shoreline recreational use area (not to exceed ZS' x 25' on a 300' <br />wide lot, with an extra 25' allowed for each 100` in lot width for PUDs <br />and lots >300' ' wide, not to exceed 5,000 sq ft total); <br />2. the removal of trees, limbs or branches that are dead, dying, diseased, <br />infested; to prevent infestation or spread of disease; or that pose a safety <br />hazard as determined by a forester, arborist, or other qualified LGU <br />representative *; <br />3. the removal of invasive, non - native plants as determined by a forester, <br />arborist, or other qualified LGU representative *; <br />4. woodland /habitat management and restoration activities sponsored and <br />approved by a resource agency or the LGU; and <br />5. forest management activities sponsored and approved by a resource agency <br />or the LGU, and per the forestry use standards in Sheet 5a-Uses. <br />* In areas cleared of vegetation as provided in items 2 and 3 above, native vegetation <br />must be reestablished, either by allowing it to regenerate naturally (no cutting or <br />mowing) or with plantings subject to a restoration plan. <br />Vegetation Management - Comparison of Preliminary Draft & Current MRCCA Standards <br />Notes: <br />• The preliminary draft standards presented at the work group meeting on August 12, 2010 have been revised based on input from work group members, LGUS, other agencies, and the public. <br />• For proposed district boundaries, refer to the proposed MRCCA district maps for your area. For current district boundaries, refer to the EO 79 -19 District Map. All maps are available on the MRCCA rulemaking project website. <br />Sheet 4: Vegetation Management — Revised November 5, 2010 <br />Prepared by Minnesota Deportment of Natural Resources, November 5, 2010 <br />