Agenda - Planning Commission - 01/02/1996

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EPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES 500 LAFAYE'FrE ROAD * ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA * 55155'40.~ March 6, 1995 Ms. Sylvia Frolick City of Ramsey 15153 Nowthen Boulevard N.W. Ramsey, MN 55303 Dear Sylvia: Thank you for the opportunity to regiew the draft ordinance amendments for the Scenic River and the Environmental Protection ordinance sections that pertain to the Rum and Mississippi Rivers. As stated in earlier~letters, you should be working with Area Hydrologist Tom Hovey with respect to needed Section 9.21 amendments that will comply with the Shoreland Management minimum standards, especially if you have been notified by the DNR to update your ordinance. I offer the following comments and rationale for the portions of the ordinance affecting the Rum and the Mississippi Rivers. A key concept that your decision makers should remember is that under MN Rules, part 6105.0230, an amendment must comply with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the statewide standards and criteria, and the management plan. In order to ensure that the standards are not nullified by unjustffed exceptions, an ordinance amendment is not effective until the Commissioner has certified that the action complies with all rules and statutes. There are no provisions in the Wild and Scenic River rules or statutes for flexibility from these minimum standards. Please make sure that there is understanding among the decision makers that the Mississippi River is both a designated Wild and Scenic River (since I976) and a Critical Area (since 1979). The affected lands in the land use district are the same, and the pertinent minimum standards are whichever are more restrictive. The river and its adjacent lands are subject to portions of Section 9.21 that relate to the named "Critical Area Overlay District," not to the ordinance provisions relating to the "Shoreland Overlay District." There has been some confusion by the public that the Mississippi is subject to the General Development standards for the Shoreland District, even though I acknowledge that the ordnance cerrectly does notl/st it under Sec. 9.2.!.02, subd. 3. Comments for Environmental Protection 9.21 -- Mississippi River Section comments [Underlining of proposed ordinance language denotes additions, strikeouts of proposed ordinance language note deletions.] 9.21.03 Typo - Strike out the i. in front of the word Bluffiine. 9.21.03 Definitions. Tree - I still have lots of problems with your definition of a tree because of its use w/th the clear cutting definition and regulations, the permit standards in 9.21.05 2. c., and the vegetative cutting standards.