Agenda - Council - 10/22/2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Thiswasa higher level policy discussion. The City did not review the draft rules line by line, but the draft rules were available to discuss as needed. The City did not prepare the agenda; the topics were chosenby the participants of the collaborative process. The comments provided as an outcome of this collaborative process are not intended to provide the official policy statement on behalf of the City of Ramsey. As part of the City of Ramsey's 2013 Strategic Plan, the City identified 'Transparency' as a core value for the organization. With that in mind, the City designed this collaborative process to allow for a forum for stakehol de rs to provide feedback i ntheirown words. In the interest of transparency, Ramsey City Staff is forwardi ng these comments unedited forthe benefit of the process with the hope that any draft rule can assist in clarifying and/or correcting issues, barriers, or opportunities. These comments are intended to be helpful in the development of the rulemaki ng process, as these are the issues and questions most important to Ramsey's key stakeholders in the corridor. Suggested alternatives range from appropriate language changes in the draft rules to no changes at all. Issues to address The issues raised that the City desires the DNR to clarify, comment, oraddress through the draft rulesare the output of the collaborative process. These comments are intentionally unfiltered, and attached to this memo as Exhibit B. A summary of the comments is listed below. 1. Protection for lawful, non -conforming uses and structures 2. Additional local control provided in decision -making process 3. Flexibility in vegetation management 4. Support Draft Standards by providing technical analysis for need 5. Provide examples of current issues 6. Discuss relationship and separation between the Mississippi National River & Recreation Area (MNRRA) and Mississippi River Trail (MRT) Recommendations City Staff has a number of recommendations to improvethe draft rules based on stakeholder feedback. 1. Protection for lawful, non -conforming uses and structures A primary concern of our residents is the potential creation of lawful, non -conforming structures. Although the impact may be minor in Ramsey, the current draft rules do create the potential for the creation of non -conforming structures, most notably the bluff setback standard that differs from the standard currently in Ramsey's ordinance. The City of Ramsey does acknowledge the lawful, non- conforming protections under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 462.357. The City would like to explore the ability to strengthen lawful, non -conforming protections through the rulemaking process orthe City's general ordinances. Any support that the DNR could provide would be appreciated. 2. Additional local control provided in decision -making process