Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 04/10/2014

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City of Ramsey 2030 Comprehensive Plan Update Chapter 11: The Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area inconsistencies between the Ramsey Plan and Executive Order 79-19.' Implementing the 1979 plan, Ramsey adopted an environmental ordinance that regulated development within the corridor: however, approval authority still rested with the EQB and later the DNR. Many of the elements of the plan from 1979 still hold true today and will be repeated in this plan. Executive Order 79-19 created districts for the Critical Area Corridor. In Ramsey, lands designated as an urban developed district include Section 35(T32N,R25W), while lands beyond the Urban Developed district were designated as rural open space district. The urban developed district established guidelines that preserved lands within the corridor largely for residential uses while limiting expansion of existing and new non-residential developments to preserve and enhance the residential character of this district. The rural open space district established guidelines to preserve open, scenic and natural characteristics and ecological and economic functions within the corridor. The rural open space district also called for preserving existing islands in their natural state and maintaining and preserving the existing transportation function of the river corridor. b) Wild and Scenic Rivers Act In 1973 Congress passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to protect Minnesota's Rivers that possess scenic, recreational, natural, historical, scientific, and similar values. The Mississippi River north of the Metropolitan Area begins its designation as a Wild and Scenic River in Ramsey. The Act classifies the river as being of a "wild", "scenic" or "recreational" nature and imposes different regulations for each designation. Within Ramsey, the Mississippi River is considered a recreational river because it has adjacent lands that are considerably developed, but are still capable of being managed so as to further the purposes of the Wild and Scenic River Act. Like the Critical Area Act, the state created a management plan for rivers receiving this designation and local municipalities were to amend their official controls to the extent necessary to comply with the standards and criteria of the commissioner and the management plan. The Environmental Ordinance adopted by the City of Ramsey was intended to meet these needs: however, no separate reference was made to the Mississippi River as a wild and scenic river corridor. The current Wild and Scenic rules applicable to Ramsey regulate minimum lot sizes, types of development, and setbacks to protect scenic and recreational characteristics of the Mississippi River. Upon completion of a community-based planning effort in 2004, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposed several rule amendments in order to give cities along the river increased flexibility for managing population growth and development along the river corridor. The proposed rule amendment exempts the City of Ramsey from lot size requirements, setbacks, and development standards established previously in the Wild and Scenic rules. The proposed amendment states that portions of Ramsey within the Wild and Scenic area shall be subject to adopted local land use and lot requirements approved by the Metropolitan Council and the DNR. See May 12, 1997 memorandum from Sandra Lee Pinel, MNRRA Planner with Metropolitan Council to Ryan Schroeder, Administrator at City of Ramsey City of Ramsey 2030 Comprehensive Plan Page 11-7