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 4. Existing Land Use A variety of business, residential, park and open space land uses currently exist within the River Corridor. Executive Order 79-19 lays out guidelines for the corridor according to district designations that were defined by the character of the corridor during enactment of the Critical Area Act. Through Ramsey, the river receives two designations. The Rural Open Space District comprises the majority of land in the corridor with the exclusion of the area generally east of Sunfish Lake Boulevard. The Rural Open Space District is described as follows: "the lands and waters within this district shall be used and developed to preserve their open, scenic and natural characteristics and ecological and economic functions. Presently undeveloped islands shall be maintained in their existing natural state. The transportation function of the river shall be maintained and preserved." The remainder of the corridor, generally east of Sunfish Lake Boulevard, is designated by Executive Order 79-19 as the Urban Developed District defined as follows: "The lands and waters within this district shall be maintained largely as residential areas. The expansion of existing and development of new industrial, commercial and other non-residential or non -recreational uses shall be limited to preserve and enhance the residential character of this district." The following provides a more detailed analysis of existing land use patterns within the corridor. a) Existing Residential Use Today, much of the riverfront property is developed as residential. Itasca Heights, Bowers Mississippi Acres and Alpaca Estates were developed as rural residential developments between the 1960s and 1990s consisting of 1 to 2.5 acre lots on private septic and well systems. Rivenwick Subdivision was platted in 1993 and is served by municipal sewer and water. Rivenwick is developed at more urban densities of roughly 2.5 units per net8 acre. Because many properties were developed prior to the availability of urban services to Ramsey, the Critical Area/MNRRA Corridor contains several private well and septic systems, which are within the current MUSA boundary. Overall, the Critical Area/MNRRA Corridor contains approximately 120 private well and septic systems. To date, there have been no serious health or environmental threatening problems associated with failing individual septic treatment systems within the corridor. b) Existing Commercial/Industrial Use Business uses within the corridor are focused at the southeastern tip of Ramsey where the corridor boundary includes part of the Highway 10 corridor. A variety of industry, manufacturing and commercial/retail business uses have made their 8 Net Acre is established by taking a gross figure and subtracting out any lands that which development is prohibited on including Wetlands and major road R -O -W. For City planning purposes, the National Wetland Inventory is used to determine wetlands. Individual sites will be required to be delineated to determine total acreage of wetlands. For major road ROW use collectors and arterials as illustrated on the Comprehensive Plan transportation system map. City of Ramsey 2030 Comprehensive Plan Page 11-9