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 33. Allow street designs that are narrower (but optimal to safely handle expected traffic volumes). 34. Restore natural vegetation (using species native to the area) to screen non- compatible riverfront development from the river. 35. Enforce appropriate height restrictions on new development within the corridor and on the riverfront to reduce visual impacts and protect views of the river from the river and its shoreline. 36. New or modified transportation facilities shall compliment the planned land and water uses and shall not stimulate incompatible development. 37. For those developments requiring discretionary action or a public hearing, the City will notify DNR at least 30 days before taking action on the application. 38. All capital improvement programs or public facilities programs shall be consistent with the standards and guidelines in Executive Order 79-19. D. Implementation Strategies All of the following implementation strategies should be heavily intensive in public participation. The participation should include residents and business owners within the corridor as well as outside of the corridor. It should include professional foresters, biologists, ecologist or historians, some of which may be residents and could volunteer expertise. Involvement from the MNRRA agencies, city staff and politicians would also enhance the resource availability. Task force and community workshops should be held to educate the public on the purpose of such a project, build community support and further ideas and solutions to problems. 1. Update Local Ordinances: Update the Shoreland Management Ordinance, Critical Areas Ordinance, Wild and Scenic Rivers Ordinance, and Zoning Ordinance to reflect goals and policies of this plan as well as the requirements of federal and state legislation. 2. Establish Design Guidelines: Building off of design criteria that may be established through a highway corridor study on Highway 10, similar criteria should be established for development within the corridor that protects scenic vistas, utilizes solar energy, restores native vegetation and blends the built environment into the natural environment. These design criteria should apply to public and private development projects and could be established through an overlay district. 3. Use the Future Land Use Plan as a Guide to Future Development: The goals and policies found in the future land use element of the 2008 Comprehensive Plan focus on environmentally sound land use that calls for urban services to include the majority of the development within the corridor by the year 2015 (see Development Staging Section). The predominant land use in the corridor is Low density residential, which allows a variety of housing types and styles at an average density 3 units per acre. City of Ramsey 2030 Comprehensive Plan Page 11-21