Ramsey Twp Comp Plan July 73 - Laserfiche WebLink

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maintain complete vegetative cover. The wetland areas comprise all land in the town-- ship with a high water table compared with surfaCe topography. They are-natural wildlife habitats and spawning grounds which provide excellent educational and' recre- ational opportunities. If they were to be filled, storm water run off would only be increased elsewhere. The essential recOmmendation is that la'nd de~velopment encroachr ments Which would limit the carrying ability-of the water-courses should-not be alloWed. The policies recommended to each municipality suggest~the importance of identifyin~g all natural water courses as part of the ~ommunity storm water~blan and subsequent preservation of storm water run-off capabilities. - The recreation open-space recommendations are relatively modest within Ramsey in terms of land area to be acquired but do raise serious questions ~bout the feasibility of implementation. Several neighborhood-park playgrounds are recommended in addition to a major community park and several separate community play fields. The neighbor- hood facilities are being acquired through the require~d park dedications established by the subdivision ordinance. Except where they are entirely comprised of marsh land they will effectively satisfy neighborhood park needs. The larger facilities, however, must be acquired and can involve at a-minimum approximately one-hundred. acres. This type of investment would be possible since the community ha's exper, ienced such rapid population growth. New residents of the community will be most anxious to support a budget for. park land acquisition. The ma]or recommendation .in the Metro- politan Open-Space Plan, however, is the creation'of linear parks along the Mississippi River, the Rum River, and a portion of both Trott Brook and Ford Brook. This will be the most difficult Township acquisition since land owners very quickly Point out the ~_ development value of the river, front property, The best example locally of a complete open-space system which provides large park and recreation facil,ities close to every neighborhood lies within the City of Minneapolis, There was an active concern veto/ early about preserving natural features for common use rather than selling lakesho~e and river front lots. As .a result entire neighborhoods are benefited by these natural features rather than a few very expensive properties. Unfortunately, this approach was not adopted by the suburban communities. The Metropolitan Open-Space Plan is therefore 'in part a revival of some v,ery old and tested development concepts. Ramsey has taken a first step in the recognition of these value's and-' concepts in the adoption of a zoning ordinance Which includes a conservation district with a minimum lot area of two and one half acres. The :purpose of this district is to minimize densities in land areas which should not be developed and ~o direct the emphasis of park land acquisition in such a vcay that-~a complete trail system is possible when the community has the resources to handle this type of large facility. This plan indicates that the co, nservati'on district ultimately should become a greenbelt system which links all major community facilities including schools, parks, recreation areas, plus a major cl~'ic center. Although these will be outlined in more detail in the section on community facilities and .utilities, it should be clear at this point that the proposed open-space system does provide a basic framework- for all other use' areas within the community.