Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 01/18/2017

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Item-by-item guidance Chapter 9. Land use The information provided in this item should give a basic understanding of past,existing and proposed land use, plans, and zoning within and near the project area. This information will be used in other EAW items to understand potential environmental effects such as groundwater/soil contamination,historic properties,noise, odors,dust,and visual effects.The detailed discussion of these environmental effects should occur in the appropriate EAW item. It may be helpful to include a general discussion under this item and refer the reader to the EAW item that contains the detailed discussion. a. Describe Existing Land Use,Plans,Zoning,Regulations This sub-item(9.a.)requires a description of the existing land use,current land use plans and zoning, and any special designations—whether the site is used for that designation or not. Discussion of compatibility and potential environmental effects should not be included under this sub-item,but rather should be addressed in the following sub-item(9.b.). i. Existing land use. This item should provide a basic understanding of the existing land uses--e.g. residential,commercial,industrial,parks,recreation areas,trails,prime or unique farmlands--of the site and areas adjacent to or nearby the proposed project site. Include areas where vulnerable populations live or visit, such as nursing homes, schools,day care centers,water resources,parks,etc. This information will be used to respond to other EAW items to assess any potential conflicts between the proposed project and existing surrounding land uses with environmental aspects that may require mitigation. Indicate the distance and direction to all residential areas or other sensitive receptors surrounding the site.A typical example would be a gravel operation proposed next to a residential area: dust and noise could cause significant conflicts with the residential land use and this conflict should be discussed under EAW Items 16 Air and 17 Noise. Local government planning or building departments can be a source of information for identifying existing land uses.In the Twin Cities metropolitan area,the Metropolitan Council has an inventory of existing land uses.In many cases you may need to just identify the types of existing land uses that are near the project. Some specific land uses that you should be aware of and include in the description are: • Prime or unique farm lands and agricultural preserves designations. Information on prime and unique farmlands is available from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.The local unit of government(county or city)often has information on any established agricultural preserves. • Locations of existing parks,recreational areas or trails. This information may be obtained from the local unit's planning and zoning or recreation office or from the DNR. Some local government units have designated greenways/corridors that should also be identified. • Conservation lands. Typical land uses that fall in this category include Wildlife Management Areas(WMA),Waterfowl production areas, Scientific and Natural Areas(SNA),wildlife refuges, conservation easements, and potentially other federal, state, and local programs designed to conserve natural resources. ii. Plans. Discuss whether the project is subject to any official governmental management plans adopted for the area.These could include a local comprehensive plan (land use,transportation,utilities or other plans),which may include specific plans for land use,infrastructure,parks,trails,natural resources, etc.; a local water plan;or management plans specific to resource areas under public management such as parks,watershed districts or rivers. Plans of all levels of government should be considered here: local, regional, state and federal. The local planning and zoning office is probably the best source of this kind of Environmental Quality Board EAW Guidelines—October 2013 18