Agenda - Council - 05/13/1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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METROPOLITAN COUNCIL Suite 300 Metro Square Building, St. Paul, Minnesota MEMORANDUM April 21, 1980 TO: FROM: Jim Schoettler SUBJECT: Legislative Report The two major legislative recommendations of the Rural Area Task Force--Agricultural Preserves and Metes and Bounds--have been passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor A1 Quie. Congratulations! Rural Area Task Force Alumni A copy of the law is enclosed. Sections one through 17 (and sec- tion 36) are the "Metropolitan Agricultural Preserves Act"; section 32 is the Metes and Bounds charge; sections 18 through 31 and 33 through 35 comprise a number of changes in the Municipal Planning and Zoning Act that basically clarify and update that Act. A sum- mary of the Agricultural Preserves Act is also attached. Special thanks must go to Task Force member and chief House author Rep. Bill Schreiber. Bill contributed a great deal of time and effort in the many public meetings around the area, the frequent redrafting of language, and especially in the skillful guidance of the bill through the legislature. Thanks also to all of you who participated in the public meetings and the legislative hearings up at the Capitol. Many of you con- tributed a lot of time to this effort (and especially gas and park- ing fees). This was a real team effort and it goes without saying that now that we have the best farm preservation law in the country, it will take a team effort to make it work. There are basically three areas of work that are needed now: 1) Gearing up the agencies affected by the Act (e.g., Depart- ment of Agriculture--application; recorders; assessors; auditors; soil and water conservation districts; EQB, etc.). 2) Informing local governments about their role and the steps they need to take so their farms are eligible. 3) Informing the public--primarily farmers--about the Act and what it can do for them. We will be letting you know about our pr~ogress and, you can be sure, ways you can help.