Agenda - Council - 07/08/1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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P~ONE: DEPART!¢ ENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES 444 Lafayette Road, 3rd Floor Space Center Building, St. Paul, MN 55101 ....... File No Ju~e 16, 1980 Mr. Lloyd Schnelle, City Administrator City of Ramsey 15153 Nowthen Blvd. NW Anoka, MN 55303 Dear Mr. Schnelle: This office has reviewed Ramsey's proposed scenic river ordinance for the Rum River. Final approval as per NR 81 will be given after the ordinance is officially adopted by the City. I am sorry for the delay in returning comments on the submitted documents. Tom Lutgen is no longer on the Metro Region Waters staff and no one has been hired to fill his former position. The extension requested by the City of Ramsey in the letter dated March 26, 1980 may be allowed until September 20, 1980. Since the City was to adopt a compliant scenic river ordinance by September 20, 1980, we feel two years is sufficient to adopt such controls. In your letter dated February 21, 1980 you maintain that the City's 2.5 acre lot minimum is adequate. There is some confusion in reference to this state- ment. It appears you are suggesting the 2.5 acre lot size for the Mississippi River Critical Area. If this is the case, there is no contention, the wild and scenic regulations for the Mississippi River (NR 2600) allow 80,000 square feet minimum for unsewered lots within the land use district. If the EQB or Metro Council wants Ramsey to apply larger minimum lot sizes, then that is between the City and these agencies. However, if you are proposing to main- tain the 2.5 acre minimum lot size for the rural scenic river land use dis- trict along the Rum River, this would be another situation. There would have to be more justification than the capability of a 2.5 acre lot to maintain on-site sewage treatment systems:for the Department to consider such a pro- posal. Ramsey's 2.5 acre lot size may be quite caRable of sustaining on-site sewage treatment systems, however this capability is not the major consideration for minimum lot sizes in the wild and scenic river program. Other considerations which are just as important if not more important in determining the lot size are density of potential development; amount of potential construction and associated potential increases of erosion, sedimentation and surface runoff due to increase in construction activity, and increase in amount of impervious surfaces; the character of development at the time of designation under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, which determines whether a river segment will be classified as wild, scenic or recreational; and the visual considerations. With these considerations in mind, the 2.5 acre minimum lot size would not meet those purposes or intentions of the management plan or the scenic river classification. Moreover, for the DNR to permit Ramsey to maintain 2.5 acre lot sizes along the Rum River, such action would require an amendment to NR 2700 (the Rum River Rule). AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER