Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 11/18/2004

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b) c) 200] Com£rehen~ive ~4mended Ke3ruaC? 26, 2002 h~consistencies be~¥veen the ~amsev ?lan and E~ecut[ve Order 79-[9.7 h~qplementing the 1979 plan, ~amsev adopted an environmental ordinance that regulated development within the comdor: however. ~pproval ~uthori~ still rested wit~ the EOB and later the DNa. Many of ~he elements of the plan ~979 still hold tree today and will be repeated in tlqis plan. Execttt~ve Order 79-~9 created districts for d~e Crkica] Area Comdor. ~n ~amsey, lands des[~mamd as an' urban developed d~strict inclnde Section'35(T32N..~SW), while lands beyond the Urban Developed distric~ were desi~mamd as rural open space district. The urban developed ctistrict established guidelines that preserved lands within the cun'idor [ar__eiy for residential rises while limiting expansion of existing and new non-residential developments to preserve and enimnce tim residential character of this district. The rural open space district established guidelines to preserve open, scenic and natural characmristics and ecological and economic ~mctions within the corridor. The rural open space disu'ic~ also called for presep/ing existing islands in tl~eir natural state and maintaining and preserving the existing transpor[adon function of d~e river torn'dot. Wild and Scenic Rivers Act [n 1973 Congress passed the Wild and Scen{c Rivers Act to protect Minnesota's Rivers that possess scenic, recreational, natural, historical, scientific, and similar values. The Mississippi River north or' the Metropolitan ',LWea begins its designation as at Wild and Scenic River in Ramsey. The Act classifies the river as being o'f` a "wild", %cenic" or :kecreational" nature and imposes different regulations for each designation. Within Ramsey, the Mississippi River is considered a recreational river because it has adjacent lands that are considerably developed, but are still capable of' being managed so as to further the purposes of the Wild and Scenic River Act. Like the Critical Area Act, the state created a management plan for rivers receiving this designation and local municipalities were to amend dmir ot~icial controls, to the extent necessary to comply with the standards and criteria of the commissioner and the management plato 'The. Environmental Ordinance adopted by the City, of Ramsey was intended to meet these needs: however, no separate reference was made to ,the Mississippi River as a wild and scenic river corridor. Floodplain Management Act and Ordinance The Floodplain Management Act was passed in 1969 as a tool to minimize damages due to flooding. Using standards established by the DNR,,the City put in place a'floodplain ordinance that regulates development ~vithin floodplain areas. Maps prepared by the Federal Insurance Administration in 1979 and revised by the DNR in !987 delineate floodplain areas. See Pla,,, i2. 149'7 memorandum h'om :5ancn'a Lee Pinel. MNRR,~ P!aaner '.~, tn Mctropoikan Cotmci] to Ryan _.et.lc, crier. &dministra[or at Cit'/of Ramse'.,. .{/]?c']TCl'd::~' ff ~v.';!T[L;]".~ f'7