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INTRODUCTION INVENTORY a. Other Governmental Regulations LAND USE ELEMENT The decade of the 70's has seen some dramatic changes in what is now the City of Ramsey. In 1970, the Township of Ramsey had a population of 2,727 and business was conducted out of an old one -room schoolhouse. By November of 1974, the City of Ramsey had incorporated and was experiencing rapid development occurring randomly throughout the community. The 1970's has been a period of several planning efforts. In 1973, prior to incorporation, the Township developed its first comprehensive plan. After becoming a city, Ramsey prepared and adopted an Urban Planning District Study Report and Comprehensive Plan Amendment on March of 1976. This report was revised in March of 1978. These planning efforts have designated urban and rural service areas, and resulted in zoning and subdivision regulations for controlling new development. 1. INVENTORY Land Use Planning involves recognition of the present uses and activities that take place on the land and projecting these to define the future organization of uses and activi- ties. As a basis for projecting land use, a number of factors are weighted. Developing a land use plan involves the coordination of local concerns with required state and metropolitan regulations. First, within the Metropolitan area all land has been divided into either an Urban Service Area or Rural Service Area by the Metropolitan Council and the local planning program must take into consideration the appropriate designation. Second, local land planning must also observe the State Municipal Shoreland Regulations which lists minimum development standards for the area which is within 300 feet of the high water mark of rivers and streams and 1000 feet of lakes. A third concern that Ramsey's plan must consider are standards which have been adopted by the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) for the Mississippi River Critical Area. Finally, both the Mississippi River and the Rum River are part of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wild and Scenic Rivers Program which requires compliance with a separate set of standards. Although a great deal of responsibility remains for municipalities in determining local land use policies, State and Metropolitan constraints must be understood prior to discussing local concerns. (See Map 5).