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State Representative Rick Hansen
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-6828
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
Column/LTE
TIME TO UPDATE MISSISSIPPI RIVER CORRIDOR CRITICAL AREA
Thirty years ago, Minnesota recognized the need to protect the unique natural and cultural resources the Mississippi River through the Twin Cities. Designated by Executive Order of the Governor, the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA) was established to ensure the river was managed without damaging or destroying resources of statewide significance. Three decades later, it is time to modernize MRCCA policy to protect the Mississippi for future generations. The timing is right. After hours of testimony in the House and Senate, the proposal has been well-considered and is moving its way toward passage.
As the building boom of recent years heated up, we began to hear concerns about the ability of local cities to enforce state objectives in the Executive Order. The Legislature authorized and funded a study by DNR to examine the program and recommend potential changes (2008 report is available online). As part of the study, business, government and citizen stakeholders were engaged through a series of meetings. There was broad agreement that the river corridor needed and deserved a state protection framework, enforcement requirements were unclear, and that changes were in order. Overwhelmingly we heard that local decisions about development in the river corridor often get politically protracted and costly, in large part because the current standards and guidelines are vague, cumbersome to enforce and inconsistent.
Last fall we convened a study group to grapple with the numerous management options suggested by stakeholders and the DNR, and to draft legislation for the 2009 session. The study group included the League of Minnesota Cities, representatives of Minneapolis and St. Paul, developers, the DNR, National Park Service, Friends of the Mississippi River and two other environmental organizations. The resulting legislation seeks to strike a balance among the diverse interests by providing appropriate flexibility and adequate protection of the river’s significant resources.
Here is what our bill (HF424 and SF671) does:
• Directs DNR to conduct a rulemaking process for the MRCCA.
• Directs DNR to establish new land use districts and standards that better match the diverse natural and cultural features of the river corridor; the goal is to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Provides a process for clarifying key terms related to bluffs and steep slopes. Under the bill, the DNR will map the bluffs and bluffline areas of the corridor and establish definitions in state rule.
• Clarifies enforcement responsibilities of local governmental units, the DNR and other state agencies.
The bill does not remove local authority. Local municipalities will continue to regulate the corridor through their critical area plans and ordinances, and have final say on the granting of variances and other discretionary actions as they do now. Cities will be required to notify the DNR of proposed variances, like they are currently required to do.
New districts will match geographic variations of the river corridor, as opposed to the current districts that are based on land-use patterns from 1976. Currently, two of the four districts prohibit industrial uses and major commercial development. New districts will focus on protecting resources, as opposed to land-use patterns.
The corridor is already regulated, but with new districts, the revised standards will more closely match the specific resources in that district and avoid unnecessary protections that come with a one-size-fits-all approach. New tools, such as GIS mapping of bluffs and other corridor features, will bring the standards and protection strategies into the 21st Century.
The Mississippi River is a resource of great significance for our region, state and nation. Here in the Twin Cities it is one of our claims to greatness and a tremendous asset to the communities through which it flows. This bill will ensure that the rules are clear for all parties involved in corridor development, and that the river will be protected for current and future generations. It’s time to act.
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