Several metro cities want to hear from residents about their riverfront

As summer turns to fall, Twin Cities communities throughout the metro are moving fast to wrap up their draft plans for land use and development along their local riverfront.

Here's where several of our communities stand.

Comments needed soon

Newport, Maplewood, Fridley, Coon Rapids and Ramsey want comments by the end of September. Brooklyn Park will accept comments until October 26. Each city would prefer to hear from residents sooner if possible.

Comments needed in the coming months

For the cities of Hastings and St. Paul Park, commenters have a bit more time. Hastings wants public comments by the end of November. St. Paul Park has not yet released their river corridor plan, but they're planning to accept comments through the end of 2018.

Comments completed

Minneapolis has wrapped up their public comment period. (Thank you to the 100+ River Guardians who weighed in to urge the city to protect riverfront views and future parkland.) They expect to release a revised plan and summary of public input by the end of September.

If you live in one of these cities but aren't sure how to weigh in to help protect and enhance your local riverfront, we can help. Learn more on our resource page or contact Irene Jones, ijones@fmr.org, to get started.

Coming soon

Inver Grove Heights just released their plan and we expect to see draft river corridor plans from Champlin, Mendota Heights and St. Paul Park any day now.

Finally, around half a dozen cities, including St. Paul, Dayton, Anoka, Brooklyn Center, South St. Paul, Rosemount and Denmark Township have requested a six-month extension from the Met Council, so we can expect to see those plans sometime before the end of June 2019. Find out what's in your city's plan and weigh in!

Only have a minute?

If you'd like to weigh in but don't have much time, there are two things you can do. Each will take you just a minute to do: Contribute a view worthy of protection and/or sign up to be a River Guardian. 

You can add your favorite river view to this map. (If you have a photo, please email it to Daurius Mikroberts at dmikroberts@fmr.org.) We'll provide this information to local planners on your behalf to help them identify important river views that should be protected. 

And you can sign up to be a River Guardian. Check the box to tell us that you're interested in river corridor planning and local issues. Then we'll be in touch if there's a specific action you can take to weigh in locally.