There's still time to push for stronger river protections in St. Paul

As St. Paul attempts to water down its proposed riverfront development regulations, residents are speaking up.

The city's new Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA) ordinance has the potential to protect St. Paul riverfront ecology, character and scenic views. Unfortunately, Mayor Carter’s staff has proposed an ordinance that won’t achieve those goals as well as a prior draft did.

The most recent draft removes bird-friendly building requirements and muddies the formerly straightforward standards for building heights. City staff have not offered full explanations for the proposed changes, particularly not for the changes to the building height requirements, which make the ordinance much more confusing and harder to enact.

St. Paul residents advocate for a better ordinance

Hundreds of FMR River Guardians have sent in letters or signed a petition to ask the city to improve the ordinance. And a dozen St. Paul residents, including River Guardians, took to the mic at a recent planning commission meeting. Several of the speakers were former St. Paul councilmembers or staff with many years of expertise in writing good ordinances. 

Here's what river advocates said:

Bird-friendly building is a responsibility

Residents pointed out how effectively bird-friendly building materials can protect the millions of birds that migrate along the Mississippi River through the city every year.

One speaker noted, "There's an extinction crisis right now, and it's such a simple thing that could be done that could make a huge difference... The citizens of St. Paul and the river communities really appreciate the natural corridor, and we want to see development that protects the environment and harmonizes with the river."

Clarity is key

Speakers also noted how the vague, subjective criteria for variances, conditional use permits and building heights does not meet the city’s own standards for clear ordinance language.

One resident said, "Well-written zoning ordinances avoid vague language in order to deter legal challenges and simplify administration." He remarked that the updated draft ordinance is missing details, resulting in an ordinance that would be more difficult to administer.

Window for improvements still open

Some commissioners seemed to agree with residents. Said one, “The compromise in front of us is insufficient.” Another added that bird population collapse “is an urgent matter."

That's heartening, but we still don't know if the planning commission will address the rollbacks. Their task is to continue discussions at future meetings and then send a recommended version to the city council for its approval. Mayor Carter must sign the final bill, as well.

That means we still have a window to continue to push for stronger riverfront rules, particularly with the city council and mayor.

FMR and our partners have been reaching out to councilmembers and Mayor Carter to discuss the ordinance. We appreciate Council President Rebecca Noecker’s participation in a Ward 2 constituent meeting about MRCCA co-hosted by FMR and the West Side Community Organization. 

We’ve also requested public meetings with Councilmember Jost and Mayor Carter so they can hear from their residents about their priorities for the Mississippi River. We hope they will accept the invitation to meet with their constituents. 

We’ll be sure to let our St. Paul River Guardians know when the city schedules the next meetings about the ordinance (sign up below). In the meantime, St. Paul residents can still sign FMR’s petition and write to their councilmember to let them know why good riverfront rules matter.

What St. Paul residents can do