Quiet victory for the river
With little fanfare, a small but significant victory took place a couple of weeks ago: The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources determined that district boundaries for the state designated Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA) cannot be modified by administrative action, bringing a longstanding debate to a close.
The MRCCA was established 30 years ago to ensure that the natural, cultural, scenic, and recreational assets of the river corridor would be protected as the metro area is developed further. Four districts were identified for the corridor based upon the development patterns when the MRCCA was first established -- Urban Diversified, Urban Developed, Urban Open Space and Rural Open Space.
A number of communities are now grappling with the growth issues that were anticipated by the founders of the MRCCA. In Saint Paul Park, 300 acres of land was recently annexed from the Grey Cloud Island Township in hopes of urbanizing land within the Rural Open Space district of the MRCCA. The Executive Order specifies the intent for lands within this district to preserve their open, scenic, natural and ecological characteristics.
The annexation dispute went on for nearly a decade. As part of its comprehensive plan update, which included the recently annexed lands, the City of Saint Paul Park requested clarification about the burning question of district boundary changes. Is there a process by which a local city may request a boundary change, and if so, what is it?
Although the topic had been debated from Town Hall to the Court of Appeals, no one had ever asked the DNR to make an official determination of this issue. After consulting with the State Attorney General's office, DNR told the City that only the state legislature or the governor could make such a change.
It's not clear yet whether this will have an impact on the City's final comprehensive plan. FMR has been encouraging city officials to add a "Park Search Area" to their plan for the Rural Open Space District and pursue acquisition and protection of the land as a publicly-owned natural area.