Saint Paul Critical Area zoning to enter final review

The long-awaited revision of river corridor regulations for Saint Pauls 17-mile stretch of the Mississippi River are soon to be released for public comment. The Planning Commission and the City Council will soon review it. Friends of the Mississippi River is pleased with the care that the City and the community task force have taken in their efforts to plan for and protect Saint Pauls river valley.

There are two lingering issues we would like to see addressed before the zoning code is formally adopted. First, we want to ensure that height standards along the river are adequate to protect the rivers scenic assets, and that no current critical area height standards are weakened. Second, we want the critical area district boundaries to be drawn perpendicular to the river and for each district to address its reach of the river as a holistic environmental system. By incorporating these two changes into the final adopted zoning code, we believe Saint Pauls work will do much to protect the future of our Mississippi River valley.

To learn more about this issue, please visit our Saint Paul zoning project page.