08-14-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Search

SECTION I Natural Resources Revolving Fund Plan City of Lino Lakes WSB Project No. 2988-470 Page 1 I. Introduction A. Background The City of Lino Lakes (the City) is located north of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro area, in Anoka County (Figure 1). The Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Park Reserve bisects the city from southwest to northeast, along Interstate 35W. Approximately 21,267 acres of land exist within the City, and 3,450 acres have been set aside for parks and open space in the City’s Land Use Plan. The remaining developable land has been guided for several uses including commercial, industrial, mixed use, rural, residential, urban development, institutional, and airfields (Figure 2). Over the past several years, the City has embraced the concepts of sustainability and conservation development. Through their Comprehensive Plan, the City has established several goals related to the management and development of their natural resource areas. Specifically, the Resource Management Plan identifies the following goals: • Continue the development and maintenance of recreational activities that serve the identified needs of the community and people of all ages including, where possible, neighborhood parks, larger multi-use area parks, and the regional park. • Develop, maintain, and connect the current and proposed trails in the City of Lino Lakes and Rice Creek Regional Park in a manner that preserves and sustains the natural environment (greenway system, Figure 3). • Identify, protect, and preserve the desirable natural areas and ecological and aquatic • Initiate and continue vigorous collaborations and programs to address, restore, and preserve the water quality of the region’s lakes, wetlands, and other aquatic assets. • Ensure that well-planned, quality residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional development to accommodate the City’s projected growth needs occurs in a manner that also conserves and enhances the City’s natural resources and amenities. • Identify and work cooperatively with the state and other local government entities to develop approaches for addressing potential ecological challenges and threats that could adversely affect the City. The Resource Management Plan also developed the Wetland Preservation Corridor (Figure 4), which includes high priority wetlands, buffer areas, selected marginally suitable development areas, and the 100-year floodplain. This plan was adopted in 2008, in partnership with Rice Creek Watershed District. In 2011, the City adopted a Comprehensive Parks, Natural Open Space/Greenways, and Trail System plan that incorporated important natural resources into a contiguous network of recreational and habitat corridors throughout the city as part of a Greenway system. The plan also defined various categories of natural resource areas, as summarized below. • Natural Resource Protected Areas consist of water bodies and land areas that have some level of protection under current regulatory ordinances and controls. Development is already largely controlled in these areas; additional protections are likely not warranted. • Natural Resource Conservation Areas generally consist of areas defined under various natural vegetative cover or soil types. These are areas where preservation opportunities are very high and where protection of the resources is a foremost consideration as the land is developed. Beyond development and zoning ordinances, these areas are not inherently protected. Establishment of a wetland bank in these areas would further the goal of preserving and protecting the resources. These areas are shown on Figure 4. • Natural Resource Enhancement Corridors consist of generally agricultural areas that will convey runoff, fill gaps in the greenway system, and/or provide a corridor for the greenway-