09/02/2008 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Streams Aside from the small segments of Rice Creek that connect the Chain of Lakes, Lino Lakes contains two other creeks, Hardwood and Clearwater. Both creeks are TMDL- listed for biotic impairment, meaning the fish and insect life living in the stream is unhealthy. Biotic stressors can include in- stream habitat structure, stormwater volume, sediment, temperature, nutrients and other pollutants The Hardwood Creek TMDL is nearly complete and the Clearwater Creek TMDL is planned to start in the future. High Priority Resources State and federal wetland protection laws apply to wetlands in Lino Lakes. Both regulatory programs can be adapted to provide additional protection to these high quality resources. Additional protection can be afforded to those wetlands that exhibit high vegetative quality, high potential for restoration, create habitat connections, or harbor rare species. The high priority wetlands and associated high quality upland resources in Lino Lakes are shown in Appendix A, RMP, Figure 10. These upland resource preservation areas are higher quality oak woodlands and forests. The high priority resources were selected based upon a landscape -scale wetland functional assessment recently completed by the watershed district and numerous past studies by the City that incorporate the following information: • High Restoration Potential • Floodzones • High Vegetative Integrity • Trunk Drainageways • Groundwater Dependant Natural Communities • Rare Species • Orchid monitoring • City conservation easements • Tamarack basins • Cedar Lake floodplain • Rare plant community sites The RMP Rule for Lino Lakes provides additional protection measures for the high priority wetlands, and low quality, low priority wetlands will be afforded lower mitigation ratios and sequencing flexibility. Additionally, the City has recently completed a development suitability analysis for upland areas that was used to inform the preparation of the city's Land Use Plan and updated Parks, Opens Space /Greenway and Trail System Plan. Future Conditions City land use and watershed management policy affects watershed runoff volume, nutrient load, locations of open space and connected greenways and in turn affects the future quality and functioning of lakes, wetlands, and ditches. Two future conditions scenarios were evaluated in the RMP. Each scenario was created by dovetailing the city's proposed "full build out" land use plan and official controls with strategies for protecting water resources and watershed policy information from RCWD. A description of the two scenarios and the results of the analysis are summarized in the following section. • • •