07-23-1990 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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foster coordination, communication and cooperation beyond the 929.4 contour. We find the City of Orono's contention misdirected. The environmental controls included in the Draft Management Program exceed those now in place and being implemented by the 14 cities, the Watershed District, the Metropolitan Council, the DNR and the PCA. The City of Orono's contention is unsupported and erroneous. The Management Program is not focused on promoting and encouraging increased boat densities and additional access points. Nowhere in the Management Program is increased boat density encouraged. Exactly the opposite is true. The Draft proposes a broad, comprehensive program for limiting growth. But we do not attempt to stop further growth at this time. That is the result of a conscious decision on the part of the Advisory Committee and participants in plan formulation. If the City of Orono seeks a policy of no further growth in access, the City should formally convey that decision to the LMCD and its Advisory Committee. We have received no such communication. The access standard of 700 car/trailer parking spaces is that of the Metropolitan Access Committee. The member organizations of that committee have established a standard for access to metropolitan lakes, including Lake Minnetonka. They have full statutory authority to implement that standard on Lake Minnetonka, and indeed, have indicated their determination to do so. This Management Program accepts that standard, only after attempting to get two of the three members to accept a lower standard. Those meetings were held over a six month period, in open public forum. It is absolutely untrue that the Management Program attempts to remove land use regulation from local control. Nowhere in the plan is there a call for a change in traditional authority and power in this area. Right now, under Minnesota Statute, land use controls are the shared responsibility of the local city, the Watershed District, and the DNR. This Management Program merely recognizes that shared responsibility and attempts to set a consistent set of standards and criteria to be implemented by those three organizations. The LMCD is to act to foster coordination, cooperation, and communication. That is something that has been missing far too often in the past. We are guilty of seeking to raise taxes to pay for essential regulatory and coordination activities. We do not seek to dilute or eliminate and lessen local control over the LMCD and surrender it to state agencies. Orono cannot support that charge with any specific from the Management Plan.