The St. Paul City Council passed its resolution on July 6, as expected. The Mayor also signed it. It was accompanied by staff comments.
The staff comments were shortened as compared to the comments that would have accompanied the resolution on May 18.
The administrative law judge is accepting rebuttal comments until July 13.
Here is the link where you can view all comments received and submit rebuttal comments: https://minnesotaoah.granicusideas.com/discussions/department-of-natural-resources-proposed-rules-governing-mississippi-river-corridor-critical-area/topics/submit-a-comment-14
The next step is for the judge to rule. The advertised timeline is October, but may take until the end of the year. After that, the city is required to bring its ordinances into compliance with the rules.
The city CAN decide to have ordinances that are MORE PROTECTIVE than the DNR rules, but CANNOT have ordinances that are LESS PROTECTIVE. In the end when comparing the DNR rules and the city ordinances, the MORE PROTECTIVE PROVISION is supposed to apply.
In light of that, its important that citizens are aware of the phase to bring city ordinances into compliance. The DNR has said that the City of St. Paul will be one of the first cities in line when that phase begins. If the judge rules by the end of the year, that process would start at the beginning of 2017. Stay tuned.
