5.7 PCSR 07-25-1995 - Laserfiche WebLink

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r unwilling to annex the entire park be- Population growth has varied widely in cause the cost of providing service would the area, with large increases in some too high and the township does not areas and losses in others.The most rapid ave the resources to fix the problem. growth generally has been in areas with small populations. More than 80 percent The lack of cooperation between govern- of the housing units in the area use public ments is seen as the primary barrier to sewer systems. managing growth issues on the urban fringe. Conflicts over annexation exem- plify and exacerbate the difficulties in coordinating growth management and environmental controls. At least two cit- Bluff Site ies in the site have had contentious annexation fights. Township and city of- ficials believe the adversarial process pits Winona Twp. townships against cities. They blame the c city le . state for not having a clearly defined pol- Hillsdale r Winona icy on urban fringe growth and offering wp;.." Win a few incentives for cooperation. Stockton Twp. C'y Wilson -vomer R ch and Twp. Twa. TWO. Local governments have taken a number ,C t,° ° of positive steps to manage growth in the WINONA COUNTY Dresbcc:n region.Both Wright and Sherburne coun- New "ortrard ,Twp. Two. ties have adopted density requirements to --- jilprotect farmland and guide growth to- LoCres - '' ward urban areas. Sherburne County has ',nipignated urban expansion areas, and Hou;TCN C' NrY kc -^k[:- developed ou .. developed a mechanism to encourage `Ve', !IMICD cities and towns to do joint planning and zoning for these areas. Two cities have entered into orderly annexation agree- Source:U.S.Census ments with the surrounding townships, smoothing relations and helping manage the pace of growth on the urban fringe. 1 Bluff Site: Population Change 1970 — 1990 Bluff Site: Natural Constraints The Bluff Site covers nine townships and IllitINbc. six cities in Houston and Winona coun- ties. Most of the settlements are between the Mississippi River and the blufflands, and much of the new development fol- lows valleys between the bluffs. Though the numbers of new residents and hous- WINONA COUNTY ing are not large, the effects of this growth are significant because bluffs and I— steep slopes restrict the amount of land available for development. Karst lime- FHc_tsTC•s. -cy- -,o% to o% stone bedrock with sinkholes, typical of o% to 25% ,n itheastern Minnesota, northeastern 55% 50% _a% t° 208% a, and southwestern Wisconsin, un- derlies about a third of the Bluff Site. Source:U S. Census ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY BOARD 11