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INFORMATION �� r,e.A. 7 _
<br /> BEING REASONABLE ON GROWTH
<br /> . A recent letter by Marilyn Bujalski, who wrote a legislative up-
<br /> date for the Citizen and has lobbied at the Capitol for United We 3/2 i.(77
<br /> Stand America, was far off the mark in regard to my statewide land /
<br /> tanning bill.
<br /> e rapid growth of the St. Cloud region and the unabated sprawl boundaries by"leapfrogging into adjacent counties that are outside of
<br /> of the Twin Cities have become two of the most critical and contro- the council's jurisdiction. There is growing recognition among the
<br /> versial public policy issues we face in Central Minnesota. At stake is public and lawmakers the the council needs to be more aggressive in
<br /> the desire to retain our community's identity and independence from its efforts to limit sprawl within the seven county metro area, but the
<br /> that of the Twin Cities region,a desire on which broad consensus ex- council says it is reluctant to do so because of its fears of leapfrog-
<br /> ists within the region and among Central Minnesota legislators. ging.The Council is hoping that the counties that lie outside its juris-
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<br /> What House File 217,the bill I have authored attempts to address diction will impose restrictions on unplanned growth so that orderly
<br /> is the fact that policies currently pursued by the state, regional and growth can be focused within the met Council's urban boundary.
<br /> local levels, if left unchanged, will inevitably lead us to a future in If current trends continue, Sherburne County will see an increase
<br /> which my home town of St. Cloud and other Central Minnesota corn- in its population from 41,945 in 1990 to 72,100 in 2020, a whopping
<br /> munities will be part of one undifferentiated urban metropolitan area 72 percent increase. In effect, Twin Cities and St. Cloud growth are
<br /> stretching from St. Cloud through the Twin Cities to Rochester. going to spill into counties like Sherburne, Chisago, Benton and
<br /> This prediction is easily inferred from recent growth estimates Isanti. If local governments do not make some difficult decisions re-
<br /> showing that the St. Cloud region will increase by 107,000 residents garding planning, we will see'urban sprawl on an unprecedented
<br /> within the next 15 years. This is the equivalent of taking the•popula-. scale.
<br /> tion of Duluth and imposing it on top of the four county,-St;Cloud Most county governments that border the Twin Cities and St.
<br /> region. ' . cloud metro area are aware of these issues, but have been unable or
<br /> �"`a 'n unwillingto address them adequately. County commissioners are of-
<br /> To me, the most sensible course of action appears to be one in eq
<br /> which municipalities take the lead in addressing this issue at the local ten under immense pressure—all to often from landowners seeking to
<br /> level.However, if the local governments, both inside and outside the make a windfall profit from the sale of their property to allow devel-
<br /> seven county metropolitan region, fail to come to grips with urban opment in rural areas.
<br /> sprawl, then the state should assert itself; because all Minnesotan Without the state stepping into coordinate and enforce locally cre-
<br /> have a stake in this issue. ated planning efforts, I believe that piecemeal and unplanned growth
<br /> One antidote to the spectre of increasing urban sprawl is the es- is likely to continue on the peripherty of the seven county metro area.
<br /> tablishment of strict urban growth boundaries. An urban growth - n my opinion, each municipality in these areas should determine
<br /> boundary is a defined line around an urban area within which a corn- for itself the likely growth of its community over the next 20 to 40
<br /> munity can meet its future needs in light of expected increases in years in order to maintain open space between the metro area and
<br /> population and the corresponding need for urban services such as surrounding communities.
<br /> sewer,water and roads. They need to establish strict density goals, so that the true costs
<br /> The idea is that within urban growth boundaries, higher popula- of extendir3 services within the urban growth boundaries are consis-
<br /> tensities are encouraged, resulting in less expensive infrastruc- , tent with the tax baseof th new residential and business properties.
<br /> tep more affordable and convenient public transportation and other 1 As a result, average lot sizes within a municipality's urban growth
<br /> civic cultural amenities desirable in an urban center. . . area would likely need to be limited. This does not mean that some
<br /> Outside of urban growth boundaries, the idea goes, land use con- lots could not be large, but that the average lot should be of a size
<br /> trols limit development and protect agricultural and forested areas.. that urban services can be provided without imposing excessive taxes
<br /> the aim is to keep residential density in these rural areas low;perhaps on taxing current residents.
<br /> one household per 40 or 80 acres. Under such a scheme,valuable ag- Most of us living in the communities outside the Twin Cities do
<br /> riculture resources is protected from creeping development,and open • riot want to be a part of the ever-increasing sprawl of the Twin Cit-
<br /> spaces such as parks, trails and forests are preserved for all of a ies. the only way to prevent such a scenario is to limit growth be-
<br /> given region's population. The rural culture in the area outside the ::! tween the urban center of the seven county metropolitan area and
<br /> boundaries is also protected. "- neighboring cities. the adoption of urban growth boundaries by
<br /> Currently, in the rapidly urbanizing counties outside the Twin • towns and cities would be an important step in protecting the pocket i-
<br /> Cities.metro, area, land use policies promote urban sprawl by books of taxpayers, the environment and our more rural way of life
<br /> allowing individuals to purchase and build lots in agriculture areas, .- in Central Minnesota. _ ..
<br /> frequently in small plots of one or two acres. As a result,large tracts ' -
<br /> of valuable productive farm land and open spaces are being filled in Author of House F le 21 resentatJoe OaState ive
<br /> with development. . i.
<br /> -.i Many problems arise from this situation. First, economically vi- v
<br /> able agricultural land is permanently displaced. second, the area's
<br /> taxpayers are called upon to pay for extending urban services to
<br /> these new housing developments, usually at an extremely high cost.
<br /> third,.the space between small communities outside the metro area:;`
<br /> and the Twin Cities continues to be filled with development, creating,.x
<br /> a large,'sprawling area._. 4;: _..._ -' t
<br /> *= The raptdl growing Twin Cities'metropolitan area exacerbates-t r
<br /> ' the problem of urban sprawl in Central Minnesota.The Metropolitan
<br /> ,.council, in its most recent planning document,raised concerns about t'
<br /> ('so-called leapfrog development,that bypasses the council's set urban�-.s$::
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