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Law summaries continued <br />required within two years after adop- <br />tion by the county. Draft plans, in <br />addition to county, conservation <br />district, town and city review, will be <br />subject to a 60 day review and com- <br />ment period by the Met Council, the <br />state review agencies, and the Boazd of <br />Soil and Water Resources. Watershed <br />management organizations are required <br />to respond in writing to any concerns <br />expressed during the review process <br />within 30 days. Effective August 1, <br />1995. <br />Sex offender residential programs <br />not a permitted use <br />Section 79 of Chapter 224 modi- <br />fies the state override of local zoning <br />for state-licensed residential programs <br />serving six or fewer persons and <br />provides that a residential program <br />whose primary purpose is to treat <br />juveniles who have violated criminal <br />statutes relating to sex offenses or have <br />,, ~ been adjudicated delinquent on the <br />basis of conduct in violation of <br />criminal statutes relating to sex offense <br />shall not be considered a permitted use. <br />Effective May 26, 1995. <br />Permit deadlines <br />._..~-N--~-----~ - . <br />Chapter 248, Article 19 addresses <br />state agency and local government <br />deadlines for issuing zoning, septic <br />system and metropolitan urban service <br />area permits approvals. Permit <br />applications must be determined <br />complete or incomplete within 10 <br />business days. The. a~ication must be <br />acted on within 60 days or it will be <br />deemed approved. A city may receive <br />an automatic 60 day extension by <br />providing the applicant written notice <br />containing the reason for the extension <br />~- within the 60 day period and specifying <br />I how much more time is required. <br />Other extensions are possible with the <br />applicant's approval. Effective 7uly 1, <br />}.~-- <br />1995 and applicable to any written <br />request submitted after that date. <br />~~ ,a ~_~. <br />IiN ~ ~ n <br />~: <br />=1 1~ t ~~ <br />^ m r°P."~t..~.rw <br />Metropolitan <br />Metropolitan Livable Communities <br />Chapter 255 is the new Metropoli- <br />tan Livable Communities Act which <br />creates an economic vitality and <br />housing initiative primarily for the <br />metro azea. A Local Housing Incen- <br />tives Account program is established as <br />a voluntary program for cities. While <br />cities can choose not to participate in <br />the program, they will not be allowed <br />to apply for state grants to clean up <br />contaminated sites unless they can <br />show that they spent money on <br />affordable housing as if they had been <br />participating. Cities designate an <br />amount for affordable housing equal to <br />the cumulative amount they would <br />have spent had they participated, or <br />they agree to deposit their shaze into a <br />regional pool . The program would <br />require a portion of property taxes on <br />high-valued homes be used to build <br />more affordable and "life-cycle" <br />housing for certain groups at vazious <br />stages of life (for example, singles, <br />young families, the elderly). Cities <br />choosing to participate in the program <br />would negotiate housing goals with the <br />Metropolitan Council. <br />A second program is the "livable <br />communities" demonstration project <br />program which would allow cities to <br />obtain grants and loans from the Met <br />Council for certain projects. To pay for <br />this program, the Met Council is <br />authorized to levy a tax up to 50 <br />percent of the current Metropolitan <br />Mosquito Control District's levy and <br />also provides an annual HACA <br />payment equal to 50 percent of what <br />the Mosquito Control District receives. <br />In total, this amount could equal nearly <br />$4.5 million available annually for <br />grants and loans. The Mosquito <br />Control District's levy authority and <br />their HACA payment are reduced by <br />the amounts received by this program. <br />A third program is intended to assist in <br />cleaning up polluted lands in the metro <br />area. Money to fund this program will <br />come from funds set aside by the Met <br />Council to help local governments <br />purchase rights=of-way when building <br />roads and from the fiscal disparities <br />pool made up of a portion of each <br />metro city's commercial-industrial tax <br />base. More specifically, the program <br />taps a pool that dates back to the <br />construction of the Mall of America. It <br />is estimated that the pool would pay <br />about $5 million per year to the <br />program. <br />Finally, an urban homestead <br />exemption program is created to <br />provide income tax breaks for up to <br />five yeazs for persons moving into <br />certain blighted neighborhoods in the <br />metro azea. The Met Council will <br />designate certain areas as urban <br />revitalization and stabilization zones by <br />September 1, 1995. The maximum <br />exemptions would equal $10,000 for <br />singles, $12,500 for heads of house- <br />holds, and $15,000 for mazried couples <br />filing jointly. Vazious effective dates <br />apply. <br />6~R~~ <br />PersonneVpensions <br />Public pension plan provisions <br />modified <br />Chapter 141 is a 58-page law <br />making several changes to the public <br />pension plan provisions including the <br />requirement of suspending or forfeiting <br />benefits for certain felonious deaths, <br />recodifying the IRA plan, making <br />1995 Law Summaries LS 11 <br />