Laserfiche WebLink
N.. <br />May 15, 1979 <br />To: Dennis Zylla, City Manager <br />From:. Maurice Anderson, Director Park and Recreation <br />r~~~~1 <br />Re: Long Lake Surface Use Ordinance <br />As an introduction. to the topic, I am summarizing information <br />provided by the Department of Natural Resources related to <br />ordinances of this kind. The * refers to regulations that are <br />expected to be in effect about July, 1979. New Brighton's pro- <br />posed ordinance has been casually reviewed and is generally in <br />agreement with DNR's current thinking. <br />In 1971 the Minnesota Legislature amended the state's <br />Water Safety Act to allow the Commissioner of Natural <br />Resources to regulate the use of watercraft on the <br />waters of the state. Under the 1971 law (Minnesota <br />Statutes Chapter 361.26), the Commissioner could <br />adopt such regulations only when requested to do <br />so by a local unit of government (ie. a county, <br />township, village or city). These regulations would <br />only pertain to watercraft and could restrict the <br />type and size of watercraft used on a body of water, <br />the areas used by watercraft, the speed of watercraft, <br />the times. when watercraft could be operated and the <br />minimum separation distance between watercraft. The <br />law also required that a public hearing be held-prior to <br />the adoption of any water surface use regulat-ions and <br />such regulations could not be put into effect until <br />approved by the Board of County Commissioners for the <br />county in which the body of water is located. <br />The DNR~s Division of Waters, Soils and Minerals was <br />_ - - - - given the respensibility.for implementing this particular <br />- ~__ program and has already acted upon several requests for. <br />- the establishment of water surface use regulations under - <br />the 1971 law. ~iowever, experience gained thus far indi- <br />cates that water surface use regulations cannot be im- <br />posed on one body of water without affecting the types. <br />and intensity of use on nearby bodies of water. It has, <br />therefore, become obvious that water surface use zoning <br />cannot be concerned only with solving individual problems <br />on individual bodies of water but must. instead be directed <br />toward creating an effective statewide water surface use <br />