Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout[02] Orderly Annexation AmendmentMEMORANDUM Date: March 9, 2009 To: St. Joseph Planning Commission From: Judy Weyrens Re: March 16, 2009 Planning Commission Meeting Based on the last Planning Commission meeting the following is a proposed agenda for a meeting with St. Joseph Township: Joint Orderly Planning Annexation Agreement 1. Existing Agreement a. Update b. Renew Agreement c. Conditions for Annexation d. Establish method for periodic review and update 2. Expansion of Orderly Annexation Agreement a. Expansion Area b. Process and Timeline 3. 2008 St. Joseph Comprehensive Plan Update a. Correlation to St. Joseph Township Plan b. PO BOX 668 PHONE (320) 363-7201 Ci of St. lose h 25 College Avenue North FAx (320) 363-0342 P St. Joseph MN 56374. E-Mari jweyrens@ciryofstjoseph.com wEgsrrE" http://www.cityofstjoseph.com TOWN OF ST. JOSEPH RESOLUTION NO. 2006-01 CITY OF ST. JOSEPH RESOLUTION NO. ~.oo ~ - t7 JOINT RESOLUTION FOR ORDERLY ANNEXATION BETWEEN THE TOWN OF ST. JOSEPH AND THE CITY OF .ST. JOSEPH, MINNESOTA WHEREAS, the Town of St. Joseph (hereinafter referred. to as the "Town") -and the City of St. Joseph (hereinafter referred to as the "City"), both located entirely within Stearns County, ~in the State of Minnesota, have agreed that there is a clear need for a cooperative future planning effort for the land governed by the two jurisdictions; and, WHEREAS, to this end, have met extensively in discussion and study of future planning issues as the Crreater St. Joseph Area Committee; and, WHEREAS, the Town Board and City Council have expressed their desire to encourage future development of land near the City so as to avail such development of municipal services as much as is practical, while encouraging the retention of land in agricultural use; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, in consideration of the mutual terms and conditions that follow, that the City and Town enter into this Joint Resolution for Orderly Annexation. 1. Designation of Orderly Annexation Area. The Town and City desire to designate the area set forth on the map attached (Exhibit 4) and the legal descriptions attached (Exhibits 1, 2 -and 3) as subject to orderly annexation under and pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 414.0325. 2. Minnesota Municipal Board Jurisdiction. Upon approval by the Town Board and the City Council, this Joint Resolution- shall confer jurisdiction upon the Minnesota Municipal Board (hereinafter referred to ~as the "Municipal Board") so as to accomplish said orderly annexations in accordance with the terms of this Joint Resolution. 3. No Alterations of Boundaries. The Town and City mutually agree and state that no alterations by the Municipal Board of the stated boundaries of the area designated. for orderly annexation is appropriate. 4. Review and Comment by the Municipal Board. The Town and City mutually agree and state that this Joint Resolution and Agreement sets forth all the conditions for annexation of the areas designated, and that no consideration by the Municipal Board is necessary. The Board may review and comment, but shall, within thirty (30) days, order the annexation in accordance with the terms of this Joint Resolution. All zoning and subdivision regulation within the orderly annexation area, prior to annexation, shall be controlled by a three (3) member commission, with one member appointed from each of the City Council, Town Board, and the Stearns County Board of Commissioners. Such membership to this committee shall be appointed on an annual basis by both the Gity Council and the Town Board. The County membership shall be held by the Commissioner for the district containing both the City and Township. This committee shall serve as the "governing body" and °board of appeals and adjustments ,for purposes of Sections Minnesota Statutes, Sections 462.357 and 462.358, within the orderly annexation area. The committee shall have all of the powers contained in Minnesota Statutes, Sections 462.351 to 462.364, and shall have the authority to adopt and enforce the Uniform Fire Code promulgated pursuant to Section 299F.011. Following annexation, the annexed properties shall be subject to the zoning and subdivision controls of the City, and the City Council shall serve as the "governing body." 6. Municipal Reimbursement. The City and Town mutually agree and state that,. pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 414.036, a reimbursement from the City to the Town shall occur for the taxes collected on land annexed into the City, according to the following conditions: A. All reimbursement will be based on the valuation and tax capacity of the land as it exists in the Town at the time of its annexation. B. The reimbursement on said land shall be based on a five (5) year schedule with a percentage of base taxes reimbursed to the Town as follows: Year 1 60% Year 2 . 50% Year 3 40% Year 4 30% Year 5 20% C. At the sixth year, and every year thereafter, all pertinent tax revenues will be the property of the City. D. Any circumstances of extreme undue hardship may be cause for re-negotiation of this section on a case-by-case basis. 7. Conditions for Orderly Annexation. A. Zones 1, 2 and 3 in Prior Annexation Agreements. The December 18, 1997 Annexation Agreement between the City and Town contained three zones which were to be annexed into. the City over differing periods of time. The City and Town desire to maintain the zones for purposes of this Agreement. The zones are designated as: ZONE PROJECTED LIFE LEGAL DESC. MAP Zone 1 0-1 Year (1997-2002) Exhibit 1 Exhibit 4 Zone 2 6-10 Years (2003-2007) Exhibit 2 Exhibit 4 Zone 3 11-20 Years (2008-2017) Exhibit 3 Exhibit 4 The City will continue to make reasonable efforts to provide and plan for the possible extension of services into each zone within the projected life of each zone. Once the projected life of a zone has expired, such as is the case for Zone 1, the City may annex the property on the City's own petition for annexation and the annexation shall not be subject to the annexation petition requirements in paragraph 7B below, and shall not be subject to the Criteria for Annexation in paragraph 7C [1] below. Provided all of the remaining required criteria have been met by the City, the Township shall not object to such annexation petition by the City. Zone 2 wi{I expire on December 31, 2007. Zone 3 will expire on December 31, 2017. Unless a petition of property owners for annexation has been filed with the City pursuant to paragraph 7B below, and the criteria for annexation as established in paragraph 7C below of this agreement is met, the City agrees not to petition for annexation of any area within Zone 2 until December 31, 2007, or unless it is ordered to provide sanitary sewer and/or municipal water services to any areas in said zone by the MPCA or any other state or federal regulatory agency. Unless a petition of property owners for annexation has been filed with the City pursuant to paragraph 7B below, and the criteria for annexation as established in paragraph 7C below of this agreement is met, the City agrees not to petition for annexation of any area within Zone 3 until December 31, 2017, or unless it is ordered to provide sanitary sewer and/or municipal water services to any areas in said zone by the MPCA or any other state or federal regulatory agency. For all areas within the annexation area between the City and Town which are not a part of Zone 1, Zone 2 and Zone 3, the City agrees not to_petition for annexation of any area unless a petition of property owners for annexation has been filed with the City pursuant to paragraph 7B, Annexation Petition Requirements, and the Criteria for Annexation as established in paragraph 7C of this Agreement have been met. B. Annexation Petition Requirements. Subject to the exceptions in paragraph 7A above, the owners of at least sixty (60) percent of the parcels of property in the affected area must petition in order for the annexation to be considered. If the owners of sixty (60) percent or more, but less than one hundred (100) percent of the parcels of property in the affected area petition for annexation, a joint hearing of both the Town Board and the City Council shall be called to consider the petition. The petition shall not be approved unless both the Town Board and City Council, voting as separate boards, approve the petition seeking annexation. If the owners of one hundred (100) percent of the parcels of property in the affected area petition for annexation, the City Council will, as an agenda item at their next regular Council meeting, review the petition for consideration of annexation. C. Criteria for Annexation. Subject to the exceptions set forth in paragraph 7A above, the City and Township agree that, unless both the Township and City mutually agree to consider a specific annexation request, property will not be annexed unless all three of the criteria stated below are satisfied: 1. A petition for annexation has been received and either 100% of the property owners have petitioned to do. so, or the subject property has completed the hearing process as hereinafter set forth, -with approval of the proposed annexation being obtained from both the City and Township; and 2. The property for which annexation is sought is contiguous to the City Limits. For the purposes of this requirement, °contiguous" shall mean: a. That the property is sought to be annexed abuts property within the City; or b. That the property sought to be annexed would abut ,property within the City, but for the existence of an intervening road right-of-way, the existence of the body of a river or the existence of the body of a lake. A road right-of-way (other than as if traversed across its width to get to the property to be annexed. as provided for iri this paragraph) shall not be used as a basis for a finding that said property abuts or is contiguous to property within the City; or c. If only an apex of the property sought to 6e annexed abuts property within the City; and 3. The City has immediate ability to extend water and sewer services to the subject property and the property owner has good faith intent to immediately plat the property for which annexation is sought. That following annexation, but before a building permit is issued by the City for the construction of any structures thereon, City water and sewer services must be provided to the structure for which any building permit is sought. In the event that the City and Township mutually agree to consider an annexation request that does not meet all three (3) criteria established above, at least 60% of the affected property owners must submit a petition for annexation. In that event, a joint hearing of both the Town Board and the City Council shall be called to consider and act on the petition. The petition for annexation shall not be approved unless both the Town Board and the City Council, voting as separate bodies, approve the petition seeking annexation. 8. Joint Plannina Committee. Any issues that would normally come before the Planning Commissions of either the .City or the Town that involves land within the boundaries of the orderly annexation area described in Section One prior.to annexation, will be heard by a Joint Planning Commission. Membership of this Joint Planning Commission shall be as follows: A. Three (3) members from the City Planning Commission B. Three (3) members from the Town Planning Commission C. The City member of the Orderly Annexation District Planning and Zoning Authority.. D. The Town member of the Orderly Annexation District Planning and Zoning Authority. The posting and publishing of meetings for the Joint Planning Commission, as well as the taking of minutes for their meetings, shall be the responsibility of the Town Clerk. Following annexation, the annexed parcel will fall under authority of the City of St. Joseph. 9. Periodic Review. The City and Town mutually agree and state that a periodic review of this agreement is to be conducted beginning three (3) years after the effective date of this agreement and every three (3) years thereafter. The Joint Planning Committee as described in Section 8 of this agreement shall be responsible for conducting this periodic review, and shall present a report of said review to both the City Council and Township Board for their consideration of any recommendations. 10. Authorization. The appropriate officers of the City and Town are hereby authorized to carry the terms of this Joint Resolution into effect. 11. Severability and Repealer. A determination that a provision of this joint Resolution is unlawful or unenforceable shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions herein. Any prior agreement or joint resolution existing between the parties and affecting the property described in the attached Exhibits steal{ be considered repealed upon the effective date of this Joint Resolution. Upon adoption of this. Orderly Annexation Agreement by the City of St. Joseph and Township. of St. Joseph, and approval by the OAH-MBAO, the Joint Resolution as to Orderly Annexation, City of St. Joseph and Township of St. Joseph, dated October 2, 1975 and subsequently amended by joint resolution approved by the City of St. Joseph on April 16, 1,987, and approved by the Town of St. Joseph on April 27, 1987 and subsequently amended by joint resolution approved by the City of St. Joseph on December 18, 1997 and approved by the Town of St. Joseph on December 29, 1997, shall hereby be considered revoked by the provisions of this Agreement. 12. Effective Date. This Joint Resolution shall be effective upon adoption by the governing bodies of the City and Township and approval by the OAH-MBAO. Approved the 30th day of May , 2006, by the Town Board of the Town of St: Josep hair ~ -. own Clerk Approved the I~ day of , 2006, by the City Council o he C't of St. J eph. r ayor .., irnst to Exhibit 1 0 - 5 Year Urban Service Area Section 02-124-29 S % - SW '/.West of CR 133 Less City Section 03-124-29 S %2 - SW '/4 Less City Section 04-124-29 SE '/. - SE '/. No. of Sly RNV of Railroad Section 09-124-29 NE'/< - NE'/4 - NE'/. No. of Sly R/W of Railroad E % So. of. CSAH 75 Sly R/VV Less City S % - SW '/. E of I-94 Ely RIV1l Section 10-124-29 E'/2 - NE'/. No. of Nly R/W of Railroad Less City NE'/a - NW '/. Less City W % - NW '/4 Less City Section 11-124-29 W %2 - NW'/4 lying NWIy of County Road No. 133 Section 14-124-29 N'/z - NW''/4 Less City Exhibit 2 6 -10 Year Urban Service Area Section 01 -124- 29 W%-SW '/, Section 02-124-29 SE '/, N%-SW '/, Section 0~-124-29 W %- NE'/, NW '/d NW'/,-SW '/, No. 10 A of SE'/. - SW '/4 No.10AofSW'/,-SE'/, Section- 04-124-29 NW '/, - SE'/, E. of So. Fork Watab River SE'/4 - SE'/,, So. of Sly R/V1l of Railroad S % - SW '/, So. of Sly RNV of CSAH 75 Section 09-124-29 NW '/, - NW '/, So. of Sly R/VN of CSAH 75 Section 11-124-29 W '/z - E'/a Less City Section 12 -124 - 29 NW'/,- NW'/, Section 14-124-29 NW'/.-NE'h W 792~Ft SW '/, - NE'/, Less Triangle, Containing 20 A. S%-NW'/, SW '/, Section 15-124-29 Entire Section 15 Less City Section 16-124-29 N %- NE'/, Less City S%-NE'/4EofElyR/W I-94 NW '/: E. of Ely R/VV I-94 SE'/, E. of Ely R/W I-94 Section 22 -124 - 29 Entire Section 22 North of Interstate Highway 94 Nly RNV Less City Exhibit 3 11 - 20 Year Urban Service Area Section 01-124-29 Entire Section Except W %z - SW '/. Section 02-124-29 NE'/4 NW '/4 Section 03-124-29 E%-NE'/. Section 11-124-29 E%-E%z ExceptNE'/4-NE'/< Section 12-124-29 Entire Section Except NW '/4 - NW '/< Section 13-124-29 That part of Section 13 North of the Sauk River Section 14-124-29 That part of Section 14 North of the Sauk River described as follows: E %- NE'/4 E. 792 Ft SW '/, - NE'/+ Less Triangle, Containing 20 A. SE '/. Section 21-124-29 That part of Section 21, Northeast of Interstate Highway I-94 Section 22-124-29 That part of Section 22 lying NE of County Road 121 Section 23-124-29 That part of Section 23 North of the Sauk River & East of County Rd 121 Section 04-124-29 NW '/< NE'/4 SW '/. N. of Nly RNV of CSAH 75 NW '/< - SE'/.lying W. of the centerline of Watab Creek Section 05-124-29 That part lying easterly and northeasterly of the easterly and northeasterly right-of-way line of Interstate Highway Number 94 Section 08-124-29 That part lying easterly and northeasterly of the easterly and northeasterly right-of-way line of Interstate Highway Number 94 Section 09-124-29 NE '/< - NW %4 N. of northeasterly R/VU of CSAH 75 i F N n ~ ~` i! 7 Z 7 m N ~ ~; [Z: a I. W 7 K ti ~ ~ r ti yy _~ .Y ;~ n •' O ifi 0~' © m m W `J 4 h fi I~. ~~ P O N o ~~ ~ J O W W J1 4 ~7 J ~ ~ ti ,~ l `11 - ,.:, 0 0 0 F ~ Z _ F I L aC ~ ~ _~ ~ Z Z ~ r ::i a.. a a a `:, ~, z s Z ~ Y s ,_ E., z o J J J T r ¢ ~ V V ~.'i _N _ Q ~ ~:~ i :.J aro~~ •is ~o xll~ ~--- -~. - ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : L 1 - - :Z~ I I -- - r- ~ = h ry \ ~. f ~yf~~I 4 ,f - - -- - (ij i ~. ;' - ~._ ; ~~; ~ ~~' ` ~ ` ~: _ ~_ ~~ ~ ~:. __ ~~ ~,~r-- ~ ~--r/ 4 w t t~ I ~_ tA_i ~ ql(.!i ~~~ I '!' S 5 rye ~~ '---- ~~~~P N N ,- ' rya t ~-- `~ , N -~ ..i." 4j 1 1 - i __ - ~.:. 1 a `~~ ~~ ~ ~° .>,h . ~ i ~-- I= I i I~~~.Y r.~-w i. ~-A~'v.~... ~i r.M~+n.~ ....n .• 1 ~: lA'. •1 ilf H35 hi of I:• 1G(: i./L'(l: ~v o ~ LL o r p w O f p ~ w ® a ` ~ ¢ aWa `~ d ~ z ~ o ~ ,,, "' 'L W < > `~ o ~'°z C ~ N r Z N Q¢ O E N In ~ Z OLL ~ < O ZaU C w in O ' H 2 3 U O Z ~ mC70 C .7 O Z W p Q u _O W Z W < N N D O J O m Z w w 71¢ ~ ~ _~ 3 X o ~ 7 ~ a a ¢UUri « m a~ _ µ1 I o J ooc C ~` E • B1 z Vi y~ ~j ~ 1l~ 1 m ~ ? W W Z LL r~ ~I w l~.l O J W W W W W W W N y O O ~ Q Q Q ¢ Q ¢ ¢ O O F W W > > > > > > a a ui~~ i W z 3 ~~ r r r ~ r r r o o ^ rm~ V, y- > > ~ > > > > ¢ a o 0~0 ~ C' V LL LL LL LL LL W LL D d Q Z N U V ~+ p F ® ~~a~®~o~~ ~~ 'r anoio is ~o ui~ ~ - ~: me ,~ LCD r--~ ~---~', 3 ~ `~ ~ 0 N N LO 0 1 ~ I ~ -- ~ ~ ~_~ GREATER SAINT JOSEPH AREA COMMITTEE ORDERLY ANNEXATION STUDY AUGUST, 1996 UPDATED NOVEMBER, 1997 TABLE OF CONT NTH POPULATION ....................................................................................1 Population Projections .................................................................1 NATURAL FEATURES .....................................................................3 Quantity of Land .........................................................................3 General Topography ....................................................................3 Rivers, Lakes and Watersheds .....................................................3 Soil Conditions ............................................................................4 CONTIGUITY OF BORDERS ..........................................................6 DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS .........................................................7 City .............................................................................................7 Township ....................................................................................8 Impact of Proposed Action ..........................................................8 TRANSPORTATION ISSUES ...........................................................9 Potential Transportation Issues and Proposed Highway Development .................................................9 LAND USE CONTROLS ...................................................................11 Comprehensive Plans ..................................................................11 Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances .............................................1 l Consistency of Plans ...................................................................12 GOVERNMENT SERVICES ............................................................13 Water and Sewer Services ...........................................................13 Public Safety ...............................................................................13 Street Improvements and Maintenance ........................................13 Administration .............................................................................14 Park and Recreation ....................................................................14 Impact of Proposed Action on the Delivery of Services ...............14 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS ...................................................15 SERVICE EXTENSION PLAN .........................................................16 Orderly Annexation .....................................................................16 Merger ........................................................................................17 Police Protection ...............................................................18 Governmental Services Extension Options ..................................20 FISCAL DATA ........................................................... .....................21 ... ADJACENT COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS .........22 ADEQUACY OF TOWN GOVERNMENT ......................................23 SERVICE PROVIDER DETERMINATION ...................................24 REMAINDER OF TOWNSHIP ........................................................25 20 Year O.A. District Summary ...................................................25 EXHIBITS ..........................................................................................26 A. Physical Features ...................................................................27 B. Shoreland Management Zoning ..............................................2$ C. Floyd Boundaries ...................................................................29 D. Soil Limitations .....................................................................30 E. Functional Classification ........................................................31 F. P~sical Constraints ..........................................................32 G. Future Land Use and Urb~ Service District Plan ..............33 GREATER SAINT JOSEPH AREA COMMITTEE ORDERLY ANNEXATION STUDY A. The St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is one of the fastest growing azeas in the state. Included in this MSA are the City and Township of St. Joseph. Within the past twenty years, the growth has changed from a slower, scattered development pattern, to a faster, more concentrated growth. As shown in the table below, overall growth for the combined area has been quite significant. From 1970 to 1990, the area added 72% to its population. The eazly 1980's showed a downturn in the local housing construction, but has strongly improved since 1986. Average population per dwelling changed from 1980 figures of 3.14 persons per household in the city and 4.37 persons in the township, to 1990 figures of 2.92 persons per household in the city and 3.30 persons in the township. This meant very little gain in population for the area, but a spreading out of the population over a larger land area. Since 1990, considerable new housing construction and platting have taken place. This would seem to indicate that another growth spurt similar to the 1970 - 1980 spurt is taking place. If this pace continues, the APO's 2010 projections should prove to be quite reliable. Projections for the future population growth of the Township and City are compiled by the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization (APO) as part of their Land Use and Transportation Plan. If the trend of 1970 to 1990 is continued, there should be an estimated 11,030 persons in the combined area. Note: Figures for 1992 are State Demographer's Office estimates. Figures for the yeazs 2010 and 2015 aze APO estimates. B. NATURAI FEAT RFC It is quite difficult to quantify the exact amount of land in either jurisdiction because of the overall scale of the area, changes in surveying methods over the years, etc. According to records of the 1990 Census, the City of St. Joseph covered .9 square miles (approximately 576 acres). Annexations in the last three years alone have doubled that to 1.8 square miles (approximately 1,152 acres) at the end of 1993. According to the St. Joseph Township Comprehensive Plan (1986), there were approximately 22,406 acres. After correcting for annexations, the current amount (based upon APO estimates) should be 34.2 square miles (approximately 21,888 acres). Perhaps the most detailed figures come from Joe Bettendorf (SEH Engineering). According to his figures, the City contains 1,050 acres or 1.64 square miles. Taken from a base figure of 23,040 acres or 36 square miles for the original township boundaries, current township land area should be 21,990 acres or 34.36 square miles. "Wooded areas are located throughout the Township, with the largest concentrations located in the northwest. Crravel pits and quarries, comprising approximately 200 acres, are located in the southern two-thirds of the Town, primarily in the southeast. Pockets of swampland are scattered throughout with the largest areas located in the north central and southeast portions of the Town, consuming roughly 2,200 acres of land." (St. Joseph Township Comprehensive Plan, p. 50)(See Exhibit A -Physical Features) Elevation of land in the study area is highest in the northern third of the western border. Hilly terrain beginning at this point drops from an average elevation of 1200 feet to 1104 feet near the Kraemer Lake area and South Fork of the Watab River. "Located in St. Joseph Township are six lakes. The largest, Kraemer Lake, is located southwest of the City of St. Joseph and is most used. Residential development is clustered around the lake and public access is provided. The remaining lakes, Mud Lake and four that are unnamed, are not available for public usage and, as soil conditions are poor, contain no development on their shores. (See Exhibit B - Shoreland Management Zoning) In addition to the lakes, two waterways traverse the Town: the Sauk River and the Watab Creek. Development along these waterways is restricted, primarily due to lack of access. 3 All waterways in the Town are included in the Stearns County Shoreland Management Zoning Ordinance. Two districts are identified on the exhibit, Special Protection and Residential- Recreational. The purpose of these districts according to the County's Ordinance are as follows: Special Protection District -Intended to manage areas unsuitable for development due to wet soils, steep slopes or large areas of exposed bedrock, and to manage areas presently in agricultural use and to discourage encroachment of non-farm activities within this district. Residential / Recreational District - To preserve areas suitable for residential development from encroachment by commercial and industrial establishments. The County also maintains a Flood Plain Management District which includes the Sauk River. Exhibit C (Flood Boundaries) illustrates the limits of 100 year floods and includes the floodway, the channel and adjoining area of the flood plain required to carry and discharge regional floods, and the flood fringe, that portion of the flood plain outside of the floodway. (St. Joseph Township Comprehensive Plan, pp. 53-55) "The Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District in cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) has mapped and classified soil types and restrictive wetlands in most of Stearns County. Exhibit D displays soil types and limitations in St. Joseph and the surrounding area. The ratings of slight, moderate and severe were used. SCS defines these limitations ratings as follows: Slight - Here soils and topographic situations are somewhat free of limitations which may restrict their use for a particular purpose. These areas may have minor limitations which are easily overcome. Moderate - The use limitations of these soils need to be recognized. The limitations may be overcome with good management and careful design. Severe - Soils having severe limitations make many uses of land with these soils questionable. Often extreme measures are needed to compensate or overcome limitations. Frequently, the cost of overcoming the limitations is impractical. 4 The exhibit illustrates that the St. Joseph area is mostly conducive to urban land use. Most soils have only slight or moderate limitations with regard to development. As might be expected, areas near the Watab River have severe limitations. Other areas to the east and south are also rated as severe. (St. Joseph City Comprehensive Plan - 1993 Update, pp.20-22) Most land in St. Joseph Township falls within the U. S. Soil Conservation Service Land Capability Classes of I and II. The soils in these classes have few limitations that restrict their use, and are considered to constitute "prime" agricultural land. Regarding residential usage, most soils in St. Joseph Township are rated as having either slight or moderate limitations." (St. Joseph Township Comprehensive Plan, pp. 52-53) C. CONTIGUITY O BORE The City of St. Joseph is located in and completely surrounded by the Township of St. Joseph. It's location places it in the approximate center of the north half of the Township. This location prevents the city from abutting the boundaries of any other townships, and is approximately 1 to 1.5 miles from the border of the nearest incorporated area. Without the ability to annex land from St. Joseph Township, the city would find itself landlocked. 6 D. DEVELOPMENT ATT RN "With the 1992 annexation of the entire College of St. Benedict campus area and other property south of the City, the holdings of the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict and the College of St. Benedict together compromise about 25% of the total city area. Residential uses represent 20% of the total area and over 93% of these residences are single family homes. Some growth areas are zoned as Planned Unit Residential Development (PURD) to encourage additional mixed residential uses. Industrial uses made up less than 2% of the total acreage until the annexation of the Rennie Industrial Park area in 1992. This resulted in an additional 166 acres, which means industrial uses are now over 20% of the City. Commercial uses only compromise about 1% of total land use. Major annexation activity in 1992 has more than doubled the size of the City. Altogether, more than 480 acres of property in St. Joseph Township were added to the City. Prior to this, there were very few developable areas within the City. North of the City and Burlington Northern rail line, 22 acres have been annexed to accommodate new residential development. Residential development is also planned for the long vacant PURD zone just north of this. The annexation of Pond View Ridge to the east will provide an additional 93 acres now platted for single family development. Newer subdivision elsewhere in the City are now almost entirely filled. The Cloverdale Estates is a mixed use residential development south of CSAH #75. Annexed in 1986, this neighborhood is fully developed with 61 modern single family homes, 36 apartment units and 24 townhouse units. A recent single family development in west St. Joseph known as Clinton Village was platted in 1983. Every lot has a connection to central sewer and water, and almost all of the 55 lots in this subdivision are now filled. There are approximately 21 acres of vacant land to the north and south of Clinton Village which are currently owned by the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict. It is unlikely that these azeas will be available for future residential use unless the property can be acquired from the Convent. The vacant area in northwest St. Joseph between CSAH #75 and the Burlington Northern railroad tracks in mostly comprised of wetlands and woodlands making this unsuitable for future development. Land use in the downtown area of College Avenue and Minnesota Street has not changed very much over the past 13 years. New businesses would have difficulty locating here because of the lack of space. Any further development will probable have to displace existing housing. (City of St. Joseph Comprehensive Plan proposed update, pp. 12-15) 7 Tow~shin "The majority of St. Joseph Township consists of agricultural land, followed by single family residences and commercial. Subdivisions in the Town are primarily located near the City of St. Joseph and around Kraemer Lake. Single family non-farm development located on single tracts of land is found along all roadways, especially C.R. 138, south of I-94, C.R. 139, the Township road from Bel Clare Acres to Birch Knoll Addition, CSAH 2 to Kraemer Lake, and C.R. 133. Concentrations of residential development can be seen in three major areas: adjacent to the City of St. Joseph, around Kraemer Lake, and in the southeastern corner of the Town encompassing sections 25, 26, 27, 34, 35, and 36. Commercial development is primarily east of the City of St. Joseph along C.R. 134, and in the industrial park. Based on the (St. Joseph Township 1986) land use inventory, three potential trends can be identified. Residential strip development, primarily located along roadways radiating out from the City of St. Joseph and in the southeastern corner of the Town. In addition, this type of development is also scattered throughout the Town. 2. Commercial strip development, located primarily along C.R. 134 from the City of St. Joseph east. 3. Leapfrog development, or development that is located at a higher density, but is not adjacent to other high density areas. This type of development is seen around Kraemer Lake and in the southeastern sections mentioned above. (St. Joseph Township Comprehensive Plan, pp.39 and 40) 4. Since 1986, an industrial park development along County Road 138 has also begun. It is recognized that there is a need for joint land use planning for the proposed Orderly Annexation area. To that end, a study of land use trends and projected needs of the affected area has been undertaken by the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization at the Committee's request. This study is the basis for the future land use of the subject area, and is attached in its entirety as Exhibit G, "Future Land Use and Urban Service District Plan." It is believed that implementing this report and its recommendations will help achieve its stated goals of preserving ag land while providing more land for a variey of housing types as well as a limited amount of commercial and industrial growth. This should allow development that is compatible with surrounding land uses, existing and planned, while minimizing adverse effects of development on the environment and public services. 8 E. ~'ransnortation Iccuec "What follows is a brief description of roadways in St. Joseph (City) and their functions. These are shown as Exhibit E. (Functional Classification) County State Aid Highway (CSAH) #75 is a major arterial with very high traffic volumes, carrying the majority of trips entering or leaving St. Joseph and a considerable amount of traffic passing through the City to destinations elsewhere. As a primary point of entry to the metropolitan area, the traffic flow on CSAH #75 has more than doubled since 1981. Volumes of traffic on CSAH #75 have surpassed those that were recorded prior to the opening of Interstate 94 (I-94) in 1978. With intersection improvements in 1991, there is currently a high level of service on CSAH #75, though continued growth in traffic volumes will lead to the need for enhancements in the future. Minnesota Street (County Road #2) and College Avenue (County Road 121} function as minor arterials, routing city and township residents to and from the St. Joseph Central Business District and college area. With County Road #133, they also take traffic onto and off of CSAH #75. While these roads have a lower level of mobility, traffic volumes continue to grow as they are the only other arterials in this area providing system continuity. Two north/south collectors, Second Avenue Northwest and Seventh Avenue Southeast, collect traffic from local streets and feed it to the arterials. Also, east of the City, 91st Avenue, the Township road that now services many homes recently annexed to the City, has a limited collector function. Because these road widths are too narrow to handle much larger volumes and the intersection is offset, it will be difficult to expand their function. (St. Joseph City proposed Comprehensive Plan Update, pp.15-17) "The Township is bisected by a spider web system of roadways that radiate out from and around the central cities in the metropolitan area. This roadway pattern is typical for townships located on the fringes of urban areas. The roadways primarily serve travel demands generated from beyond the Township's boundaries to destinations in the central cities. The majority of these roadways are under State and County jurisdiction. (St. Joseph Township Transportation Plan, P~8) Principal arterials in the Township include Interstate 94, CSAH #75 and Trunk Highway 23. All other roads in the Township are classified either as minor arterials or collector streets. "The roadway system in the Township is characterized by numerous discontinuities such as offset, tee, and skewed intersections. This pattern has evolved over the years due to the diagonal paths taken by State and County roads across the Township as well as the paths of the Sauk River and two Burlington Northern rail lines. Increasing traffic volumes along with continued land 9 development will intensify problems at these existing locations, breed new problems at other locations, and possibly preclude effective solutions if they are not addressed. Both natural and man-made physical features are constraints to the development of transportation corridors in the Township. These constraints are identified on Exhibit F. (Physical Constraints) The natural features include wetlands, lakes and rivers, while the man-made include railroad lines, utilities, quarries and existing development. Considered together, these constraints will limit opportunities for the location of new roadway comdors and will have a decided influence upon the possible system configurations. The majority of travel is passing through the Township without stopping. While many of the same patterns will continue in the future, land development in the Township will create new patterns oriented to other County and Township roads. These new patterns will be primarily internal trip movements that tend to be short in nature and occur between adjacent metropolitan communities. By far, the largest proportion of the trip growth should be in the area surrounding the City of St. Joseph. (St. Joseph Township Transportation Plan, pp. 14-15) According to the 1993 proposed St. Joseph City Comprehensive Plan update, "the 2010 Transportation Plan as adopted by the St. Cloud APO...together with the St. Joseph Township Transportation Plan were considered as the basic framework within which the City would develop its plan. The City Planning Commission has expressed its opposition to one element of the 2010 Transportation Plan. While it is recognized that an east/west minor arterial that connects County Road #121 to CSAH #75 at the intersection of County Road 133 to the east of the City provides needed relief to Minnesota Street and CSAH #75, the Planning Commission would not have it extended any further to the west as was suggested in the St. Joseph Township Transportation Plan." It is believed that such a roadway would not fit with the natural and orderly flow of inter-campus traffic within the College of St. Benedict and would .also "limit pedestrian access to a valued natural preserve area. With this change, the City of St. Joseph has developed a transportation plan that provides the best means of satisfying forecasted land development and the resulting travel demands consistent with goals and objectives. Other long range planning elements include an east/west minor arterial north of the Burlington Northern tracks, connecting CSAH #3 with County Road #134, providing additional relief to east/west travel demands. North/south roadways functioning as arterials and collectors will be needed to parallel existing roadways. The plan provides that these roads cross CSAH #75 and extend to County Road 121." (St. Joseph City proposed Comprehensive Plan update, pp. 34 & 37) It should be noted that the one item of dispute between the two transportation plans mentioned earlier is currently under discussion by both jurisdictions. Alternatives for this corridor are being studied. The Township maintains its position as outlined in the Township Transportation Plan that an east/west minor arterial should extend to the east side of the City through the College property. 10 F. LAND USE CONTROL The City of St. Joseph's primary planning method is through the use of a Comprehensive Plan. The current Plan was adopted in 1979. An update of the plan has been assembled through the services of the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization (APO) and was adopted this past year. St. Joseph Township adopted their Comprehensive Plan in 1986, two years after being granted the status as an urban township. The APO was again instrumental in the development of the Plan. Both the City and Township exercise local control over development by implementing their Comprehensive Plans through zoning and subdivision ordinances. The Township, in response to a sudden shift from a stable population base to one that doubled within a decade, formed a Planning Commission in July of 1968. "Within two years, aTownship-wide zoning ordinance had been implemented to help guide local development. The ordinance was professionally drafted for the Township by a consulting firm, but its intended impact was diluted by two conditions: the extent and dispersion of preexisting development, and the absence of any previously conducted comprehensive planning process. The Township's efforts to gain control over local growth forces did not end with the adoption of the zoning ordinance. Since its formation, the Planning Commission has had ongoing responsibility for reviewing all development proposals, ensuring compliance with existing zoning and subdivision controls. The Commission also makes recommendations on proposed zoning and subdivision amendments." (St. Joseph Township Comprehensive Plan, pp. 9 - 10) "In the City of St. Joseph, _7•oring Ordin nce No. 5 was adopted in December of 1962 and was revised, amended and reprinted in July of 1972. Qrdinance No. 55, dealing with subdivision regulations is the other regulatory document used for enforcing planning decisions. It became effective April 14, 1961, and was reprinted in May of 1972." (City of St. Joseph Comprehensive Plan, pp. 7 - 8) 11 Consistency of Plans The Comprehensive Plans and the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances of the City and Township differ in a number of ways, but these differences do not significantly affect the relationship between them. To the contrary, they typify the differences in philosophies between township and city government. Differences in these Plans and Ordinances deal with items such as lot sizes, set backs, and some allowed uses of the land. They appear to be quite natural differences that should merge well with time and growth of the City. By and large, they show a concerned and concerted stewardship for the areas in their jurisdictions, with many of the Goals and Objectives in their Comprehensive Plans being identical. There is evidence of an effort over the years on the part of the Township to stop haphazardly located development in favor of growth around the City, where services could be extended in a timely and cost-effective manner. Though not stopping lighter concentrations of growth in the Township, this removes the potential for large scale service or environmental problems in the future. The City, for its part, has concentrated on renewing old sections of infrastructure, enhancement of current holdings, and organized growth through planning. The two plans do quite well in planning for a joint future. The only way to get them into complete .agreement would be to form joint ordinances for the entire study area. 12 G. GOVE NMF.N F,RVI FS The City currently offers its residents municipal water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer services. They also include in their utility services curbside refuse service including Spring and Fall yard cleanup and Christmas tree disposal. The Township does not offer any utility services, relying instead on individual wells and septic systems for its residents. Refuse service is chosen and contracted for on an individual basis. The City and Township jointly own and operate the local Fire Department and Rescue Squad which is staffed with volunteer firefighters. This Department holds a fire protection rating of seven (7) for the city portion of its service area, and a rating of nine (9) for the Township portion. This joint Department also contracts with St. Wendel Township and provides Fire and Rescue services to the south half of that Township. The City maintains its own Police Department which is responsible for the enforcement of law within the City limits. The Department also runs the local Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Program. Emergency Management, formerly known as Civil Defense, is maintained in the City as a public safety program. Law enforcement in the Township is provided by the Stearns County Sheriffs Department. Street improvements and maintenance in both jurisdictions are quite similar in most respects. The City and Township both contract for the necessary street engineering services and take care of related aspects including signing, snow removal and general maintenance. They differ in that the City does all their work through the City Maintenance Department, whereas the Township contracts out all the work on their streets. In addition, the City also offers the services of street lighting, street cleaning, and has instituted a sidewalk program for the construction and maintenance of sidewalks in the City. 13 Administration Both jurisdictions offer the same basic administrative bodies, including an Executive Board (City Council and Township Board of Supervisors), a Planning Commission, a Park Board, and a joint Fire Board for the operations of the jointly owned Fire Department. They also offer services covering elections, administration of daily affairs of the jurisdiction, planning, accounting of funds and programs, building inspection, animal control, and property assessment. The City does all property assessment internally, whereas the Township contracts all property assessment out to the Stearns County Assessor's Office. The city also offers a CORE Committee, made up of "residents from St. Joseph, The College of Saint Benedict, Saint John's University, and City Officials, which was formed to encourage dialogue and interaction within our communities. It serves as a forum in which viewpoints can be heard and addressed. Further, it provides an opportunity for cooperation and coordination of events and activities." (CORE Committee Mission Statement) The Township currently has one park area, adjacent to the land holding the Township Hall. There are no organized programs for use of this area. The City has several parks scattered. throughout, totaling 70.4 acres. These include playground areas, neighborhood "tot lots", walking trails, camping and picnicking facilities, a hockey rink and skating rink with warming house. The City operates recreation programs in these areas and maintains and upgrades the areas and equipment. There are also two ball fields located at Millstream Park that are maintained and managed by the local recreation association, and acity-operated ball park at Memorial Park. Current city residents should not realize any substantial changes to the cost or timeliness of service delivery under the scenario of orderly annexation. The demand for services being gradually increased through annexations will be offset by the influx of new tax base to pay for the corresponding additional staff and infrastructure. Current township residents, upon annexation, should notice some improvement in the timeliness of delivery of services such as law enforcement and street maintenance due to the full time staff for those services, as opposed to response time for Stearns County deputies normally coming from further away and street maintenance done on an "as needed" contract basis. Most other services should have little or no discernible differences. 14 H. ENVIRONMENTAL ('ON('ERNS No known problems of environmental pollution currently exist in the study area. However, there exists the potential for future problems because of development in areas of restrictive soils, such as around the lakes as well as in areas proximate to wetlands. The heavy development of these areas, along with the age and condition of the sanitary sewer and potable water systems there, make future planning for eventual extension of services to these areas a prudent measure. Also, if any amount of concentrated development were to occur in the study area, sanitary sewer and water services would allow for the smaller lot size of contemporary residential developments without compromising the environmental soundness of the area. Though not a current concern, environmentally sensitive lands and the areas around them that might not otherwise be feasible for any type of development, could be developed with municipal services. 15 I. SERVICE EXTENSION I'L.AN Any plans for the extension of services will need to take into consideration the manner in which the Committee decides upon for consolidation of the jurisdictions. Current methods and policies of service extension would work under an orderly annexation agreement with only minor modifications. However, under a merger, some "tiering" of service levels would be necessary both for public acceptance of the merger and for the service management and provision to remain practical. Following is a detailed analysis of each and recommendations for implementation. Orderly annexation has the advantages of generally being much easier to gain public support for because of its gradual nature. This gradual change also allows both the Township and City governments to slowly adjust their services and budgets over a longer period of time, avoiding any "shocks" to either. It also makes these changes much easier to enact, since the agreement usually sets the conditions and procedures ahead of time, thereby clarifying everyone's roles and avoiding confusion-related delays. It's disadvantage is that it becomes "one more level of government" to keep in mind whenever changes are made. It's broad nature affects most all functions of government, and, therefore, must be compared against all changes for its affect on them and their affect on the orderly annexation agreement. Under this form of consolidation, two assumptions can usually be made. First, a vast majority, if not all, of the landowners will either be petitioning voluntarily for annexation or be associated with a voluntary petition for annexation. Second, these petitions are based almost exclusively on the desire for City sewer and/or water. Following these assumptions, the current service extension policy of the City should be adequate. However, it would be advisable to set up zones, or areas designated for annexation within a specific time frame. Zones would be established according to criteria such as: 1. Proximity to City boundaries. 2. Desirability of land for development. 3, Likelihood of area desiring City services. 4. Ability of City to provide services to that area in a timely manner. These zones would then be prioritized according to the length of time until annexation is anticipated. Estimated time frames of five, ten, fifteen, twenty, and twenty-plus years would clarify the zones' expected duration until incorporation into the City. 16 Once any large amount of land has left the Township, it becomes more difficult for it to continue providing services at the same level and still maintain taxes at a reasonable level. Because of this, it may become necessary to seta "trip point", which, once reached, would cause the remainder of the Township to be annexed. At such time, it may be necessary or desirable to set up service districts as outlined under the merger section. Merger has the advantage of being quicker to enact, simpler to administer as one jurisdiction, and provides long term stability for the area government. Its disadvantages include the possibility of reorganizing staff and equipment in order to continue provision of some services; deciding whether to expand staff all at once to cover the needs of the larger service area, or expand gradually and contract out the balance of the work; issues of representation in the expanded jurisdiction's government bodies; the decisions regarding possible establishment of service districts; the public perception of losing their former identity; and the public's fear of how the unknown changes might affect them. All services provided by the Township are also provided by the City. These services would change very little, if at all, except for the entity providing them. These services include: 1. Fire Department and Rescue Squad 2. Building inspections 3. Animal control 4. Street engineering and maintenance, including snow removal 5. Park areas 6. Executive services A. Executive Board (City Council /Township Board) B. Park Board C. Planning Commission D. Fire Board 7. Administrative services A. Elections B. Administration C. Accounting D. Assessing E. Planning Other services provided by the City, but not currently provided in the Township, can be divided into services desired by or necessary for more densely developed area (usually residential) but not 17 desired or necessary in areas of lesser development (agricultural or rural), and services automatically extended over the City's entire area by statute or necessity. These conditions suggest the establishment of three or more levels of service. First, afull-service district, providing all the services of the City. Second, an area where most, but not all, of the City's services are desired or necessary. Finally, an area where only a minimum of services are necessary. Other districts could be established between the full-service and minimum-service districts, allowing for more tiers. However, this could easily get out of hand and be quite cumbersome to administer. The full-service district would, as mentioned above, provide all the services currently available to City residents. Perhaps the most distinguishing of these services are City sewer and water. To avoid creating too many districts, it would probably be easier to extend these services only in the full-service district. Anyone petitioning for these services would also be petitioning for the complete city services package. The minimum-service district would receive only the services currently provided under the Township form of government, along with such City services as made necessary by statute or by virtue of now being in the corporate limits of the City. Items to be considered for possible inclusion in this district include: 1. Police (see following section) 2. Recreation programs 3. Ball park and skating rink The Urban Service District would be characterized by having all of the services currently offered by the Township, plus certain of the services offered in the City (as determined by the Committee). Such services could include: 1. Curbside refuse service 2. Emergency management 3. Sidewalk program 4. Street lighting and cleaning 5. Shade tree control 6. CORE Committee Police Protection To change the area of police protection by such a degree as would be encountered in a merger would create some unique problems. Options to be researched include: 1. Will Stearns County continue to patrol the minimum-service and/or urban service districts? Would they contract for said coverage? At what cost? 18 2. What would it cost for the City to expand its Police Department to cover the larger area and population? 3. Would the larger City Department cover all of the new area or just the full-service and urban service districts? 19 GOVERNMENTAL SERVICES EXTENSION OPTIONS CITY TOWNSHQ' URBAN SERVICE RURAL SERVICE' `Utili Services 1. Munia a1 water X PETITION PETITION 2„I~u~rici "~ sewver ~ X PETITION PETITION 3. Curbside refuse service ; X IF CONT. ALLOWS OPEN Public Sate i s Palicer _ : {. ' X X X ,2r D ,._ ~~~ :: ~: _ ._ ` X X X -3: ~~e ~:~ -.~-~t X X X X . ~4,;~tesaSe; .~ _ X X X X ~ ~Y?. Y; s ,;~~Yw-A-:~IZPil14 { ~- t - X X X '~ ?~~131T~ `~7, 1'f~t',{~~ t~0 ~ X X X X 7 S4 ..~a^"L ~'Ytiu .51~" S C 1~~11 }['Fi ^~~Y1w+A1~n ~ .: -. , ~~ t'°~iILI.LTi1~~e ,~~y '~. '_ c w ~'- - - X X X X ~d.V~'. .-~• ~~~.laaY »';'ff~-, rY ^~-~~ ~h~ X X X X 1 ~~1~'~~"~l' ~ witirv '4hk ii .' •~s X ~~ `~.~~-~ ~ X X ~;~~.~ k"~ ~~~ _- ~ X X OPTIONAL ~°~ ..: ~,.. _ ~ X X X X ~: ` F ~ '~ ~ X X X -~ ~~:~ ~- ~~~ '~r~~ ~ ana~nt~~n ~ V- <~ ~~ ~' : X X X X ~:~,ri ~ r.~..~ ~ r-~~. 5; , -~©"i ~~ ~;: X X COMPLAINT sx ;7~ -~s {~' r r •'i '}f ~r9`. ^Lry.X~a`c~paS~Sx4"' i 'T-'.~Ytk' L s'17...~~~~'~+~L~,e __4.Et.c'~~ _ ,j, ~~i ~~C , ~` ' T ~ ~ Board ~ ~.;~ ~ _ ~ X X X X ~~.2,L.±~~?k.: 7~7~tA;°.C'-az~r~~.1.,-~+Z'~T~4~3'.=' {~~"1./O.~ ~ ~.ft'N~,~.xy.~l'~~-}rupp Yi~.i.1,.y C/~}~~~.~J ii. .. X,S X11/LLNiT : ~ ry ~. o1.'~ ~ '~"~. X Y L~ X Ay +v ~} L~ ~~p ~ µ ~. ~.Y,y~Y iI~~WM~ ~_ _ ~~.::~V .^~.~-Y~-'S-~~3M7~.'_ X X l> X X .}~ ^t r -r r .* ~~~~h~~ ~.. ~... _. _. _. _ ~ . '~,_ ~_..-.~_ ~(pv. 'iYil~l/11L41L7 .A. .~. .'.1. : -. -~ ~ ~ Y /1 X X X 2` ~Admuas~~on': _ ~ ` X Y /1 X X 3 ~.ccountm ~`~ X X X X 4..:A~Sess""~: _ _ _ X X X X 20 J. FISCAL DATA The following numbers reflect the current financial status of both jurisdictions as of November 1997. CITY: OF $T. JQSEPH ST: JDSEPH..TpWNSffiY` Assessed Valuation Payable 1998 $69,279,500 $72,787,700 Tax Ca acit $1 066,487 $1 252,910 Bonded Indebtedness $4,455,000 $0 Tax Ca acit Rate 29.393 22.389 Count Tax Ca aci Rate 38.975 38.975 School District 742 Tax Ca acit Rate 50.738 50.738 Sauk River Watershed District .279 .279 TOT~A~. - f i..w ~,.. 1, ;V'VITH:SRWD. 119 116 - i~ t '.-1:19-;385 ~... .~Y,1~ ,:; ~ ~_11~~$]= The land in the proposed Orderly Annexation area can be summarized as follows: <- ~. ~~ _ .. ~,,~ s _,~ s Q_- YE=ARS:=_ ,. .,~6 - ~ _ .. .~ - ~ .~2U~ ~_ ~,. N~of, a;~ce~s.~~; 48 115 88 251 ~`Aci~s~ r ~~<' ;i~ar`~~t~'~tl~i~~`~ 927.71 $3,675 100 1 310.09 $10,308 200 3,708.11 $7,876,400 5 945.91 $21 859,700 -~ ~- ~s"sessei~~'Iue'~' $3 652,600 $10 260,600 $7,849,600 $21,762 800 ~T~x, - c , ~`'~~ ~~=' $54,247 $150 156 $152,806 $357,209 21 K. ADJACENT COMM ~NITIF.fi N HOO ~ RI T Until recently, only other Townships were adjacent to St. Joseph Township. These included St. Wendel Township to the north, Collegeville Township to the west, Wakefield Township to the southwest, Rockville Township to the south, St. Augusta Township to the southeast, St. Cloud Township to the east, and Le Sauk Township to the northeast. With the merger of St. Cloud Township with the Cities of St. Cloud and Waite Park, St. Joseph Township abuts a incorporated area along the entirety of its east boundary. Since this area is only recently incorporated and was not very densely developed, it will most likely take a number of years for the two cities to integrate them into their development infrastructure. This is likely to take a considerable number of years, and, until substantially completed, it would not be practical for St. Cloud or Waite Park to look toward expanding beyond these new boundaries. It does not appear that orderly annexation or merger between St. Joseph Township and the City of St. Joseph would have any discernible effect on any of these jurisdictions. St. Cloud Independent School District 742 covers all of the City of St. Joseph and almost all of the Township. Rocori School District 750 covers portions of six southwestern sections in the Township. However, school districts in the area operate independently of the local governments, so no discernible effect would occur to either of these school districts. 22 L. ADEQUACY OF TOWN GOVFRNMFNT The area proposed for annexation, whether it be in zones for orderly annexation or the entirety of the Township in a merger, can be adequately served by Township government in almost all necessary services. The outstanding exception to this is municipal sewer services. As part of their contract with the City of St. Cloud for municipal sewer service, the City of St. Joseph agrees not to extend this service to any unincorporated areas. This effectively leaves the Township with no choice other than to require individual septic systems for development in the Township, and encourage denser development to occur proximate to the City of St. Joseph in order to annex and thus avail the properties of municipal sewer services. Other potentially township-wide services such as municipal water have not been approached by the Township as they have not been deemed necessary. Should they become necessary, they would need to be directed at areas of denser development; again, in the areas near the City boundaries. This would mean the less cost-effective option of having to duplicate a service that could more cheaply be extended from the current City. 23 M. SERVICE PROVIDE nF, F,RMINATION Since the main services separating the City and Township are municipal sewer and water, the analysis of which would be the best provider of those services needs to reflect the cost and effectiveness of each as a possible provider. If the Township were to provide these services, it must determine whether to do so by building its own system or through incorporation. Building a unique system to service the township would prove to be economically infeasible for several reasons: insufficient tax base of the township as a whole, wide dispersal pattern of residences requiring excessive distances to be covered with too few people along the way to fairly assess the cost, low levels of State and Federal funding for such projects, etc. Incorporation would allow the township to contract for municipal sanitary sewer services from the St. Cloud Wastewater Treatment Facility, assuming the City of St. Cloud would sell capacity to the jurisdiction. Municipal water would most likely have to be a local project within the new city. Because of the amount of infrastructure and administration involved, as well as the cost factor of creating new versus extending current systems, the most cost-effective extension of these services would come from a city currently utilizing them. The City of St. Joseph clearly would be the logical provider based on location relative to the current township, and ability to effectively serve the areas within a timely manner. 24 N. REMAINDER OF TOWN TP In the event of an orderly annexation agreement which would include only a portion of the Township, a determination should immediately be made by the Township if the remaining land should stay unincorporated, incorporate separately, or seek annexation to another municipality. With the area under consideration for the orderly annexation to be confined to the area designated on the map as the 20 year zone, it is possible to estimate the impact on the Township, as well as project the feasibility of the Township's options. The Township, in reaching their decision, should take into consideration the following factors: The amount of land left, excluding any within the OA area, that is developable, and the level of development possible. 2. The amount of tax base left. The level and cost of services necessary for the remaining Township. 4. The degree to which the annexations will affect the Township's tax rate on remaining properties, and if any compensation is received for currently developed land being annexed into the City. 5. Any need for annexing land into any other municipalities. With the amount of land as proposed in the twenty year O.A. district outlined in Section J, we see that the area represents just over 28.5% of the Township's assessed valuation and tax capacity. It should be further noted that the land within this particular area uses very little Township services in proportion to its percentage of the Township tax base. As such, its loss to the Township would be felt not only as a decrease in tax capacity, but also would force the remainder of the Township to continue with an almost identical cost of operation. Although the area discussed represents a significant percentage of the Township's tax capacity and a disproportionately smaller percentage of their operating expenses, the loss of this area would not force the Township into an unfeasible budgetary situation. Taking into consideration that it may leave the Township over an extended period of time, the Township should be able to make adjustments to counter the loss of tax base without causing any major budgetary disturbances. The remainder of the Township should be quite able to continue in its present form and need not look into either incorporation or consolidation with other jurisdictions unless desired for planning purposes. 25 ~:~ _ - h~ 4 . E: j ~ . ~. ~:HIBTT S . ~ _.-. ~n~,;. ~ .F. ,.~ h 26 EXHIBIT A Physical Features ST. JOSEPH TWP. e ~ O ~ ~ ~.,~ M1 ~ ~~~ , s q.r. \' ~~. ~ a .?_._ ~ `~~ s ~ 5 *~ j `~- ~::.:: ''' , ~ + ~~.; ~~ ~~ ~ ~~ I "' ~; ~Y ~'; / f . O I ~ ~ 0 / O F * ~. f F ~ -~~- ; ~ ~~ I ~.E • ~ 3.?r 1s ~ _. ' ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t ~ RR ~ ..~ • ~ o ~ ~ s ° j ~ ~>:' / ~ ` ~ . ~ .1 rd` I ~~ -._ ' ~ r . ~ I 1f j 1/ : T I _ i ` _ , , _, , ~~ , ~=-~±< ~ it :~~ rr... 4 j ~ - i ~~ ~ i -; ~~ ~ i. ~..«.~, t ~• • ~ • ~ /` ,/ ~ ~i ~ f~ ~ ~ i%~ _~ ~ !~ I ~~ ~,- _~__ Swamps Wooded Areas Gravel Pits & Quarries 0 27 EXHIBIT B Shoreland Management Zoning ST. JOSEPH TWP. ::~... i `~~~ ' ,s;;:' i ° •--•-•-•- • -•-•~ -• c ._._.~._.~- ~ i' ~ ~~ I ~ ~ • I 1 ~ i , ~ I I ~ i I i r,~ .:.. ~ ~ .. yi": ` ~ I . ~ :~,a , . ,•.:. I ~ ~' I i~ jh- I h, _.C :.z,. ~ ._ ~,..____ . . ~.: ~~ i ~ .~~ o i I _~ ~ __ ~ 1 C ~ i--~ ~ -L- -------------- ~ . "~ ' ~ ~ . I ~\ ~-.! ~ \ i , _.. .. ,\ . ~ - -- . • r:. :T ' /~ .. ~.~ .~ i 1 ' ~ i 1 1_~~~~~ 1 P h I ~ U~ . ' 1 ~i ~~ ___-_-. _._._._._.~. _~___. _._ _. 1.. Source: Stearns County Ordinance , special Protection Residential Recreational :~:~:.:Y:;: 28 F~iIBIT C Flood Boundaries ST. JOSEPH TWP. .. ... j j 1 ~ ~„ ~ ~ ~ _i~ 1 .~ .. ~ N 1 • _. _ .. . I .14 I + ` 'e~ . __ _. ( i t ~ ` ~• 1 i i ~~~. ,- ~_._ _._ - 1 ~ /i .. ;y s ~ , . ... 1~ \ W .: ,x :.. i. ~ ~~ .,: . ~ .~. j !i . ~ _~` ~~ ,`-.~sr-era--~ ...d~ ~~' ` ~~ ~ .. _ . _. .. ~` ,; .~, , 1 i ~~ t~ j ~ ~ ~ .,J _ 13 - _. I r~'; •~ z j~~- •. ~ ~ 1 j ~~ ~ j ~.. ____ 1 _ _ P ( \ '\• + j ~'` I I / j; Source: Stearns County Flood Plain Management Ordinance ___ Floodway Flood Fringe 29 EXtLiBIT D O Z D ~ v ~ ~ ~ r 3c .A.~ o Z ~ O ~ D -~ M ~ ; s =~ O C G1 Z ~ r ~ D ~ z N Z N ~~~ 30 EXHIBIT E z 0 H aH U N W H ~~j H U a z 0 H f'~ U W _~ ro .,., w .~ +~ rt s~ •.~ a~ ~ ~ ~ a ~ •.~I U U 3.I Gl C O .-I •~ ~ .-I ~ ~ O a 1.. z~ 31 Benton Counly Haven Township LeSauk Township nt Augusta Township paint Cloud Saint Cloud Township Saint loseph APO 1 ST. CLOUD AREA PLANNING ORGANIZATION 665 Franklin Ave. N.E. St. Cloud, MN 56304 6121252.7568 Saint loseph Township Saint Wendel Township Bartell Sauk Rapids Sherburne County a~earns county Waite Park August 5, 1997 MEMORANDUM TO: Greater St. Joseph Area Committee FROM: Scott Mareck RE: Final Draft of the St. Joseph City/St. Joseph Township Future Land Use and Urban Service District Plan Please find enclosed, the final draft report summarizing the St. Joseph City/St. Joseph Township Future Land Use and Urban Service District Plan. As you are aware, this Plan was developed by the City and the Township, with technical assistance provided from the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization (APO). Please review this report and notify the APO of any changes that may be desired. It is important to note that after this Plan is officially adopted, the City and Township should strongly consider revising current Zoning Ordinances to maintain consistency with the new Future Land Use Plan. This is suggested because Planning Law specifies that a Zoning Ordinance must reflect current planning in order to be held valid. Should you have any questions, please call me at 252-7568. A Voluntary Association That is Committed to Coordinated Long-Range Planning Through Constant, Cooperative, Intergovernmental Communication EXI-~IBIT G ST. JOSEPH CITY/ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP FUTURE LAND USE AND URBAN SERVICE DISTRICT PLAN Technical Assistance Provided By: St. Cloud Area Planning Organization July, 1997 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables .................................................... .. ......................................................................... ni ... List o Figures ............................................................................................................................ Introduction ................................................................................................................................1 Purpose .....................................................................................................................................1 Goals and Objectives ,,,,,,,,,,, 1 ..................................................................................................... Specific Considerations in Determining the Amount and Location of Future Land Use .............................................................................................3 Urban Service Districts ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, .................................................................................. 3 Location of Existing Land Use .......................................................................................4 Forecasted Land Use Growth .......................................................................................4 Natural Environment ......................................................................................................6 Soils ................................................................................................................................ ~ Conclusion ,,,,,,,,,,, ....................................................................................................................12 Plan Implementation ....................................................................................................12 ii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. St. Joseph Area Population and Housing Forecast: 1990-2015 .................................g 2. St. Joseph Area Forecasted Housing Densities: 1990-2015 ......................................6 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. St. Joseph Township Future Land Use and Urban Service Districts,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2 2. St. Joseph Township Land Use 1995 ...........................................................................5 3. St. Joseph Area Wetlands .............................................................................................$ 4. St. Joseph Township Shoreland Management Zoning ................................................9 5. St. Joseph Township Flood Boundaries ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,10 6. St. Joseph Soil Types .............................................................................................11 7. St. Joseph Township Areas Good for Residential Development,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,13 Introduction Figure 1 on the following page illustrates the Future Land Use and Urban Service District Plan for the St. Joseph Community. This Plan was developed and adopted jointly by the City of St. Joseph and St. Joseph Township, with technical assistance from the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization (APO). It must be stressed that this is a general plan that uses only broad land use categories, covering relatively large geographic areas with a single classification. Accordingly, it is realized that there will be some existing land uses that differ from future land use classifications. This Plan attempts to provide for fairness in the amounts and distribution of various development areas, realizing that not every parcel of land can or should be developed as its owners may prefer. In a rational planning system, the good of the community must take precedence over the good of the individual if both can not be satisfied concurrently. Pur ose The City of St. Joseph and St. Joseph Township jointly initiated this planning process for the purpose of presenting a rational Plan for future growth that can be implemented concurrently with their orderly annexation agreement. This Plan identifies how future growth can be accommodated over. the next twenty years in a socially and environmentally sensitive fashion, and how this growth can be guided in such a manner that provides for the most cost effective extension of urban services and infrastructure. Goals And Objectives When determining where various land uses should reasonably be located over the next twenty years, and how much land should be allocated to each land use category, the following goals and objectives were considered: GOAL A: PRESERVE AGRICULTURAL LAND Objectives: 1. Identify agricultural land for preservation. 2. Strongly discourage new subdivisions in agriculturally designated areas. 3. Protect agricultural land from encroachment by permitting only limited rural residential development on large lots in agricultural areas, and requiring buffer zones where higher intensity commerciaVindustrial land uses exist. GOAL B: PROVIDE FOR A VARIETY OF HOUSING TYPES Objectives: 1. Provide for a mixture of high, medium and low density housing types. 2. Restrict .urban and suburban residential development, including single family and multiple family dwellings, to locations consistent with the identified Urban Service Districts and corresponding time lines. 3. Discourage residential development with direct access onto arterial roadways. 1~ ' N • • I • • ~ ~ ~ ~F~ ~ I a, r~-~ • I (/) ~ ~ ~ o~~ ~ ~~ ~~. ~~"~ ~ fl ~.+ n ~ r.... ~ CD ~ c ~• ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~p ~ CD ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~. ~~ ~~°~ 4. Permit limited rural residential development on large lots in areas which have been identified by the City and Town as having little or no agricultural potential. GOAL C: PROVIDE FOR A LIMITED AMOUNT OF COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL GROWTH Objectives: 1. Locate commercial and industrial development near major transportation facilities. 2. Discourage strip development and leapfrog development. 3. Locate commercial and industrial facilities consistent with the identified Urban Service Districts and corresponding time lines. 4. Encourage new industry to in-fill existing industrial parks, instead of locating at an isolated site. GOAL D: ALLOW DEVELOPMENT THAT IS COMPATIBLE WITH SURROUNDING LAND USES, BOTH EXISTING AND PLANNED Objectives: 1. Permit only low density development near agricultural areas. 2. Develop transition zones in the form of medium or high density housing between commerciaVindustrial and residential areas. 3. Require that commercial and industrial areas be bounded by physical features or landscaping to minimize conflicts with adjacent land uses. 4. Discourage the concentration of housing types. GOA L E: MINIMIZE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENT ON THE ENVIRONMENT Objectives: 1. Allow no development on floodplains or wetlands. 2. Allow no development where the topography and soils are such that a potential for soil erosion exists. 3. Preserve and protect wooded areas. 4. Encourage cluster type development. GOAL F: MINIMIZE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENT ON PUBLIC SERVICES Objectives: 1. Encourage urban development, especially new subdivisions and industrial uses, to occur from the urban fringe outward. Require this development to be consistent with the Urban Service Districts and corresponding time lines. 2. Do not provide public sewer or water in designated agriculture preservation areas. Specific Considerations in Determining the Amount and Location of Future Land Use Urban Service Districts. A major consideration in the location and density of new urban development, especially single family subdivisions and industrial uses, is the ability to provide sanitary sewer and water service in a rational and cost effective manner. To facilitate this need, staging components were determined indicating an orderly approach to future serviced development. Accordingly, 0 to 5 year, 6 to 10 year, and 11 to 20 year Urban Service Districts were identified. These Districts are intended to assist the City and Township in the following ways: -4- Collectively, the Districts identify the general area of the Community that can best accommodate new urban development with water and sewer service over the next twenty years. 2. Independently, the Districts identify how urban development should systematically take place to provide for the most rational and cost effective extension of water and sewer service. As identified in Figure 1 on page 2, the area defined to accommodate future urban services over the next twenty years is located primarily in the northeastern corner of the Township. This area was determined to be the most cost efficient for future sewer extension because of its proximity to the existing main sewer line along Stearns County Road 75, and because of the City's plans to construct a new water tower in this area. Also, to maintain the existing prime agricultural areas of the Township, it makes good planning sense to confine any new urban development as close to the City as possible. Prior analysis on the logical extension of future urban services assisted in the final determination by the City and Town on the Urban Service District boundaries identified in Figure 1. Please refer to the St. Joseph Community Comprehensive Sewer Water and Drainage StudX, March, 1993, prepared by Joe Bettendorf of Short, Elliot, Hendrickson (SEH) for further information about existing and/or future water and sewer service in the St. Joseph Area. Location of existing .land use. As shown in Figure 2 on page 5, most of the development activity in St. Joseph Township, especially residential use, has occurred in clusters along Highway 23, around Kraemer Lake, and in other locations close to roadway access. Additional residential development outside the identified future Urban Service Districts is discouraged. Such development would be beyond the reach of urban services and contrary to the Plan's goal of preserving agricultural land and minimizing adverse development impacts on the environment. Forecasted Population and Land Use Growth. The APO prepared an analysis of population and household trends and an updated forecast of population and associated land use growth based on the assumption that the City of St. Joseph will continue to grow through annexation. This is consistent with negotiations for an orderly annexation agreement with St. Joseph Township and follows the area trend of providing more serviced urban development. By contrast, housing growth in St. Joseph Township on larger lots, which rely on individual septic systems wiN continue to lessen over time. Housing lenders and developers are increasingly choosing the easier and safer option of connection to urban services. As indicated in Table 1 below, serviced residential development at higher densities is forecasted to more than double, adding about 700 new housing units to the City of St. Joseph by 2015. Modest Township growth will also occur. The analysis in Table 2 indicates that together, future residential use is estimated to consume about 1100 acres. Figure -LEGEND- ST. JOSEPH TWP. .«• -IULfIPLL -u,ILV LAND USE 1995 `" v.lutrc: D Twe eoADs o ! 4 0 \ ~ o o 0 ~ o i ~ . • \ - ~~ O O. ~ I ~ ~ ~t .- ----- I ~C _ ~• _ _ ,~ ., ~ ~- 4 ~ 0 ' _ N ~ ~`D o • ~ - ;; o ~~ ~ O D O .. -- - ------~--- ---• ®~ • • O ~ .. ~ I • ~ .._ ~ O~ ~ S O O .. i ~ d ~, Oe •wN...•.•w.. ~ .. i t?j • ~ , ~•- O _ ~,,,, r ( ~ p Irll ~ i --------ter-' ------ --- ~0--- --.._ --- ~ „~ ^ O I O~ O O\ O ~~ O ~- i • I O ~ e D t:~; ! ~ .-~ O e e I ~ JO •~ - ~~~ \ - • ~ . .~.~ ~ ~~ I • - -- ---- - --- • f ~ ; o• 0 0 p • ~ ~ _...__ I • p0 ~, ~D -- r - i O . . • ~ ` • .~/ ~ i . ~.. ~ i'~ o . . ~ ; ~f ~ O -' '~ PwM.v~ -~ Ilr Sf. Clw~ Ate. Pl...iq Ory•.L./lw Scale ~ 1~ = 1600• TABLE 1 ST. JOSEPH AREA POPULATION AND HOUSING FORECAST: 1990-2015 Township City 1990 2015 1990 2015 Population 3,045 3,470 3,349 7,649 Households 856 1,007 834 1,535 TABLE 2 ST. JOSEPH AREA FORECASTED HOUSING DENSITIES: 1990-2015 Lot Densities Households Twp. Rural Single Family 1 Unit on 1 Acre - 10 Acres 151 City Urban Single Family 2-3 Units/Acre 420 City Multiple Family 6-12 Units/Acre 281 850 Housing Units 1,100 Acres Consumed Growth in serviced industrial and commercial facilities has also been considered. Future industrial use has been forecasted to consume as much as 120 acres by 2015, though this will primarily be infill of current industrial parks. About 20 acres in new office and retail development has been forecasted to occur, mostly along CSAH 75. There will be very little future development that is unserviced. While there is no way to accurately determine where this forecast of future development will be located, it can clearly be accommodated within the allocated areas of future land use identified in this Plan. Natural Environment. One of the goals of this Plan is to minimize the adverse effects of development on the natural environment. Some of the physical features that comprise the natural environment of the St. Joseph Area include gravel pits and quarries, lakes and streams, wetlands, and wooded areas. Wooded areas are located throughout the Area, with the largest concentrations located in the northwest corner of the Township. Gravel pits and quarries, comprising approximately 200 acres of land, are located in the southern two-thirds of the Township, primarily in the southeast corner. As illustrated in Figure 3 on the following page, pockets of wetlands are scattered throughout the Area, with the largest concentrations located in the north-central and southeast portions of the Township, consuming about 3,580 acres of land. In some cases, areas identified for future land development in this Plan encroach on waters protected by Federal, State or local laws. Therefore, every effort must be made to avoid any activity that may affect these areas. For areas defined as wetlands in Figure 3, permits may allow limited development, contingent on providing a program for mitigation. However, development should not proceed on property suspected as being a wetland without on-site investigation and consultation with the appropriate Federal, State, or local agencies. In addition to the vast amount of wetlands, there are also a number of lakes and two primary streams that traverse the St. Joseph Area. Development around these lakes and streams, illustrated in Figure 4 on page 9, must be consistent with the Stearns County Shoreland Management Zoning Ordinance. Two districts are identified in this ordinance; Special Protection and Residential-Recreational. The purpose of these districts according to this Ordinance are as follows: Special Protection District: Intended to manage areas unsuitable for development due to wet soils, steep slopes or large areas of exposed bedrock. Also, to manage areas presently in agricultural use, and to discourage encroachment of non-farm activities with this district. ResidentiaVRecreational District: To preserve areas suitable for residential development from encroachment by commercial and industrial establishments. Stearns County also maintains a Flood Plain Management District, which includes the Sauk River, as illustrated in Figure 5 on page 10. This Figure illustrates the limits of the 100 year floodway and abutting flood fringe areas. Before any development is considered near these areas, consistency with this Ordinance should be verified. Soils. When discussing land use, an inventory and analysis of soil types is essential. For instance, certain types of soils are conducive to residential construction, while others are more suitable for agriculture or best left for parkland. Understanding the various soil types in the St. Joseph Area is a preventative measure for problems that can occur, such as flooded basements or cracked foundations. The Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District, in cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), has mapped and classified soil types in most of Stearns County. Figure 6 on page 11, displays soil types and limitations in St. Joseph and the immediate surrounding area. Based on common characteristics, the SCS initially classifies soils into nine groups called Community Development Groups. The common characteristics that are given special attention are those that may affect urban development. These include natural soil ~' o Q a`~ M 3~ w ,--~ ~ ° o'~b ~ ~ z ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ Q :~ o o~ w ~ ~~z aoe .. , ~- 4 ... .~. ..~ . ~ . , ~ • • .~ .• ~ ~ ,- ``' - '~ •~ ~ ` ~. :. ~ '• .... ~ _ • ~ .~ • ~ • .~ • = M ~''~ ` ,+ ` ~ ~ ~4 a . ~ ~ ~, • ' 1 ~ ~ •~~ ~~ ~~ ~ ~ ~. ~ c~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i • • ~ ~s i '~ ~ ~ ,,. • w •• ~ • • ~ ~ • ~ ~I ~ ~ ~ ~~ • • • ~~ • `~ ~ ~ ~ ~ • • ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~• '~ ~. .~••. r ' • ,,~ ~ . . 0 4~- ~..; .~ .: .. ~ • • : r., • ~~ ~~ i • ~ .. .t l • ~ • •. F 3~ ~a ~~ ~a Figure 4 Shoreland Management Zoning ST. JOSEPH TWP. e r-._.~.-~ -- i I I I i I C:; ~ --\ i ',• - ,. e a 1 -.;~ -) - - ~ e :, . --- ~~ i ~~ I ,~ i I . I ~, / ~r ~. O ~' ~~ / i --- i ^/ -1--- -------------- I .. ~ n _ __.... ~ - __ _>_ ~ ~ x i'.~~ q ~ ..: ...~ „ ~: -- ---- y.------ --------~--- ---- Special Protection Residential Recreational Source: Stearns County Ordinance 1V'- Figure 5 Flood Boundaries ST. JOSEPH TWP. ------~~--~-- --- ~- --- ---~- v ..:~ ._ ... - ~~~ ~ ~_. I i , ~. ` ;r,` ~ ~ ~, ~, j ~ ° ~ j ~. -~ + i j ~ i ~~ ~I ~~- ~ i ~ ;fir.:, .~ -- _ .. _` ? _ _ --- ~__ __ i i ~; ~ ~ -,: ~ F j ~ ' /` ~ \\ ~ ~' ~'~ I - ' -1------ ~ --- -- 1 i ~^~\• ~ --~- ~~--~ y y:i \ \ e / i~ ,~ iC~-~ - - -~---- - -- i .,~ i; I ~ ~. ~ ~ i I ~ ~ ,;, ~ i i ~' ~ /~ ~ :A Source: Stearns Flood Plain Management Ordinance ~~ • ~y ~ _ d .~~ __ ~:- (_ . • I '(~ .- ~.\\ \ ~ I \~ o _i Floodway Flood Fringe ~~~ a~ ~1D `~\ N ~ vi O 2 2 p ~ ~ O i n f~ fjJ,/,~, 1 ~ ~ ~ J ~ r ({11J.1 -~ W ~ J O ~ 4 ALL r ~ p ~ Z :.~: vJi ~ vW1 Z ~~ ~~'s ~~ . ~' 1 I I 1 ~~ ~3i .~ ~ I--y ,--~ .~ ~--+ ~ ~ ~ ~` -1G- drainage, texture, permeability and depth to water table. The soil classification determines soil suitability for specific urban uses, including whether a particular soil would be restrictive to houses constructed with basements, septic tanks absorption fields, and foundations for buildings of three stories or less. Each group is rated for its suitability for these urban land uses. The ratings of slight, moderate and severe are used to categorize the groups. The SCS defines these limitations ratings as follows: Slight -Here soils and topographic situations are somewhat free of limitations which may restrict their use for a particular purpose. These areas may have minor limitations which are easily overcome. Moderate -The use limitations of these soils need to be recognized. The limitations may be overcome with good management and careful design. Severe -Soils having severe limitations make many uses of land with these soils questionable. Often extreme measures are needed to compensate or overcome limitations. Frequently the cost of overcoming the limitations is impractical. Applying these soil limitation groups to the entire St. Joseph Area, Figure 7 on page 13 illustrates that a majority of the northeast portion of the Township is well suited for residential development. When new uses for vacant areas are proposed, the SCS soil limitation groups are an important consideration. However, soil types and the restrictions indicated by the SCS soil groups only provide a guide. Accordingly, the SCS office should be consulted for a definitive determination on soil suitability for development purposes. Conclusion Plan Implementation. This joint Future Land Use and Urban Service District Plan provides the basis for an orderly annexation agreement between the City of St. Joseph and St. Joseph Township. It may be adopted as an addendum to the Comprehensive Plans of St. Joseph Township and the City of St. Joseph. Planning law specifies that the zoning ordinance must reflect current planning in order to be held valid. Accordingly, the City and the Township should strongly consider reviewing and revising current zoning ordinances to maintain consistency with this new Land Use Plan. EXHIBIT F Physical Constraints ST. JOSEPH TWP. .~.,~ - i J ~ .. I ... ; I ~ I ` ~•;ti ., •• '- • IIIIIINIIIIIIIINIIININIIINN IIIINNiWNN11NN ~/ ~ ~ ~~ • • , ` j ~•';' i I:~at"~ .~," i..j / WNWWNIII NNiI _ ,~ , ~ ~ _ 1 \ I ~' i ~ !~ ~ I .~ ~ ,;~ ~ , ~1 ~% / iR ~ [!~\G\` .. -.. , ~ , ~ ~ dr . ~~• _ - Legend - 111111111111111111111111 ~"~'~ ~'~ ~'~ ~ ~"'"ti Wetlands Railroad Tracks Quarries & Gravel Pits 32 Areas Good for Residential Development -1J' Figure 7 ST. JOSEPH TWP. N __ _ _ -- .. __ _-- ::~ ~ ~ `~:... ~ I j \ / 1„ - ~.. ~ ~ ~ /~~ ,. \~ . ~ ~ ~ -'.r ~~ ~ -- --___ _- - Wiz- _ -- - -- - - - - - - ,`;.. • ; ~, ~ ~ i ~ ~ i ~ ,~l ~ ~~ ,; i ; --Ji i .. ,. . ~ - - - - -,- - - -~- - i --- ~ - - I -" I ' -- /i ~. ~~-,, - - - _- - \r-- -- - ~ T ~- N ~ 1, ,, t i •J n t 1 +~ sea~e : i" = ieoo' White Indicates: Good for Residential Development