Minnesota's minimum standards for shoreline rules were last updated
in 1989. These are the minimum standards that all
local zoning bodies must enforce. They may enact and enforce other,
stronger standards to meet the specific characteristics of their
local condition.
Minnesota is managing its waters with rules written LAST CENTURY.
Our shoreline standards were written before Eurasian milfoil, zebra
mussel or any other Aquatic Invasive Species came to Minnesota,
before Minnesota's population ballooned to over five million
people, before Minnesota's central lakes district became a hot spot
for development and population growth. Demographic studies show that the central lakes
region will continue to have high population growth in the years to
come.
A History of Failed Executive and Legislative Attempts to
Update Shoreline Rules
On June 24th, 2003, just six months into his first term, Governor
Pawlenty spoke at the Minnesota Environmental Initiative 2003 Policy Forum Series in Saint Cloud. He
announced the creation of a "Clean Water Cabinet," and laid
out a process for taking action to improve Minnesota's waters.
While it was hoped that this initiative would result in an update
of Minnesota's Minimum Shoreline Standards, the political will did
not exist at that time. One of the outcomes of Governor Pawlenty's
initiative was the writing of voluntary Alternative Shoreline Standards.
These were adopted in a five county Pilot Project Area, including
Aitkin, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Cass and Itasca. Since 2005 a number of
other counties have adopted portions or all of these alternative
standards. Implementation has been spotty and it is clear that
Minnesota's waters are being managed not by careful planning, but
variance request by variance request.
In 2007 the Minnesota Legislature asked the DNR to re-write and
update Minnesota's Minimum Shoreline Standards. After years of
effort, hundreds of thousands of dollars, untold hours of public
and committee meetings, thousands of public comments, compromises,
and updates, the DNR submitted a final draft of these Minimum
Standards to Governor Pawlenty's office for review early in spring
2010. On August 11th, 2010, Governor Pawlenty sent the draft back
to the DNR for further revision, citing, among other things, a lack
of flexibility for local governments.
Enforcement of Outdated Rules Inadequate
By any measure the lakes and rivers in Minnesota are in trouble.
Not only does it appear to be nearly impossible to update our
antiquated minimum standards, but enforcement of the few rules that
do exist is spotty at best.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune, in an excellent three part series,
lays out many of the problems we face as a state regarding
management or our most important resource, our lakes and
rivers.
Part One: Skirted Rules and lakes Under
Attack
Part Two: A Stinking Mess
Part Three: Overwhelmed and Worried
Property Tax a Primary Driver of Lakeshore
Destruction
Minnesota's property tax code drives the development and
redevelopment of our lakeshore, encouraging local boards to grant
unwise variances, and forcing owners who would rather not sell to
subdivide heirloom properties. Since 2001, owners of lakeshore
property have endured the phase out of Limited Market Value, which
was intended to even out market irregularities. They have been
forced to pay more than $40 million a year in business property
tax, even though they are not businesses and cannot raise prices to
ofset this tax the way businesses can. Cabins are the ONLY
non-income producing property forced to pay the business property
tax.
Minnesota Needs Incentives for Shoreline
Protection
The 2008
Minnesota Statewide Conservation and Preservation Plan
recommended that Minnesota use incentives as another tool to
protect and restore water quality in the state. Instead, much of
the focus has been on updating our rules, to no good affect. While
strong rules that are consistently enforced are critical to water
quality protection, they are a flawed tool - difficult to enact,
expensive to enforce and easily circumvented.
MSRPO is calling for incentives aimed at preserving or restoring
shoreline. They can be enacted far more quickly, participation is
voluntary and so more politically feasible, and the impact is not
determined on funding or enforcement or ideology.
We need:
A program
for reducing property tax pressure similar to the Sustainable
Forest Incentive Act, which rewards lanog term stewardship of
Minnesota's shorelines in a way that protects public values.
An assessed value reduction for those that voluntarily place a
conservation easement on shoreline property. Currently there are
few guidelines for local assessors in determining the value of a
parcel following the implementation of a conservation easement. In
some cases assessors have raised valuations following a
Conservation Easement, claiming that the property in now a "park"
and so "worth more."
MSRPO believes that Assessors should lower the assessed value of
land encumbered by a Conservation Easement to reflect the lower
market value of these properties. Many people would protect their
property in perpetuity with a conservation easement if they could
afford to pay the property tax on a parcel that is difficult or
impossible to sell on the open market.
Rules are just one tool that can be used to protect water quality.
Unfortunately it has been the only tool Minnesota has used. It is
time for the land of Ten Thousand lakes to lead the nation in
innovation in protecting and restoring degraded waters. It is long
past time to implement strong incentive-based initiatives to help
property owners steward their land in a way that benefits public
values and resources.
We hope you all had a great Labor Day. Don't forget the 2010 MSRPO
annual Meeting on October 13th, from 7-9 pm at the Kelly Inn in
Saint Paul. And please stay in touch.
