About MRCCA - Home Page
The Mississippi River Critical Corridor Area (MRCCA) is a designation given to property that surrounds the Mississippi River from Ramsey and Rogers in the north metro area, all the way to Hastings and Ravenna Township in the southeast of the Twin Cities metro area. It is often also called The 'overlay district' or the 'Critical Area'. Contrary to popular belief, the critical area includes much more property than that which abuts the River. It includes lands and private property up to miles away, depending on the bluff structure in that area.
To see if your property is within the MRCCA boundaries, you can simply go to Google Maps and type your address into the search box. If your address appears in the green area surrounding the Mississippi River, your property is located within the jurisdiction of the Mississippi River Critical Corridor Area. If you are still unsure, visit this MN DNR link. About half way down page you will see the title "Proposed Districts". The links that are city names are detailed maps showing the boarders of the MRCCA in each of those cities. Click on the name of your city to see a detailed map and locate your property on it.
History
The MRCCA was originally designated and made permanent by an executive order in the 1970's from Governor Quie.
In 2009, the Minnesota state legislature passed a law requiring the DNR to create rules pertaining to only those properties within the Mississippi River Critical Corridor (MRCCA). The legislation (found here in its entirety) gave general direction that the rules should preserve the scenic, environmental, recreational, mineral, economic, cultural, industrial, and historic resources and functions of the river corridor as well as providing for continuation and development of a variety of urban uses, including industrial and commercial uses, and residential uses.
That process for making these rules is already well underway, with a set of draft rules (which can be found here in their entirety in the section titled 'Preliminary Draft Standards') that are currently open for public comment.
Mississippi River Critical Corridor Area (MRCCA) and how this affects me...
Mississippi River Stewards - Mississippi River Critical Corridor Area Video thanks to Mike Francis on Vimeo.
