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6.11. SR 02-05-1996'ity of ITEM 6.11. MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: Mayor & City Council Pat Klaers, City Adn~i~/Ator DATE: February 5, 1996 SUBJECT: Opatz Bill, HF 2330 Attached for your review is an article from the St. Cloud Times which indicates that the Opatz Bill passed the House by 110-21 vote. This is the bill that is discussed in the attached material from County Administrator Dave Loch dated 1/19/96. The section of concern in this bill is Section 7 which discusses sharing the tax base of counties. If the City Council agrees, it is suggested that the City of Elk River send a letter to Senators Ourada and Stevens which highlights our concern over Section 7. Overall, I think we should support this type of planning effort and the bill with this one exception. s:XcouncilXopatz.doc 13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425 Bill that looks for solutions to development passes House By John Welsh TIMES STAFF WRITER ST. PAUL-- A bill requesting Central Minnesota's government agencies to look into solutions for regional growth problems easily passed the Min- nesota House of Representatives on Monday. Written by Rep. Joe Opatz, DFL-St. Cloud, and co-writ. ten by four other Rep. Joe Opatz CO-WROTE BILL local representa- fives, the measure passed by a vote of 110-21. The Senate already is consider- lng a companion bill, but no committee hearing has been scheduled. Opam's bill requests that the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization study growth ismes such as the need for the possible consolidation of local government bodies or the redrawing of county borders around St. Cloud. The bills asks that the APO, which already has begun such a study, sol> mit its report to local lawmakem Opposition to the bill came from Republicans, many of whom have expressed fears about regional govern. ments being established in the Twin Cities. One opponent, Big Lake's Rep. Mark Olson, said the bill wasn't needed since the APO already can do such a study. He said he opposed any measure that would consolidate counties. "Once it was established that we didn't need the legislation, I felt comfortable voting against it," Olson said. But another Republican, Rochester's I LEGISLATURE Rep. Dave Bishop, asked if the bill might provide a model for other Minnesota titles experiencing rapid growth. Noting that last year's merger of St. Cloud and St. Cloud Township put an end to a decades-long dispute between the two jurisdictions, Bishop said Central Minnesota might provide an example for the rest of the state. "I know you had in St. Cloud one of the most difficult conflicts," said Bishop, who introduced a bill last year to elimi- nate all of the state's townships. "Will this structure be something Winona or Mankato can use?" But 0para said he wasn't sure the leg- islafion would work for other areas. He said the bill's scope was limited, and any growth solutions would have to come from local residents. "All we are doing here is making a request," he said. "There is no mandate." DATE: TO: FROM: SUBJECT: January 19, 1996 Sherbume County Cities and Townships David Loch, Shefoume County Administr,at~)~ DAVID LOCH P.O. Box 311 13880 Highway 10 Elk River, MN 55330 (612) 241-2701 ~ 1-800-433-5229 Opatz Bill, HI: 2330 I have enclosed a copy of the bill introduced by Representative Opatz, House File 2330. The bill allows for the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization (APO) to develop a detailed assessment of the regional land use, planning, and coordination issues of the St. Cloud region. The APO is requested to submit a report of the assessment to the state representatives and senators of the area by November 15, 1996. The bill details the issues which the APO may address in the assessment report and proposed legislation. Seven specific areas are identified along with number eight, which is a catch-all: "other issues identified by the APO". Please review the bill to see those eight issues. I particularly call your attention to Section 4: "the need for consolidation of jurisdictions, including whether county boundaries should be altered to create a new county with the city of St. Cloud at the center." And Section 7i "the feasibility of implementing a tax-base sharing program in the region." The latter refers to a sharing of tax base or tax capacity throughout the area of the study, namely Benton, Steams and Sherbume Counties. I apologize for the lack of readability of the bill. It was retrieved through the Intemet on the very day that it was prepared for submission to the House Local and Urban Affairs Committee. CC: Senator Dan Stevens Senator Mark Ourado Representative Bruce Anderson Representative Mark Olson Representative Leslie Schumacher I.I:~"/~M,OC2~W~ DATA~'O II.i~PO~ P A TT~ I L..W~D' KJ An Equal Opportunity Employer .../house/publicbills/1995-1996/H2300-2399/H2330 <title> H.F. No. 2330 </title> <body> <pre> KEY: <s>stricken</s> = old language to be removed underscored = new language to be added NOTE: Information on "stricken" and "underscored" can be found in the document "Format of Bills" two directories back. <h2>H.F. No. 2330, as introduced </h2> <a href=~~g~pher://g~pher.revis~r.~eg.state.mn.us/~~/.revis~r/h~use/bi~~-~racking/num 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 A bill for an act relating to land use planning; requesting the St. Cloud area planning organization to assess and report on the land use planning and coordinating issues of the region. BE IT F~NACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: Section 1. [ST. CLOUD AREA PLANNING.] Subdivision 1. [PROPOSAL AND REPORT REQUIRED.] The St. Cloud area planning organization, a joint powers organization established under Minnesota Statutes, section 471.59, is requested to develop a detailed assessment of the regional land use, planning, and coordination issues of the St. Cloud region, as provided in this section. The area planning organization is requested to submit a report on its assessment of needs and proposed actions to the state representatives and senators representing the affected legislative districts, by November 15, 1996. Subd. 2. [ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED.] The area planning organization may address the following issues in its report and proposed legislation: (1) what should be the geographic area of the region; (2) what legislation is needed to ensure comprehensive and effective regional land use planning and coordination; (3) what other issues should be addressed at the regional level, including, but not limited to, whether housing, transit and transportation, water and sewers, and other services and infrastructure should be addressed at the regional level; (4) the need for consolidation of jurisdictions, including 'whether county boundaries should be altered to create a new county with the city of St. Cloud at the center; '(5) the appropriate governance structure to address the regionai issues and needs identified; (6) the appropriate funding sources for a regional government; (7) =he feasibility of implementing a tax-base sharing program in the region; and (8) other issues identified by the area planning organization. Subd. 3. [VOTE.] The report to the state representative and senator representing the affected legislative districts requested under this section must be supported by a majority vote of the area planning organization's local governmental unit members. The votes of each member city and town shall be weighted to ensure proportional representation based on the population of each member city and town in relation to the tota! population within the area planning organization's jurisdiction. Sec. 2. [APPLICATION.] Section 1 applies in the counties of Benton, Sherburne, and Stearns. </body> </pre> </btm!> Olj'18/96 10:13:1~