New ordinances will protect Mississippi River for everyone

The Mississippi River defines and shapes the Twin Cities metro area. It provides a respite from the busy-ness of city life: a place to find solitude on a walking trail, watch bald eagles soar over an oak savannah, or paddle past towering limestone bluffs. Because of its importance, the 72-mile stretch that runs through the Twin Cities from north of Champlin to south of Rosemount is recognized as a national park unit – and a state critical area.

When the Mississippi River Critical Corridor Area (MRCCA) was established in 1976, it came with some environmental protections. However, Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR), a citizen organization working to protect and enhance the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities metro area, knew that more were needed. In 2007, they began working alongside communities and policymakers to create better protective measures.

By the end of 2025, all 25 river cities and townships in the corridor had adopted clearer, science-based regulations for riverfront development. If you do the math, you’ll see it took 19 years of hard work. Here’s what it means for the Mississippi River as it flows through the MRCCA:

• Erosion control measures will keep land in place, and protect the waters below. Enforceable guidelines will exist to minimize erosion during construction projects.

• Setback requirements will ensure safer buildings and protection for bluffs.

• Building height limits and scenic view protections will prohibit outsized development projects in the MRCCA.

• To ensure habitat protection along the river, near wetlands and in existing natural areas, landowners and developers will minimize removal of shoreline vegetation. Bird migration and nesting seasons must be considered when removing vegetation, and no clear cutting will be allowed to create better views of the water for a few.

• More open space and public access will be created along the river. This provision is extremely important at the northern and southern ends of the corridor, where many of the last remaining large tracts of high-quality forest, prairie and wetland remain, and the majority of shoreline is privately owned.

Collaboration is key
FMR supported all 25 cities and townships in the corridor to fold the rules into their plans and adopt official ordinances. FMR Land Use and Planning Director Colleen O’Connor Toberman said, “Ordinance adoption is where all this work becomes enforceable. There’s real power in an organization like FMR that understands the law, gets into the details, and has the consistency to stick with it for almost two decades.”

According to O’Connor Toberman, “The legislature had to have enough agreement to get the DNR to do this. The DNR needed stakeholder agreement along the way. Everyone worked collaboratively, and one of the things that helped was this: there are six different districts designated within MRRCA, which reflect different development patterns. For instance, the size of the building you’re allowed to build in Downtown St. Paul is different from what would be allowed in the city of Dayton. Ultimately, our shared goal was to preserve the green scenic view for everyone.”

Appreciate what is unseen
People often measure success by what they see but in this case, the impact of the new ordinances will be in what isn’t seen along the river. There will be less bluff erosion, less clear cutting along shorelines, no new out-sized buildings disrupting natural views, and no new development without accompanying public access or open space.

O’Connor Toberman said, “One of the strengths of MRCCA is that it replaces the way things were done in the past, when projects were debated on a case by case basis. We feel it’s more democratic to have a clear, consistent standard. In the long run, these ordinances will bring more predictability for developers and for neighbors. And there’s no expiration date on these ordinances – they’re intended to go on in perpetuity.

River Guardians
At last count, there were 2,100+ community advocates speaking up for the river through FMR’s River Guardian Program. River Guardians advocate for strong water quality rules and laws at the state and national levels, as well as metro corridor projects, and many of their voices were heard in the process of getting the MRCCA ordinances approved. Contact FMR Grassroots Organizing Coordinator Jenna Hawkes at jhawkes@fmr.org to learn more about becoming a River Guardian.
Visit www.fmr.org for more information about Friends of the Mississippi River, including their April 18 Earth Day Clean-Up which will be held at West River Parkway and 36th Street in Minneapolis from 9:30 a.m. to noon.