Blue Earth County LAND USE PLAN December 2018 In cooperation with: [THIS PAGE WAS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK] Blue Earth County Land Use Plan Blue Earth County Land Use Plan DRAFT December 2018 Prepared for: Blue Earth County Environmental Services Department 410 S. 5 th Street Mankato, MN 56001 Blue Earth County Land Use Plan [THIS PAGE WAS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK] Blue Earth County Land Use Plan Acknowledgements The following people played an integral role in the process of developing the Blue Earth County Land Use Plan Update. PRIMARY STAKEHOLDERS Thank you to everyone who attended any of the public meetings, completed the survey, provided additional feedback, etc. This plan could not have been completed without your participation. COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PLANNING COMMISSION Kip Bruender Lyle Femrite, Chair Drew Campbell Bill Anderson Mark Piepho Kurt Anderson Will Purvis Kip Bruender Vance Stuehrenberg Barry Jacques Dusty Riley Joe Smentek COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Bob Meyer STUDY REVIEW COMMITTEE Thank you to the members of the Study Review Committee who contributed a great deal of personal time to ensure this plan meets the needs and expectations of the citizens of Blue Earth County. John Billings, Blue Earth County Soil & Water Conservation District Kip Bruender, Blue Earth County Planning Commission Tom Dougan, Tri-Lakes Region Representative Lyle Femrite, Blue Earth County Township Association Scott Fichtner, Blue Earth County Environmental Services Pete Forrey, Small Business Owners John Hollerich, Small Cities Representative George Leary, Blue Earth County Environmental Services Gretchen Mauerman, Blue Earth County Human Services Bob Meyer, Blue Earth County Administrator Terry Overn, Mining Industry Cathy Riley, Blue Earth County Resident Blue Earth County Land Use Plan i Garett Rohlfing, Blue Earth County Environmental Services Aaron Stubbs, Blue Earth County Environmental Services Ryan Thilges, Blue Earth County Public Works Kent Wilson Jones, Blue Earth County Resident RESEARCH INTERVIEWS Thank you to those individuals who took the time to meet with County staff to achieve a more complete assessment of your industry, your municipality, or your organization. Roger Keinholtz, Crystal Valley Co-op Sam Ziegler, GreenSeam John Considine, Greater Mankato Growth Dave Preisler, Minnesota Pork Producers Josh Downey, Blue Earth County Park Supervisor Patty Smith, City of Amboy Jennifer Bromeland, City of Eagle Lake Tim Auringer, City of Eagle Lake Heather Lowe, City of Good Thunder Taylor Gronau, City of Lake Crystal Curt Kephart, City of Madison Lake Mark Konz, City of Mankato Patty Woodruff, City of Mapleton Darla Ward, City of Pemberton Catherine Seys, City of Saint Clair Diane Roellofs, City of Vernon Center COUNTY STAFF Thank you to the additional members of County staff who contributed a great deal of information, research, review, and technical expertise to bring this plan to realization. Julie Conrad, Blue Earth County Environmental Services Jaclyn Essandoh, Blue Earth County Environmental Services Tim Grant, Blue Earth County Environmental Services Scott Salsbury, Blue Earth County Environmental Services Blue Earth County Land Use Plan ii [THIS PAGE WAS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK] Blue Earth County Land Use Plan iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… i Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................................ i List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iv List of Tables…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. v List of Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ..... v Chapter 1 - Introduction .............................................................................................................................................1 Purpose and Scope .................................................................................................................................................1 Planning Area and County Role ..............................................................................................................................1 Plan Overview .........................................................................................................................................................2 Public and Stakeholder Input .................................................................................................................................2 Priority Planning Principles .....................................................................................................................................2 Plan Vision ..............................................................................................................................................................3 Plan Elements .........................................................................................................................................................3 Chapter 2 – Public Participation Process ....................................................................................................................5 Role of the Study Review Committee .....................................................................................................................5 Website Development ............................................................................................................................................6 Focus Group Meetings............................................................................................................................................6 Public Open Houses ................................................................................................................................................7 Public Survey ..........................................................................................................................................................7 In-depth Interviews with Municipalities ................................................................................................................7 In-depth Interviews with Economic Development Stakeholders ...........................................................................7 Other Plans .............................................................................................................................................................8 Chapter 3 - County Context and Social Characteristics ..............................................................................................9 Region .....................................................................................................................................................................9 Demographics .........................................................................................................................................................9 Chapter 4 – Physical Environment and Natural Resources ..................................................................................... 19 Natural Resources ............................................................................................................................................... 19 Greenprint ........................................................................................................................................................... 26 Green Infrastructure ................................................................................................................................................ 26 Chapter 5 - Community Resilience .......................................................................................................................... 34 Blue Earth County All Hazard Mitigation Plan ..................................................................................................... 34 Infrastructure and Utilities .................................................................................................................................. 35 Blue Earth County Land Use Plan i Hazardous Materials Release .............................................................................................................................. 47 Flooding ............................................................................................................................................................... 47 Ravine and Near Channel Erosion ....................................................................................................................... 48 Tornados .............................................................................................................................................................. 52 Dams .................................................................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 6 - Land Use ............................................................................................................................................... 54 Land Cover ........................................................................................................................................................... 54 Development Trends ........................................................................................................................................... 56 Orderly Growth and Development .....................................................................................................................