City Council Meeting Date: June 17, 2025
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Ben Martig, City Administrator
Title
Consider Ordinance (Second Reading) Restricting Fishing on the north side only of the Bridge Square Bridge (Mayor Zweifel/Councilor Beumer Request).
Body
Action Requested:
Council Considers Motion to Approve Ordinance (Second Reading) Restricting Fishing on the north side only of the Bridge Square Bridge (Mayor Zweifel/Councilor Beumer Request).
Summary Report:
The Council approved the first reading at the June 3, 2025 City Council meeting.
A summary publication is a separate item on the consent agenda.
Background
Mayor Zweifel and Councilor Beumer are recommending restricting fishing on the north side of the Bridge Square Bridge to alleviate pedestrian and fisher congestion and public safety concerns raised to them by the public. A map is attached with the area to be restricted (attachment 2).
The proposed ordinance would not impact on the south side of the bridge or along the Riverwalk. Staff observations in the past from 2016 and revisited recently as this topic has come up again suggests that the primary fishing is occurring on the south side of the bridge. Restricting fishing on the north side, which is rare at this time, would allow for an unobstructed pedestrian crossing of the bridge on that side. A draft ordinance is attached (attachment 1). The Minnesota DNR was also contacted and stated they had no issues with fishing restrictions on the bridge.
In 2016, the City Council discussed a similar ordinance, but in that case the area proposed to be restricted was along the Riverwalk behind then Froggy Bottoms. Staff reports and Council discussion at that time centered around restricting fishing overall, the specific area impacted, limitations on hours and times of the year, and the severity of fines. The ordinance was postponed indefinitely due to Council concerns. A link to the final Council meeting where this ordinance was...
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