ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) — The Rochester City Council voted Monday to approve the final Alternative Urban Area Wide Review (AUAR) of Mayo Clinic’s “Bold, Forward, Unlimited” initiative.
The AUAR is defined as a hybrid that combines the Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) review processes. According to AUAR officials, the AUAR provides a framework for the City of Rochester, Mayo Clinic and other stakeholder groups, such as the developer, to evaluate the environmental impacts of Bold. Forward. Unbound.
The City Council approved the final review by a vote of 6 to 1. State agencies including the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) signed off on the review, said Eileen Woodward, Rochester’s community development director.
“The report gave various agencies an opportunity to ask questions, to ask for clarification and really comment,” Woodward said, noting that some feedback from state agencies was that “this is an additional thing that we need to consider going forward if we’re going to move forward with the permitting process.”
Mayo Clinic’s “Bold, Forward, Unlimited” initiative aims to invest $5 billion to redesign its Rochester campus, and a study on Monday assessed a 19.7-acre area in downtown Rochester that would be affected by Mayo Clinic’s new development.
Woodward and others on the city council said the approval doesn’t mean any action will be taken, but rather lays the groundwork for any possible development by allowing the city and Mayo Clinic to better understand potential environmental impacts.
“All of those (development) decisions still have to be made,” Woodward said. “Just because something is identified in the AUAR doesn’t mean the project has been approved.”
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