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41 <br />Soils <br />The soil in an area impacts the type of development and extent of development that can occur in the area. <br />Factors such as drainage,frost characteristics,and shrink/swell potential may limit the development of <br />buildings, structures, and septic systems. <br />The United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service in cooperation with the Minnesota <br />Agricultural Experiment Station published a soil survey of Washington and Ramsey Counties.It identified <br />general soils for general planning and a more in-depth soil analysis for detailed planning in each county.It <br />should be noted that any large scale mapping of soils results in an extremely generalized graphic statement,the <br />information does serve to illustrate the relationship between soil types and the areas most suitable for <br />development.Little Canada is composed of three general soil types:Zimmerman-Urban land-Rifle,Barronett- <br />Grays, and Hayden-Urban land. <br />Zimmerman-Urban land-Rifle makes up the majority of Little Canada and composes roughly 27 percent of the <br />total area of Ramsey County.This unit is well suited for urban uses which are tied in with city sewage systems. <br />The main concerns for this general soil if the high-water table in the low areas.When it is used for recreational <br />development the major concern is soil blowing. <br />Barronett-Grays soils are level to gently sloping,poorly drained and moderately well drained,medium textured <br />soils.This unit only composes 1 percent of Ramsey County.Urbanization of this soil is limited by the seasonal <br />high-water table and susceptibility to frost action. <br />Hayden-Urban land consists of soils and urban land on glacial moraines.Slopes range from one to 24 percent. <br />This soil unit is composed primarily of urban development,playgrounds,parks,vacant lands,isolated tracts of <br />grass and woodlands,and yards.The main concern for using these soils for building or sanitary facilities is the <br />difficulty building on steeper slopes.The water table is seasonally high in the depressions and lower lying areas. <br />The moderate volume changes with changes in soil moisture can cause concern when constructing buildings, <br />roads, or streets. <br />Soil limitations were determined from analysis conducted by the USDA Soil Conservation Service.A rating <br />system,defined as follows,and shown on the Soil Limitations map,indicated the development potential of <br />certain sites for dwellings with basements.The limitations are slight if soil properties or site features are <br />generally favorable for the indicated use and limitations are minor and easily overcome.Moderate limitations <br />result if the soil properties of a site are not favorable for the proposed use and special planning,design or <br />maintenance is needed to overcome the limitations.Severe limitations defined by unfavorable soil properties <br />or site features are so difficult to overcome that special planning,design and maintenance are required which <br />results in increased construction costs and on-going maintenance.Oftentimes special feasibility studies are <br />necessary to determine if development is possible of soils classified as “severe”.