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Larkin Hoffman 12/16/2009 10:43 PAGE 003/008 Fax Server Mayor Bill Blesener Shelly Boss, Council Member John Keis, Council Member Michael McGraw, Council Member Rick Montour, Council Member December 16, 2009 Page 2 Assessment ("EA"). For your consideration, I have enclosed excerpts of relevant portions of the EA. The EA included the following considerations and findings: Future noise levels generated by the Project will exceed both Federal Noise Abatement Criteria and State Noise Standards; "[t]herefore, noise abatement measures aze proposed and are included in this analysis." EA at 41. • The Project must comply with both State of Mirmesota Noise Standards and Federal Noise Abatement Criteria. To comply with these applicable laws, "all reasonable and feasible noise mitigation measures" were planned for the Project. EA at 42. • MnDOT "will provide" noise walls for the Project as noise mitigation. The criteria for determining whether a noise wall would be provided where state noise standards axe exceeded are as follows: (a) cost not to exceed $3,250/dBA reduction per residence and (b) barrier must provide "meaningful reduction in noise" defined to be a 5 dBA reduction . or more, EA at 45. • The auexage noise reduction for the Project is projected to be 8.2 dBA to 237 residences and the average cost effectiveness is $3,241/dBA per household, Accordingly, overall and according to MnDOT's own criteria, the criteria for noise walls for all affected residences were met. Id. • Specifically with respect to Quebec Apartments, the noise reduction that would be achieved by building a noise wall was found to be both "meaningful" and "cost effective." Projected noise reduction was 8 dBA per residence, well above the 5 dBA threshold and equal to a perceived noise reduction by the human eaz of 80 percent of the noise level. Additionally, the noise wall was cost effective, estimated at $2,508/dBA per household. EA Table, "Noise Wall Cost Effectiveness," • The Project was planned and analyzed with the inclusion of a "cost effective" noise wall along the frontage sepazating Quebec Apartments from the freeway. EA Figuxe 5,24.1. 2003 Evidence of City efforts to eliminate the noise wall for Quebec Apartments emerged in 2003, the year following the issuance and approval of the EA. At a November 26, 2003 City council workshop with MnDOT personnel, the City Administratox questioned whether it made sense to include two segments of noise walls on Country Drive-one that would protect two single- familyhomes on propexties slated fox redevelopment and the other being Quebec Apartments. No evidentiary or legal basis was given by the City Administrator for his position. The City Administrator proposed to MnDOT at the workshop that the Country Drive noise walls be traded for gaps in noise walls along County Road D and Twin Lake. MnDOT engineers balked, telling