02-22-2006 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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MAYOR 13111 Blesener COUNCIL Jim LaValle Rick Montour I3arbara Allan John Reis 515 Little Canada Road, Little Canada, MN 55117 -1600 ADMINISTRATOR (651) 766 -4029 / FAX: (651) 766-4048 Joel R. Hanson www.eLlittle-eanada.mn.us MEMORANDUM To: Mayor Blesener & Members of City Council From: Bill Dircks, Public Works Superintendent Date: February 17, 2006 Re: 3339 Twin Lake Court Beach Sand Blanket On Monday, January 30, I received a call from Mrs. Wilma Pralutsky who lives at 231 Twin Lake Trail. She said that there was a backhoe digging near the Twin Lake shoreline across the lake on Twin Lake Court. I drove over to Twin Lake Court and found the contractor, Natural Environments, at 3339 Twin Lake Court clearing some vegetation down near the shoreline with a small backhoe. I stopped the backhoe operator and asked what he was doing. He responded that he was prepping the area for a sand beach that they were installing. He said that they do a lot of these types of beaches and gave me his supervisor's name and phone number to contact for further information. I contacted Mr. Terry Sanders by phone and he explained that the work they were doing was allowed by the D.N.R. without a permit. He informed me that there was information on the D.N.R. website specifically explaining beach sand blankets. I checked the website and found the information that Mr. Sanders was alluding to. I then called Mrs. Pralutsky and informed her of the situation and referred her to the website for verification. A short while later, Mr. Joe Pralutsky called me to ask about the situation. He was not satisfied with the information provided by the D.N.R. website and referred me to the City of Little Canada Municipal Code section 1801, Lowlands, Wetlands, and Marshes. Under that section Twin Lake is defined as a wetland and, as such, was not to have any development near the shoreline without City Council approval. It was Mr. Pralutsky's opinion that the beach should not be allowed based on that code. He also informed me that the contractor did exstensive removal of trees and brush and was digging 4 to 5 feet deep. During my initial visit to the site I did not see any evidence of significant tree