01-13-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM 6B STAFF ORIGINATOR: Michael Grochala, Community Development Director MEETING DATE: January 13, 2020 TOPIC: Consider Resolution No. 20-01, Approving Sale of Wetland Bank Credits, Wollan Park VOTE REQUIRED: 3/5 INTRODUCTION Staff is requesting City Council consideration to approve the sale of .7076 acres (30,823.06 Square Feet) of wetland bank credits. BACKGROUND The Wetland Conservation Act (WCA) requires replacement of any construction related wetland impacts on a per square foot basis. Minnesota's wetland banking program includes both private and state-sponsored wetland banks which have "credits" that are used to offset (mitigate) authorized wetland impacts. The banks are subject to approval of both the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). The City currently has two banks in place. Bank No. 1122 (Otter Lake) is located east of I-35E and south of CSAH 14. 1.482 acres of credit are available. This bank is not ACOE approved. Credits can only be used for wetland impacts not under ACOE jurisdiction. Bank No. 1601(Wollan Park) is located west of Lake Drive and north of Main Street. 5.12 acres of ACOE approved credit is currently available in this bank. The bank also includes an additional 1.02 acres of non ACOE credit. Credits from both these banks are available for sale on the open market, much like a real estate transaction. Typically developers and/or government agencies, that have projects with wetland impacts, purchase the credits to meet mitigation requirements. The City prepared a Natural Resource Revolving Fund Plan in August of 2017. One of the overall goals of the plan was the establishment of the wetland banks to serve as a funding source to implement the City’s greenway system and assist with economic development projects. Proceeds from any sale are proposed to be used in the following way: 1. Repay establishment costs including restoration activities and monitoring. 2. 10% set aside for future maintenance of established banks. 3. New land acquisition and restoration.