10/02/2006 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Search

STAFF ORIGINATOR: C. C. MEETING DATE: TOPIC: ACTION: BACKGROUND AGENDA ITEM S C Jeff Smyser October 9, 2006 Resolution 06 -158 Approving Distribution for Public Comment the Environmental Assessment Worksheet for Nature's Refuge 3/5 vote Nature's Refuge is a conservation development project that was the topic of a May 31 presentation to a joint meeting of the City Council and all the advisory boards. The site lies north of Main Street, generally between Lake Drive and Wood Duck Trail. The project would have a restoration and management plan for the conservation area. We do not yet have a project application. We do have an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW). Information gathered through the EAW process will inform the design of the project before the submittal of a formal development application. The EAW draft was discussed by the Environmental Board at its October 4 meeting. The Environmental Board's revisions to the document will be brought to the City Council at the October 9 meeting. Resolution 06 -158 approves distribution of the document for public comment. A notice will be published in the EQB Monitor, distributed by the MN Environmental Quality Board (EQB). The public comment period begins the day that the notice appears and lasts 30 days. Copies of the EAW will be distributed to state, federal, and other agencies that are on a list maintained by the EQB, and will be available to the general public. After receiving comments, we will examine the EAW document and comments to determine if we need additional information and/or if we should revise the document. Then, the City Council will determine if potential impacts of the project are significant enough to require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement. If not, the Council will adopt a finding of no significant impact and the environmental review process ends. The developer then will begin to prepare the final design of the project and the application information. A decision to distribute the EAW for public comment, it is not an approval of the development project. We are following the environmental review process as required by state statute and the rules of the EQB.