09/02/2008 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Wetland Alternatives Analysis The City is in the process of conducting a planning level wetland alternatives analysis in collaboration with the Army Corps of Engineers. The identification, protection and preservation of aquatic resources is one of the goals of the RMP and comprehensive plan. The goal of aligning the RMP with federal wetland regulations is to achieve effective and consistent regulation of aquatic resources under federal, state and local requirements, while reducing the public and private costs of compliance with those regulatory requirements. This is intended to streamline the Section 404 permitting process for applicants within the City. Aligning the RMP and comprehensive plan with federal requirements will be done in collaboration with the Corps through the City's planning level alternatives analysis for wetland impacts. Under current practice, the Metropolitan Council requires that all wetlands are not considered as buildable area when communities prepare their comprehensive plan updates (i.e., all wetland acres are subtracted — netted out - from each communities calculation of developable land available to accommodate forecasted growth). However, this does not mean that those wetlands are not impacted as communities accommodate growth. As a result, the small wetland impacts tend to be replaced with small wetland mitigation. The RMP and the wetland alternatives analysis broadens the scale of potential wetland impacts to the entire city through the comprehensive plan. Wetlands are viewed in their broader watershed and mitigation and preservation is also viewed using this broader scale. This follows the Corps' rule in using a watershed approach in evaluating and replacing wetland function and values. • • •