12/20/2006 Env Bd Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Nature's Refuge DRAFT DECEMBER 14, 2006 EAW Record of Decision page 16 Response: The proposed project includes 278 detached dwelling units. The threshold for a mandatory environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) is 250, and that is why the EAW was prepared. The threshold for a mandatory environmental impact statement is 1000, which is well above what is proposed. There is some misunderstanding about conservation developments. Lino Lakes Ordinance No. 24 -04 defines conservation development as a collaborative process which results in a development plan, typically a planned unit development, in which certain stipulated public values are achieved in exchange for greater flexibility on general development requirements and the growth limits defined in the ordinance. Lino Lakes Ordinance No. 24 -04 allows the City Council reasonable discretion to approve housing units in excess of the stipulated growth limits when a project would result in significant and discernable public values above and beyond those achievable under conventional development. The Nature's Refuge project design includes all the public values listed in the ordinance, which includes: a. Preserving more natural open space than required under current ordinances and development policies b. Reducing the extent of impervious surfaces and size of the development footprint c. Restoring /enhancing ecological systems on the site as part of the development process d. Protecting off -site ecological systems through increased buffering e. Ensuring long -term natural resource stewardship through an endowment program sponsored by the Developer f. Providing public park and trail opportunities consistent with or in excess of the System Plan g. Managing stormwater (flow rates and quality) using natural infiltration and ecologically -based approaches h. Preserving the open space aesthetic to which community residences have become accustomed i. Maintaining natural buffer between established and new developments As proposed and analyzed in the EAW, the Nature's Refuge project clearly meets the definition of a conservation development. CONCLUSIONS 1. All requirements for environmental review of the proposed project have been met. 2. The EAW processes has generated information that is adequate to determine whether the project has the potential for significant environmental effects. •