Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/04/2006 Environmental Board MinutesENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2006 CITY OF LINO LAKES APPROVED MINUTES DATE : October 4, 2006 TIME STARTED : 6:34 P.M. TIME ENDED : 10:10 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT : Constance Grundhofer, Mary Jo O'Dea, Martha DeHaven, Kimberly Brouillet, Sarah Norman and Barbara Bor MEMBERS ABSENT : Jeff McDowell STAFF PRESENT : Environmental Coordinator Marty Asleson, 1. CALL TO ORDER Ms. O'Dea called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES No minutes to approve. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Under Discussion Items add D. Attendance. Approval of agenda as amended. Motion by Ms. Grundhofer to amend. Motion seconded by Ms. Brouillet. Motion Carried. 4. OPEN MIKE Opened at 6:35 p.m. Mr. Youngbauer requested time to speak on EAW. Ms. O'Dea stated that a good time to speak would be at the end of the EAW review. Ms. O'Dea asked if there were other issues. Tere O'Connell suggested looking at other sources of energy, such as wind turbines, solar energy or something along that nature. Open Mike closed at 6:40 p.m. 1 DRAFT MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2006 5. ACTION ITEMS A. Natures Preserve/EAW Mr. Smyser, City Planner, explained the process for an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW). Mr. Smyser has the primary responsibility of reviewing this process. Nature's Refuge is the name of proposed conservation development. There has been no project application filed with the city. After discussion by this board the EAW will be revised and then presented to the city council. If the EAW is passed by the council there will be a public comment time period that will last 30 days. The EAW form is designed by the Environmental Review rules and the city does not have any say what is on the form. Ms. O'Dea asked if the Environmental Board would review the comments before going back to the city council. He said once we get the comments back from the council and public comments the document will be brought back to the Environmental Board. Ms. O'Dea asked if the neighbors in the neighborhood receive a copy or do they need to request it. Mr. Smyser stated they need to request. Ms. Bor asked about the percentage of units of government who actually respond after reviewing the EAW. Mr. Smyser stated typically there will be a comment from Fish & Wildlife, Rice Creek Watershed District, DNR and a few others out of about 25 departments. Ms. Bor asked if Mr. Smyser thought we would get 25% response. Mr. Smyser stated maybe. Mr. Smyser gave EAW presentation. Ms. O'Dea began the review with the board. Ms. O'Dea suggested going paragraph by paragraph. Page 2, Description Ms. Bor asked if the 132 conservation acres area is a collective area. Mr. Husveth said that it is all connected. The largest area is 70 acres. Ms. Bor suggested making it more descriptive or a little clearer so it is not just a big lump. Site Description Ms. Grundhofer asked if the NE portion of the sight had been previously platted. Mr. Smyser noted that the northern 80 acres were platted back in the 1970's or 1980's. The plat was recorded but nothing was ever built. Ms. Grundhofer asked if we can add a sentence stating this. Mr. Smyser said it was previously platted as R -1 and now proposed PUD. 180 acres are now R -1 and 60 acres guided to be residential. Ms. Grundhofer suggested making the last sentence clarifying the platting procedure. 2 DRAFT MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2006 Page 3, first paragraph, second sentence. It was asked if the large wetland complex is a variety or one type of wetland. Mr. Husveth said several. First paragraph, last sentence. Ms. Grundhofer asked if the drainage will stay the same or be removed. Mr. Asleson stated as far as he knows the drainage will stay the same. Mr. Husveth stated the hydrology will be the same. Last paragraph, third line down. Ms. Bor asked if this project could begin late 2006 as the EAW states. Mr. Smyser stated this could be possible. Page 4, first sentence. Ms. O'Dea asked Mr. Asleson if the Environmental Board needs to comment now. Mr. Asleson said not yet. Mr. Smyser stated we could add city approved imported soil to EAW. Ms. Bor asked how we will know if we are getting the right fill. Mr. Asleson stated that the site is being checked all the time. Ms. Grundhofer asked if someone could explain a ribbon curb. Mr. Smyser explained that the street is raised only a little bit to let water run over the curb to the infiltration and other natural elements. Ms. O'Dea asked where this type of curb would be and if it would be on the map. Mr. Smyser stated that specific locations are not in the plan as of yet. Wetland Impacts Ms. Grundhofer asked if we can have a percentage of lots to be filled. Mr. Husveth stated that we have the ability to do this. Ms. O'Dea wants it to be made clear as to which lots stay and which lots go. Conservation Development Phase Typo, change to read 150 not 1550. Page 6, Permits and approvals required Ms. O'Dea asked if the developer needs approval from the archeological people. Mr. Smyser stated if anything were to be found on the site they may have to work with the Historical Society. Mr. Smyser stated that so far there has been nothing noted on the site. Page 7, first paragraph. Ms. O'Dea stated that a school property located SE of proposed development should be referenced in this paragraph. 3 DRAFT MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2006 Cover Types Ms. Norman asked if the landscape plan has been prepared. Mr. Smyser stated that part of the landscape plat, grading plan, etc. have not been created as of this time. Existing Resources, last paragraph. Ms. Grundhofer stated that the last sentence refers to 23 sites of wetland. We would like percentage of wetlands. Mr. Husveth stated yes, we could give percent or acreage. Ms. Grundhofer would like to state that the habitat is very important. Page 8, sixth line down. Ms. O'Dea asked that the wording be changed from disrupt hinder to disrupt and hinder. Mr. Husveth stated yes. Page 10, third paragraph. Ms. O'Dea wants to be given a specific area that may be conducive to the Blanding's turtle. Mr. Husveth does not have information provided to him as of yet. Ms. Bor asked if neighbors were interviewed as to sightings of the Blanding's turtle. Mr. Husveth received a letter last year from Raymond Stadum. Ms. Bor wants to know where the turtles travel and where would they lay their eggs. Ms. Bor read Raymond Stadum's letter. Ms. Bor wanted to know if we could highlight the area where the turtle's were spotted. Mr. Husveth said there is a process for getting reliable and credible documentation. Mr. Husveth has spent hundreds of hours on the site over the past years. He has not seen a Blanding's turtle on the site, however if he had he would be very excited about it. If we want to add more detail about the turtles, we need letters that have facts and locations. Ms. O'Dea said we should get the information in the EAW. Mr. Husveth agreed. Last paragraph Add information about the Blanding's turtles in the homeowners association. Page 12, top, second set of bullets. Ms. O'Dea asked if we identify where the roadway section would be. Mr. Smyser stated the roadways have not been designed as of yet nor the holding ponds. Ms. Grundhofer wanted to know if the salt from roadway plowing will cause a problem for wetlands. Mr. Grochala stated the water quality and storm water infiltration issue will address those issues. Mr. Husveth stated they will use plants that are more salt tolerant. 4 DRAFT MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2006 Page 14, second sentence Ms. Norman stated we should give examples of the best management. Mr. Asleson stated he would add examples of erosion issues, seeding, sand, etc. Page 16, last paragraph Ms. O'Dea asked if we need to add truck washing areas. Mr. Asleson asked Mr. Husveth to add this. Page 19, second paragraph Ms. O'Dea wants paragraph to state: if these things do not occur than the impact will be... Ms. Brouillet wanted to know what happens when contractors are not following the noise ordinance as it pertains to construction. Mr. Grochala stated the noise ordinance is part of the city code. Ms. O'Dea suggested changing wording in EAW to state city code not city practice. Mr. Grochala stated this is the city's standard practice. Ms. Brouillet asked if the police can enforce this ordinance. Mr. Smyser answered yes the police can enforce this. Page 21, top of page Ms. O'Dea wants to add the following: Construction will be limited to hours referenced on page 19. Mr. Asleson stated this could be added. Page 22, last paragraph, third line down Ms. Grundhofer would like the percentage of acreage added. Page 24, Wetland Impacts Ms. Grundhofer wants to designate where wetland impacts will be. Mr. Husveth stated it will be added. Second paragraph, last sentence Ms. O'Dea asked if mitigation needs be specified. Mr. Husveth stated not at this point. Rare Species Impacts It was asked if the Blanding's turtles could be identified under this section. 5 DRAFT MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2006 Page 25, Traffic and Air Quality Ms. Bor asked to add something regarding noise and pollution to the school. Anoka County Site map Ms. Grundhofer asked if there is someway to show residential around this development. Mr. Husveth stated the map was made to show wetlands. Mr. Husveth stated we could show more detail on map and will. Ms. Grundhofer stated the DNR letter references an attachment that was not included with EAW. 4.0 Traffic Analysis Ms. O'Dea wanted Traffic Analysis above bullet points to read in our opinion..... Mr. Smyser stated the analysis is the developer's report and we cannot change. Ms. O'Dea asked if we can identify the document as being created by the developer as it is not clear who this traffic opinion has been done by. Mr. Smyser stated something will be done. There are no further comments of the document by the board. RESIDENT - Carol Featherstone of 631 Andall Street, Lino Lakes. Ms. Featherstone stated she was notified about this meeting by a neighbor. She stated she has trees marked and it is very important to her and irritates her when she has to come to the meeting to find out what is going on. Ms. Featherstone stated she feels that the city is trying to pass things by. Ms. Featherstone addressed Page 17 of EAW which indicates roads. She wants to know where they will be located. Mr. Smyser stated the proposed road would utilize Wood Duck Trail for access. The property owners were contacted. The homeowners said they were not interested in making a road on Wood Duck Trail. Mr. Grochala said Wood Duck is essentially a collector street. Rather than taking a road out onto Cty Rd 14 there would be a connection to Wood Duck Drive. However, it has already been developed. The site as proposed does not have a section going to Wood Duck Trail. There are access points going over north of Andall Out Lot. Mr. Smyser explained this and showed on screen. The developer is working with school for a full access. There is a right of way on Andall Street. That was the original plan back when Andall Street was platted. So as of this time Andall is not a full access street. Ms. Brouillet asked if School says no they would not be interested in a full access could Andall Street still be used. Mr. Grochala stated it is not really a possibility and very unlikely. People would not be willing to drive north to go south. 6 DRAFT MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2006 Mr. Grochala stated that there will be notification going out on this in the future. The EAW will be available on CD, hard copy for a fee, on the internet and in our library here. This is still a working draft. Property owners will be made aware of the progress during the public comment period. Ms. O'Dea asked if letters will be sent to surrounding residents. Mr. Smyser stated once the process is done and they are ready to begin this will be done. Ms. Bor stated the board is responding to the EAW without a plan. We need to push for as much detail as possible. Once the review has finished it is critical that we are responding to a conceptual change. RESIDENT 2 - Lou Jungbauer, 679Andall Street, Lino Lakes Mr. Jungbauer stated that listening to ladies (board members) tonight he is stunned and very impressed. I ask that you reject this project and if the project goes ahead I will be a team player because you have shown that you will listen to the people. Mr. Jungbauer Lou went over his handout. Mr. Jungbauer asked if we have open space left. Mr. Grochala noted 3,500 acres of Regional Park. Mr. Grochala noted the city survey was not positive towards the purchasing of open space. Mr. Jungbauer went over his sheet on the city survey. Mr. Jungbauer talked about a proposed development called Robinson Sod Farms. Mr. Jungbauer stated he did not realize the EAW was a working draft. Ms. O'Dea questioned Robinson Sod Farm development. Mr. Grochala stated there will be a presentation to council regarding looking at Robinson Sod Farms as part of the comp plan update. The Robinson Sod Farm is planned and guided for development. After the 2030 visioning process is done, the city will be begin the comp plan update. Ms. O'Dea asked if you want to have a full document of what is out there and the full impact why not mention it. Mr. Grochala stated the process is not to begin anytime soon. The EAW is not an approval of a development. This is a document we are presenting. This is an issue raising development. We have not gotten into a development review of how everything works, letter of credit, final design, etc. Ms. DeHaven stated she does not want a traffic problem like Eagle Brook or worse. Mr. Grochala stated that things will get worse over the next year. Hopefully next year the 3 5 W interchange will be started. 7 DRAFT MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2006 Ms. Brouillet asked who the EAW was developed through. Mr. Smyser stated the developer submits data and then it becomes the city's document. The city is responsible for what is in that document. The current EAW is the 2nd or 3rd version that he has revised. Mr. Smyser stated he takes the EAW process very seriously and it is a complete and accurate document. We do not have people available on staff to put together this kind of document. The city checks it and say's it is okay. Under the law, the EAW is the city's document. Ms. Bor asked Mr. Carlson about the intensity of number of units vs. rural executive lots. She asked why Mr. Carlson would choose high intensity. Mr. Carlson stated this development process goes back 3 -5 yrs. He has looked at this development in different directions. Mr. Carlson has hired professions to come in and make decisions for them. Economics do not enter in at this time. The conservation development is the result of a lot of meetings. Personally economics are not working out like Mr. Carlson would like it to. The property has been cut and dissected . Ms. Bor asked about making a more concentrated design with the same area. Make bigger lots, less number of units. Mr. Carlson stated he has lost 70 lots so far going with a conservation development. Mr. Husveth stated that every lot that is lost is not just about making money but going to maintaining and restoring the land. 270 lots are the tipping point on this development. Mr. Smyser mentioned the open space plan. How do we get done what we want to get done? Having no growth does not save the environment. We need to pick the areas in the city that are really great to restore and maintain high value ecological spots. When we have a developer in one of these areas, we at the city work with them. Mr. Asieson stated that this site is the highest value area in Lino Lakes. RESIDENT 3 - Tere O'Connell, 1000 Main Street, Lino Lakes: The development craze has gone down. Ms. O'Connell stated she is worried that homes will not be able to sell, everything will get changed or the land will be sold to someone else who does not have to follow the EAW. How does this EAW prevent that from happening. Mr. Smyser stated the EAW is not approving a development project. It does not say how a project is going to be laid out; The EAW has a lot of important information that tells us potential environmental impact of the project. Then when the actual project application is reviewed and approved it must be built as approved. If something is significantly different then the law says a new EAW has to be done. Ms. Brouillet asked if Mr. Carlson owns the land or has option agreements. Mr. Carlson stated the land is under control in different agreements and it includes the EAW. They 8 DRAFT MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2006 have gone through long hard hours of work to be here. Mr. Carlson stated the development will be done in phases or increments. The conservation part of this development will be done up front no matter when the other phases develop. Ms. O'Connell wanted to know once they start can the other developers pull out. The answer is no. Mr. O'Dea asked for a motion that would approve the changes and comments added to EAW. Motion by Brouillet and second by DeHaven to pass along to city council. Motion passed unanimously. 6. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Blue Heron Days/Earth Day/Recycle Day Earth Day will not be able to be held next year due to future road construction. There will not be an entrance. Marty Asleson suggested Earth Day to be canceled and resume the following year. Ms. O'Dea agreed that it would be a good idea to resume the following year. Recycling Day will be held Saturday, October 7, 2006. Next year recycling day may have to be reduced from a spring and fall recycling day to only a spring recycling. Mr. Asleson noted the spring recycling is usually very busy and fall recycling is usually very slow. We generally charge what it costs to have materials recycled. We are committed to having at least one recycling day a year . Ms. Bor commented on what recycling day symbolizes to a community and the importance of having two recycling days. Ms. Bor stated that she is more than willing to waive her meeting stipend and put it toward recycle day. Ms. Bor also asked how we communicate recycling day to the public. Can we look for sponsors within our own community? This question was tabled until the next meeting. B. Fall Restoration Projects Mr. Asleson stated Stoneybrook restoration will be this fall and Foxborough will either be this fall or next spring. 9 DRAFT MINUTES