Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/31/2004 Environmental Board MinutesENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING MARCH 31, 2004 CITY OF LINO LAKES APPROVED MINUTES DATE : March 31, 2004 TIME STARTED : 8:12 P.M. TIME ENDED : 10:56 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT : Barbara Bor, Barbara Bauman, Constance Grundhofer, Rod Kukonen, Teresa O’Connell, and Mary Jo O’Dea MEMBERS ABSENT : Dennis Smith STAFF PRESENT : Environmental Coordinator Marty Asleson 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Kukonen called the meeting to order at 8:12 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES February 25, 2004 Page 5, fourth paragraph: “Grading should be done to facilitate the water flow into the pond within the turnabout.” Page 5, seventh paragraph: “O’Connell inquired if the Board could suggest no walk-out basements.” Page 9, eighth paragraph: “ The definition of greenway had evolved over the years.” O’Dea made a motion to approve the February 25, 2004 meeting minutes. Bor seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA • Discuss Action item B first, Action item C second, and third Action item A. The Board approved the agenda as amended. 4. OPEN MIKE Rick Carlson addressed the West Shadow Ponds development. Mr. Rehbein had inquired if a plaque could be established in the park to be in the memory of his parents who had previously owned the land. Staff directed him to the Park Board meeting. 1 APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING MARCH 31, 2004 5. ACTION ITEMS A. Fox Den Acres/Preliminary Plat Review This item will be discussed later in the meeting. B. Junes Subdivision Application/Preliminary Plat Review Asleson reviewed the background and analysis. He indicated the Northwest portion might be protected already. It was noted that one of the lots appeared to be a flag lot. There were healthy plant communities along County Ditch 25. Wayne Junes noted the MNDNR and Rice Creek Watershed District owned the adjacent land. He recently spoke with a representative at Rice Creek Watershed District who indicated that the border should be made more irregular. Asleson inquired if there were any soil borings. His concern was that the high water level could result in contamination of groundwater if there was not enough separation. Chair Kukonen asked for clarification on the location of the houses. Mr. Junes pointed out the locations and stated that a split level home would be built. Chair Kukonen referred to the flag indicators to the West. Asleson responded that he had walked the property and the one by 67th Street had nothing left the soils could support. Chair Kukonen inquired about the location of the ditch. Asleson referred to Attachment 4 that the blue arrows indicated the ditch. Chair Kukonen questioned if buffering might be appropriate along the edge of the ditch. Asleson answered that there was not much to buffer. Asleson inquired about the distance between the house and the wetland. Mr. Junes answered there was 300-feet between them. Asleson noted that the pond had been discussed, but the edge could also be buffered with vegetation for 10-20 feet. Native grass seed could be planted on the edge. Bauman inquired about the Western edge. Grundhofer added the Northern end of the property was also a wetland. Asleson responded that the entire pond area circumference could be planted with a native mix. 2 APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING MARCH 31, 2004 O’Connell asked for clarification that it could be recommended that a buffer should be around the wetland edges. Asleson responded that the developer was going to have to reseed the entire property. Chair Kukonen expressed concern for the North and Western edges of the property. Grundhofer inquired how they would be made aware of the required elevation. Asleson answered that Rice Creek Watershed District engineers. O’Connell recommended that they conform to the City requirements for ponding. Bor expressed concern about the soil borings. O’Connell inquired if the developer was going to bring in wetland fill, did they not have to make sure that the soil was compatible. Asleson answered that a recommendation should be no importing or exporting of soils without City approval. Chair Kukonen indicated that there seemed to be issues with Rice Creek Watershed District that needed to be resolved. Asleson stated that he would notify Carl on his concerns. Chair Kukonen reiterated the recommendations from the Board and called for a motion. • Buffering along the North and West edge of property. • No importing or exporting of soils or fill soils without City approval. • Demonstrate separation between the bottom of the pond and the seasonally high groundwater table. • Resolve issues with Rice Creek Watershed District. • Conservation easement or land platted as Park for the remaining wetland in the parcel. O’Connell made a motion to recommend approval contingent on staff and Board recommendations. Bauman seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. O’Dea inquired if through correspondence staff would express the concerns of the Board. Bauman questioned if the findings of Rice Creek Watershed District would change the recommendations of the Board. O’Connell answered that they wanted to make sure that the requirements of Rice Creek Watershed District were satisfied. Chair Kukonen indicated that there were concerns of the Board on their follow- through. 3 APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING MARCH 31, 2004 Grundhofer made a friendly amendment to change the original motion to recommend approval with recommendations of staff, the Board recommendations and approval of Rice Creek Watershed District, or it should be denied. Bauman seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. C. West Shadow Ponds 2nd Add./Subdivision, Preliminary Plat Review Asleson reviewed the background and analysis. Rick Carlson admitted he needed to redelineate. He also agreed the plan could be contingent on the approval of Rice Creek Watershed District. Bor inquired if existing MUSA needed to be used before new MUSA could be created. Mr. Carlson responded that he would only do it if it was sewered. He spoke with the City Planner who recommended that he move forward. Chair Kukonen requested that Vice Chair O’Dea run the meeting, because Mr. Carlson owned adjacent property to Chair Kukonen and did not want a conflict of interest. He removed himself at 9:10 p.m., and Vice Chair O’Dea continued the meeting. Grundhofer inquired about the location of the site. Bauman asked for clarification that the existing home was going to be demolished. Mr. Carlson responded that the existing home adjacent to the other property was going to be demolished. Both lots would be facing 62nd Street. It complied with the zoning ordinance. Vice Chair O’Dea reviewed the recommendations of the Board. • Wetland fill must be approved by the City. • No importing or exporting of soils unless approved by the City. Bauman inquired about sealing the well. Asleson responded that others would address the issue. Mr. Carlson stated that the soils would be coming from adjacent area. O’Dea questioned if buffering was needed around the Northern edge. Mr. Carlson responded that it was more of a ditch. He planned to preserve the trees. Grundhofer inquired if the homeowners would preserve the buffer, and posed the possibility of signage. Mr. Carlson responded that it could be put in a recorded document to preserve the trees as one might do for a wetland. • Require a recorded conservation easement. Developer shall remain responsible for maintenance. 4 APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING MARCH 31, 2004 Bor made a motion to table the plan. Mr. Carlson agreed that it would be best. O’Connell seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Chair Kukonen returned at 9:21 p.m. A. Fox Den Acres Asleson reviewed the background and analysis. He stated this plan was a good example of the Park Board and the Environmental Board to work together. He indicated that the Tree Plan had been overlayed on the Grading Plan. There remained questions concerning the necessity of cutting the most high density trees. He noted that there were banded soils that radiate out on the site, and that Anoka County and the East Coast were the only places this occurred. He corresponded with Rice Creek Watershed District concerning the NURP ponds and they concurred. He stated that City approval was needed for importing and exporting of soils. The water from the site flowed into Wards Lake. He suggested that the southern area could be a greenway area. Chair Kukonen inquired if anything had changed with the Tree Preservation Plan overlayed with the Grading Plan. Asleson responded that it clarified a lot of upland trees would be lost. If a few could be saved, that would be better than losing all of them. Mike Black of Royal Oaks Realty introduced himself and Craig Schlichting with Plow Engineering. They were there to answer questions and address any concerns. He stated the gray area was the Grading Plan. Considerable field work had been done on the site. There were 2,400 significant trees present on site, with about 1,200 trees to be removed with the proposed Grading Plan. He admitted that the landscape would be changed significantly with any plan for single family homes. Asleson expressed concern with the runoff into the wetland. He noted that Aspen act as a good buffer. Mr. Black responded that the trees were flagged. Asleson commended the work done on the Tree Inventory, because the area he had checked was fairly accurate. Mr. Black stated they planned to fill 3/4-acre, and believed it had been minimized as much as possible. Asleson stated that the most valuable hardwoods were on the East side of the property. 5 APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING MARCH 31, 2004 O’Dea discussed the significance of the greenway. Asleson added clarifying the need for an upland connecting pathway. He recommended the low density with an R-EC or Planned Development could bring more flexibility. Mr. Black responded that the process needed to be clarified earlier on, because considerable money had been invested to bring them to this point. The lots were large, with large homes on them. Asleson reiterated the need for more flexibility, and therefore recommended other zoning. Mr. Black indicated he met with the neighbors, and their concerns centered on the protection of trees near adjacent properties. Asleson stated the lots could be smaller, that there was a market for smaller lots with natural areas. Mr. Black responded that he wanted to meet with the Park Board. The neighbors expressed their desire for the development to include links with other paths. Asleson clarified the desire of the City for the developer to create wildlife and people corridors that are expanding the greenway definitions. Chair Kukonen questioned if a P.U.D. Conservation Development was more desirable than a R-EC District. Asleson stated that the greenway and the buffer were the two big issues. Mr. Black indicated that to change the development to a P.U.D. was asking for a lot. There was considerable money invested, and the approval process was risky. Asleson responded the flexibility in lot sizes could achieve the goals of the Board. Mr. Black offered to walk the property with Asleson. Grundhofer inquired if the elm trees were a concern. Asleson answered that since there was no control for the vector of the disease for the elm, they would soon be lost regardless. O’Dea questioned if there was a need for buffering around the wetlands. Asleson answered that they were doing better than he thought on buffering. The NURP ponds were a big concern that needed to be resolved, because the soils were very permeable. Mr. Black asked for clarification that the Board wanted a 4-foot separation. Asleson responded that they wanted 4-foot between the bottom of the pond and the high groundwater table. He added that the Board was very supportive of using NURP ponds. 6 APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING MARCH 31, 2004 Mr. Schlichting stated that the basins had not yet been identified. There were six ponds. Asleson responded the ponds would infiltrate. Mr. Schlichting indicated that the ponds hold water two ways. They held water by lining them with clay, or because the groundwater was there. Asleson stated that it needed more sand infiltration. He indicated that Rice Creek Watershed District was going to ask for more. If they were built up they would infiltrate, and there would be enough microbes to remove particles. Mr. Black inquired if the issue could be acknowledged and addressed with Rice Creek Watershed District. The sanitary sewer depth and storm water ponding affect development of the site. Asleson answered that if the size of the lots were reduced, it would reduce the amount of infiltration required. O’Dea made a motion: We recommend denial under the present zoning. This is an excellent property to create a contiguous greenway corridor. • We recommend this development be a P.U.D. conservation development that incorporates variability in lot sizes and street widths. • Work with Saddle Club property for the two parcels to be developed concurrently. • Seasonally high groundwater table be evaluated in relation to infiltration and NURP ponds by civil engineer and the Rice Creek Watershed District engineer. • Work with staff to identify the trees that can be saved in the buffer areas. • Developer should work with staff to establish and record conservation areas with restrictions for specific lots. • Create a greenway corridor from the Southwest corner to the Southeast corner and up along the East side of the property. Grundhofer seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. 6. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Other Environmental Boards O’Dea updated the Board on the information she gathered on other Environmental Boards in the area. This item was tabled to the April 28, 2004 meeting. 7 APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING MARCH 31, 2004 B. Peltier Lake Ordinance Update This item was tabled to the April 28, 2004 meeting. C. Earth Day This item was tabled to the April 28, 2004 meeting. D. Other Discussion Items 7. OTHER DEPARTMENT REPORTS A. Forestry This item was tabled to the April 28, 2004 meeting. B. Solid Waste Recycling/Recycling Day This item was tabled to the April 28, 2004 meeting. C. Environmental This item was tabled to the April 28, 2004 meeting. 8. ADJOURN It was noted that the next meeting of the Environmental Board will be on April 28, 2004. There being no further business, O’Dea moved to adjourn at 10:56 p.m. O’Connell seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Transcribed by: Brigette Blesi TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 8 APPROVED MINUTES