Agenda Packets - 1997/04/28 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Item No. //6 Staff Report No.q 7-2. 4 Meeting Date: 4/14/97 • Type of Business: CB WK:: Work Session;PH:Public Hearing; CA:Consent Agenda;CB:Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson,Planning Associate Item Title/Subject: Second reading and action on Ordinance No.594,An Ordinance Amending Chapters 606,607 and 1005 of the Mounds View Municipal Code Related to the Requirement to Mow Tall Grasses and Creating an Exemption for Wetland and Native Vegetation; Planning Case No.SP- 012-97 Date of Report: April 2, 1997 Summary: The proposed ordinance would establish certain exemptions from the requirement in the Mounds View Municipal Code to mow"tall grasses"in excess of eight inches. These exemptions would include: So 1. Native wetland vegetation found in wetlands designated as part of the City's wetland zoning district, or in floodplain, drainage ponds or ditches which store and convey stormwater. 2. Native vegetation found in natural areas which are part of public open space,parks and nature centers. 3. Areas on any occupied lot or parcel of land having wetland-type vegetation because of neighborhood drainage patterns,where the drainage pattern is evident on contour maps and from field observation, and the vegetation is confined to a single lot, separated from adjacent lots, and managed so as not to be a nuisance. 4. An area where the land and vegetation appear not to have been graded, landscaped, mowed or otherwise disturbed by human or mechanical means at any time. 5. Prairie land restoration by an educational institution or public agency, in areas of at least five acres Background: This code amendment was prompted by a situation that developed last year when the City asked a property owner to mow an area in his rear yard that had been left to grow natural. Staff learned that this area is boggy, and at times, wet, causing wetland type vegetation to grow if left undisturbed. The 40 Mounds View Municipal Code makes no exception for these situations,nor does it exempt natural vegetation growing in designated wetlands,floodplains, drainage ponds or ditches,parks and public open space, and on undeveloped lands. The original ordinance revision had different wording for#3 noted above. The original wording was as follows: