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Item No: 7E Meeting Date: Oct 9, 2006 Type of Business: PH & CB Administrator Review: ____ City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson, Community Development Director Item Title/Subject: Public Hearing, First Reading and Introduction of Ordinance 780, an Ordinance Approving Modifications to the Official Wetland Zoning Maps for the City of Mounds View Introduction: As discussed at the last City Council meeting on September 25, 2006, the City's official wetland zoning maps date back to the early 1980s and no longer reflect present conditions. On July 10, 2006, the City Council approved a resolution authorizing Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH) to create a new set of official wetland maps based upon their recently completed wetland inventory, recent wetland delineations and approved alterations. SEH has completed the contracted work and has delivered to City staff the new map series, dated September 7, 2006. PLEASE BRING THE MAPS THAT WERE PROVIDED AT THE LAST COUNCIL MEETING! Discussion: According to Chapter 1010 of the City Code, to modify the official maps, the City Council would need to hold a public hearing and approve an ordinance by at least a 4/5ths vote. In almost all cases, the identified wetland areas on the new maps cover less area than the previous map series, which is more a result of overly broad designations on the original map series. In some cases the changes reflect wetland alterations that have been approved in the last twenty years however due to the relative inability to modify the original maps these changes have not been incorporated until now. Three new wetland areas have been identified, the first being located in Spring Lake Park adjacent to the parcels on Pleasant View Drive in the northwest corner of the City. As the Council can see on the page labeled “North Half Section 6”, the wetland lies in the city of Spring Lake Park however the 100-foot buffer extends into Mounds View. While our Code is silent on whether we require a setback to wetlands located in other communities, I’m not sure it makes sense to subject three property owners on Pleasant View Drive to additional regulations due to the presence of a stormwater pond / wetland in Spring Lake Park. The second new wetland is another stormwater pond which now meets the criteria of a wetland. Located in the South Half of Section 6, the wetland is shown on two lots at the corner of Spring Lake Road and County Road 10 for which the City has use deeds for stormwater management, acquired when the parcels went tax forfeit. Four parcels are affected by the buffer area. In addition to the pond, the map also shows wetlands in the County Road 10 ditch on the other side of Spring Lake Road. It is my belief that the original intent of our wetland zoning provisions was not to require a setback from County Road 10 drainage ditches, regardless of whether they may satisfy the jurisdictional requirements of a wetland. (See also the South Half of Section 8 for more ditches.)