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Item No: 7A Meeting Date: Nov 13, 2006 Type of Business: CB Administrator Review : ____ City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson, Community Development Director Item Title/Subject: Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance 780, an Ordinance Approving Modifications to the Official Wetland Zoning Maps for the City of Mounds View Introduction: As discussed at City Council meetings on September 25, 2006, October 9, 2006 and again on October 23, 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 updated maps. To modify the official maps, the City Council is required to adopt an ordinance after holding a public hearing. Discussion: Generally speaking, 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 than actual wetland subsidence. 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. As directed by the Council at the October 23, 2006 meeting, a few revisions were made to the maps. The revisions are as follows: • The buffer was removed from Spring Lake, • The buffer was removed from the storm water pond at the corner of County Road 10 and Spring Lake Road, • The buffers were removed from numerous ditches, most on County Road 10, • The buffer was removed from Judicial Ditch #1 under Lois Drive, • The wetland in Spring Lake Park (and its buffer) was removed, and • The “new” wetland identified on the west side of Long Lake Road was eliminated based on the review and feedback of the RCWD inspector. The one new item of significance that needs to be addressed is the “definition” of a wetland according to Chapter 1010 of the Mounds View City Code. Wetlands are defined as: Those areas greater than one acre in size that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support and that under normal circumstances do support hydrophytic vegetation, hydric soils and wetland hydrology, as delineated on the Wetland Zoning District Map.