Laserfiche WebLink
Attachment B <br />Extract of Meeting Minutes from the June 8, 2009 City Council Meeting <br />Discuss an Ordinance to Roseville City Code, amending Title 4 related to Yard <br />Requirements and Regulation of Residential Composting <br />Community Development Director Patrick Trudgeon addressed the proposed ordinance <br />amendments to City Code, Title 4, related to yard cover requirements. Mr. Trudgeon provided <br />clarification of yard cover options for those residents not having natural turf grass, but having <br />natural landscaping (i.e., prairie grasses) or wooded areas on their properties. Mr. Trudgeon <br />advised that staff was recommending clarifying language indicating no bare soil and <br />groundcover requirements. <br />Councilmember Ihlan presented several hypothetical scenarios to test the proposed language; <br />which were addressed by staff, including combining bare soil and weeds; landscape rock versus <br />piled gravel; and definition of noxious weeds as addressed by other state and federal agency <br />definitions. <br />Discussion included the intent for groundcover reducing erosion; and impervious surface <br />requirements. <br />City Attorney Anderson noted combinations for vegetation and landscaping and standard <br />interpretation of State Statute. <br />Recycling Coordinator Tim Pratt <br />Mr. Pratt addressed the proposed language amendment related to residential composting; and <br />reduced specificity for composting as previously addressed by the City Council; while still <br />allowing staff to enforce code violations. Mr. Pratt address some specific issues staff had <br />encountered in the past (i.e., accumulation of brush piles or unconfined compost materials); need <br />for education of residents in composting allowing for managed decomposition of materials, to <br />not allow residents to suggest that bush piles or debris piles were "compost materials" when <br />there was no indication that they were being managed as such. Mr. Pratt advised that the current <br />language was based on the best elements of the City of Minneapolis code (from 1990) and that of <br />the City of St. Paul (from 1994); with removal of more limiting language (i.e., description of <br />materials removed). <br />Discussion included code enforcement issues encountered by staff to-date; and uncovered and <br />unmanaged materials in backyards causing detrimental impacts for the neighborhood (e.g., odors <br />and rodents). <br />Carl J. Rosen, Ph.D., University of Minnesota Professor and Extension Soil <br />Scientist/Florticultural Crops; Primary author of composting bulletin and a Roseville <br />resident <br />Mr. Rosen addressed the positives and negatives of the proposed language amendments <br />recognizing staff s intent to regulate nuisances; however, Mr. Rosen opined that the proposed <br />