1998-10-22_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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Motion: Paul Ellefson moved, seconded by Roger Lake, to approve Permit 98-31. The motion was carried. Permit 98-32: Maplewood Eve Clinic -Maplewood Motion: Bob Johnson moved,. seconded by Paul Ellefson, to approve Permit 98-32. The motion was carried. Permit 98-33: Lake Phalen Townhomes - St. Paul Discussion was held on staffs position that imposing wetland buffer setbacks would not be justified on a redevelopment site. Cliff Aichinger clarified that the District has no ordinance to enforce a minimum setback but is hoping to push the issue forward this fall when the District-wide vegetative inventory is completed. It will identify how much undisturbed buffer actually exists around wetlands in the District. Results may indicate that there is not enough to justify its protection by ordinance, at which time other management methods can be considered. Jack Frost asked why cities are not required to adopt such an ordinance as part of their local water management plans. Louise Watson stated that each city is encouraged to come up with a method of local control that works best. for them, that adopting an ordinance may not necessarily work. Cliff Aichinger explained that the City of Maplewood has had to issue a large number of variances to the ordinance they adopted, which indicates that applying a uniform standard to all wetlands isn't practical. Louise reported that the Oakdale Environmental Management Commission is developing a buffer ordinance to propose to the City Council. She feels that we need to have a better understanding before we can tell the cities exactly what they need to do regarding buffer issues. Motion: Bob Johnson moved, seconded by Roger Lake, to approve Permit 98-33. The motion was carried. Permit 98-34: Townhomes of Oak Run Shores -Oakdale Discussion was held on the applicant's original proposal for smaller wetland buffers than the District requires for its wetland management classifications. Patrick Conrad stated that the applicant. knows that the District's average setback policies are not enforceable by ordinance. However, they did revise their plans to accommodate a special provision fora 10-foot no disturbance setback, and they are providing stormwater pretreatment as requested by the District. Bob Johnson requested clarification on Special Provision No. 8; the required wetland mitigation should be identified as 11,394 square feet. The Board discussed the City of Oakdale's progress towards developing a local water management plan. Louise Watson was instructed to make sure that BWSR is properly notifying her as to the status of the South Washington and Valley Branch Watershed District"s second generation plan approvals so that she can better assist the city meet the two-year deadline for compliance. Jack Frost commented that the number of permits with wetland buffer issues will increase, and he wants the development review process to Qive consideration to the adjustment of other things, such as parking lot and street width sizes, in order to maintain minimum setback requirements. Louise Watson stated that the intent of the District's education program is to address these kinds of issues at the design stage, although it has been difficult to find the right approach. Patrick Conrad added that there have been instances in the past where we have been asked by a city to provide comments at an early stage, and our comments have been mistaken for actual permit approval. Cliff Aichinger added that District notification has sometimes been overlooked completely which can sometimes be attributed to high employee turnover rates. Motion: Paul Ellefson moved, seconded by Bob Johnson, to approve Permit 98-34. The motion was carried as follows: Ayes: Paul Ellefson, Bob Johnson. Nayes: Jack Frost. Page 2 August 5, 1998 RWMWD Minutes