05-22-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, May 8,2017 7:00 o'clock p.m. 16. #17-3922 CITY OF ORONO, TEXT AMENDMENT: WETLANDS REGULATIONS — ORDINANCE NO. 196, Third Series. — continued Samantha Muldoon, 1801 West Farm Road, stated her understanding is that there is scientific support and data that shows a 35 -foot buffer setback is actually inadequate to protect water quality. The article from the US Fish and Wildlife Services says at 30 feet the sediment removal is minimal and at 50 feet you can maintain stream temperature, which is important for aquatic habitat enhancement and minimal nitrogen and contaminant removal. The US Fish and Wildlife Service article also said choosing a buffer width depends on the planning goals of the area. As the buffer increases, it provides greater benefits, and a 30 -foot buffer provides minimal service. At 50 feet, the buffer meets minimum water quality protection recommendations and gives some aquatic habitats benefit. For effective water quality and aquatic protection, a buffer width of 100 feet is needed. Muldoon stated there is data available. Muldoon noted it is different at every lake and it is very complicated, but they know a larger setback is better. Muldoon stated the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District really provides a baseline that is regional in focus and it applies to a number of cities, such as Edina and Eden Prairie. Muldoon stated Orono is not at all like those cities and that Orono is more rural. Muldoon stated traditionally all of the cities have applied their own standards on top of the MCWD's minimum common denominator and that she does not want the City Council to believe there is no data available or that the MCWD is the overarching expert on water quality. Muldoon stated she is in support of keeping the standards the way they are currently and that she is also in favor of the desktop wetland delineation. Walsh stated he appreciates the US Fish & Wildlife Service, but his understanding is that the data is taken from a number of different lakes and streams and not just wetlands and that the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District has a narrower focus. Walsh stated in his view they are talking about apples and pears when the two are compared. Muldoon stated the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District also published an article that talks about minimum setbacks. That study talks about for sediment reduction from steep slopes or shallow slopes, all of the setbacks are over 50 feet in terms of minimal distance. Muldoon stated in her view they should not mess with what has been working. Kinve noted he is also speaking for some other residents who were not able to attend tonight's meeting. Kinve stated with regard to the Long Lake Water Association's email that went out, the data that says a bigger setback is better is from the Panama City Field Office in Panama City, Florida, and relates to how to protect large bodies of water and the salamander, which is not the situation here and is not applicable to this area. Kinve stated the other people that he has talked to also made the point that people are spreading information around that is not applicable to this region. Kinve noted they are talking about buffers again and not setbacks. Paul Muldoon noted earlier this evening he did recognize some comments that did have merit from Mr. Kinve, and one of them was how do you look at situations where someone has an encroachment and that person wants to do something in their yard, and if they do something else to mitigate what otherwise could be a detriment, they can earn the right to do it. Muldoon stated that type of thing is hard to Page 30 of 34