02-23-2004 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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404-298S Fcbiiuiry 12,2004 Past 3 With passage of the WCA, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District was designated by the Ci ty as the tesponsibie Local Government Unit (LGU) for administering the WCA regulations. These regulations provide degrees of flexibility for certain types of wetland alteration activities which are seen as positive rather than detrimental, and they provide for mitigation of negative impacts when they are unavoidable. The WCA regulations also provide standards and opportunities for wetland restoration, where prior human activity has changed or degraded a wetland and it is possible to bring it back to nearer its original conditions. Orono’s ordinances have never been specifically revised to accommodate the WCA regulations; the Zoning Code still simply prohibits filling within a wetland (requiring a variance and showingof a hardship) and requires a conditional use permit for land alterations in, or within 26* of, a wetland. The Zoning Code provides virtually no specific standards for when a wetland alteration should be allowed, and in the Shoieland section merely suggests a list of factors to be considered [see Exhibit N, Section 78-1 286(e 1)]; however, the City's Surface Water Management Plan (S WMP) in Section S “Wetlands Management''does establish a detailed management approach to maintaining or improving the City’s wetland resources. That section is included as Exhibit O. MCWD Approval The applicant initially contacted staff regarding this project perhaps a year ago, and he has engaged a variety of professionals to design a project that would meet the WCA guidelines for a wetland restoration, No-Loss status. The MCWD as the designated LGU for Orono has approved the project with certain conditions (see Exhibits J and K). City Consultant Review This application was directed by staff to John Smyth, Water Resource Specialist with Bonestroo & Associates, the City’s engineering and environmental consultants. His favorable comments are attached as Exhibit F, and reflect that the project will result in an overall improvement to the wetland. He notes that the additional wetland to be created will meet the WCA replacement guidelines. He also notes that this project could in fact be considered as a restoration, and he recommends approval conditioned on 1) that the City receive a copy of the executed buffer preservation declaration required by the MCWD, and 2) that the City be provided with the required ongoing monitoring reports. Project Details Rather than attempting to summarize the details of the project, I will refer you to Exhibit H, the Kjolhaug memo which provides a detailed review of the project. Hardship Statement Because the proposed wetland alterations are not idlowed by Orono Code except by van anoe, the activity is required to be justified via the demonstration of a hardship. Given the variety of agency approvals