07-22-2002 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Barbara Peterson Orono City Council Page 2 July 15,2002 1. The project was never completed or conducted “pursuant to the conditional use permit.” On January' 4, 2002, Michael Wyatt of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (“MCWD”) cited Mr. Stephenson for failing to install required silt fencing before commencing work, relocating wetland delineation flags, and impacting the wetlands without a permit. (Letter F attached). On February 22,2002, Zoning Administrator Weinberger cited Mr. Stephenson for failure to maintain silt fences, placing fill in the i wetland setback, and altering the property beyond the area approved by the City and MOW'D. (Letter G attached). 2. The violations were made “apparent” by direct orders from MCWD and the City of Orono long before Mr. Stephenson completed the project. (See Letters F, G and H attached). In his May 2,2002 letter to Mr. Stephenson, Zoning Administrator Weinberger reported that Stephenson had failed to respond to the violation notice issued in February and Stephenson had further violated the CUP by failing to install 4” of topsoil before seeding. (Letter H attached). 3. Mr. Munson emphasizes the “previously” delineated wetland as he did at the hearing. Mr. Munson does not report that the wetland was delineated by Mr. Stephenson through his consultant. The possibility that Mr. Stephenson’s delineation may have been w rong does not justify Mr. Stephenson’s blatant and intentional disregard for Mr. Stephenson’s delineation, and the orders of the MCWD and City of Orono. The CUP is a permit for 3,280 s.f. of land alteration. It is not a permit for an unlimited amount of fill up to the wetland setback, wherever it may be. Mr. Stephenson might have asked for permission to install more fill if he thought the wetland was further from his backyard. The City might have granted a CUP allowing more fill. Mr. Stephenson did not report a suspected error in the delineation to the MCWD or the City of Orono and he did not assert it as an excuse when he w as cited for failing to install and maintain a silt fence along the setback. Mr. Stephenson did not stop work, confirm the delineation, and apply for an amendment to the CUP. Mr. Stephenson’s after-the-fact wetland delineation is an after-the-fact justification for his violations of the CUP and MCWD permits. 4. The assertion that “the final slope was very slightly off the 3 to one ratio required” is very misleading. It might be true that the final slope is close to 3 to one (the as-built sur\ey submitted by Mr. Stephenson appears to show slopes closer to 2 to 3 or 2.67 to one, 25% steeper than 3 to one). It is true that staff recommends 3 to one as the steepest slope it will permit. It is also true that the plan Stephenson submitted and the City approved calls for slopes of 4 to one. If Mr. Stephenson installed his fill at a slope of 3 to one, his slope is 33% steeper than permitted. As a result, his back lawn at the crest of the hill encroaches 38 feet deeper into the natural setting he violated in the course of violating his 223456:vJ