02-19-2002 Planning Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Project Description Project Location The new fire station is located in the NW of the SW */4 of Section 34, Township 118N, Range 23W, in Hennepin County, Minnesota (Figure 1). The project is within the city limits of Orono, Minnesota. The property faces Willow Drive to the west and is bound by private property on the remaining three sides. The Burlington Northern rail line passes just to the north of the project area outside of the property. The project site is accessible to traffic only from Willow Drive. Existing Conditions Land use in the project area is primarily single-family residential or undeveloped. An existing house and bam on the west half of the property have been removed under the initial grading permit issued by the MCWD. The remainder of the property is undeveloped. The undeveloped areas include both open pasture and wooded / scrub- shrub habitats. This includes a single wooded / scrub-shrub wetland in the western half of the property. This wetland has been impacted under the terms of the initial grading permit issued by the MCWD and a LOP-B issued by the USACE. An unnamed drainage ditch enters near the southwest comer of the property and runs parallel to the southern property line for approximately 325 feet. At this point, it enters the property and meanders to the east-northeast within the project area. The area of the site selected for the creation of a wetland mitigation site, upland buffer, and a storm water treatment pond is currently a nearly level plateau adjacent to the unnamed ditch. Vegetation in these areas is approximately 909c common buckthorn {Rliamnus cathartica). Proposed Improvements The new fire station will serve the communities on Orono, Medina, and Long Lake. The proposed fire station will be approximately 18,360 feet^ which includes administrative and training areas, and six pull-through bays. The bays will be designed so that the trucks can enter directly onto Willow Drive, as required for minimum response time. To do this, sufficient space must be constructed behind the fire station to maneuver the larger vehicles to be facing properly. Access roadw'ays will be constructed on the north and south sides of the building. These roads will provide access to the firehouse for responders and for parking the fire trucks. The south access road will also provide a throughway to the remainder of the property to the east. An overhead layout of the property that shows the wetland impacts and construction limits is available in Figure 2. Additional plan sheets of the project are available in ^opendix A and Appendix B. Minnehaha Creek Watershed District Permit Application City of Orono, Minnesota A-LONGL0204.00 Page 2