Laserfiche WebLink
Wetland Credit Zoning Amendment <br />May 7, 1998 <br />Page 3 <br />- credited area may be used as part of the required minimum lot area for purposes of <br />complying with the land use density, open space, building-unit-to-land-area ratios or <br />similar requirements of the land development and zoning code provisions <br />- creditable Flood Prince area shall not exceed the area of land which 'otherwise <br />qualified for development' (i.e. if site has 3/4 acre of dr>' buildable, can only take <br />credit for 3/4 acre of wetland) <br />granting of credit conditioned on dedication of the appropriate Conservation and <br />Flow'age or Open Space casements over the areas used for credit. <br />It should be noted that we have historically credited the Flood Fringe area between the 929.4' and <br />931.5' for lakeshore lots on Lake Minnetonka, perhaps without acknowledging this credit <br />specifically. This becomes critical when wording a revision of the current ordinance. <br />Original Justifleations for Wetland Credit <br />A review of Council and Planning Commission minutes from 1970 provides no clues as to the <br />reason the credit was originally established. Howc\ er, the 1980 Comprehensive Plan in the Land <br />Use section, p. CMP 4-28, under the heading "Rural Land Use" states in part that "Orono's rural <br />residential density will not be increased to less than one dwelling per two dry-buildable acres <br />because of the potentially adverse environmental impact and because of the increased need for costly <br />urban services." The crediting of wetland acreage toward the 2-acre dry buildable standard would <br />appear to be in conflict with this Comprehensive Plan statement. <br />A direct connection between wetland credit and availability of sewer is somewhat difficult to <br />understand. If one acre of wetland and one acre of dry land in a 1-acre zone can constitute two <br />building sites, why shouldn't two acres of wetland and two acres of dry land in a 2-acre zone <br />constitute two building sites? If the City's goal in 1970 was to ensure that septic needs are met, that <br />goal is to a great extent satisfied by merely requiring that primary and alternate drainfield sites be <br />provided. <br />If the goal was to preserve more open space in the defined rural zones (2-acre and 5-acre), the credit <br />should only be applicable to the 1/2-acrc and 1-acre zones, which were redefined in 1975 to include <br />primarily the areas near Lake Minnetonka which were historically developed at 'urban' densities. <br />If the goal of granting credit for wetlands was to provide some incentives for their preservation, the <br />regulatory climate of the 1990's has made wetland preservation the norm rather than an oddity.