05-12-1997 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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ii2209 4-18-97 Page 3 b. Wetland mitigation subject to MCWD approval and in accordance with the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act and Corps of Engineers Section 404 Clean Water Act requirements. C. Big Woods Alteration Impacts (See also March 26 staff memo) It is clear from the EAW comments received that the commenting parties wish to have the Dig Woods preserved in substantially its current state. Preserving strips of trees between fairways as proposed will yield a result that will no longer be Big Woods. This fragmentation is necessary if the golf course use is to occur. Applicants have indicated it IS not possible to push all the golf course impacts to one side of the site and preserv'e a substantial (say, 20 acre) block of Big Woods. Commenlers have also provided much discussion about the unique, fragile and threatened nature of remaining Big Woods parcels in Hennepin County os well as how this one relates to Wood Rill and Wolsfeld. The fact remains that the City has no regulations which would specifically prohibit destruction of this Big Woods. At best, in staffs opinion, the City has a limited number of potential options for preserving this Dig Woods remnant, some of which may not be practical. Options include: 1 . Purchase the property. 2. Approve the CUP subject to no tree removal or grading witliir the Big Woods. 3. Deny the CUP. Purchase of the property would l>e expensive and presumably cannot occur unicss/until the Golf Club drops its purchase option. Then, there must be a w illing seller, and the City must have the funds. Also, it is problematic that 2/3 of the Dig Woods is in Medina and the Medina City Council has granted conceptual approval to the project. Options 2 or 3 would presumably rely on a finding that the fragmentation and therefore resultant destruction of die Big Woods is not in keeping with the specific Goals and Policies of the Orono Comprehensive Plan relalmg to preservation of woodlands. The City is perhaps in a more defensible position under Option 2, since a ‘golf course' is supported ns a rural area use in the Comp Plan, is an allowed conditional use in the RR-lB/RR-lD-1 zones, and there arc no specifically defined CUP performance standards which are not being met Although there may be a number of private groups searching for aliemalc uses of the Spring Hill properties with the hopes of preserving the Dig Woods, the City is obligated to review and come to a conclusion on the application at hand. And. if the City concludes the golf 4-18-97 Page 4 course is not appropriate and this proposed use goes away, it is a fact that any developer could propose a residential subdivision of the Big Woods which under current ordinances the City would have to approve. Absence of the golf course proposal docs not guarantee preservation of the Big Woods. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Planning Commission should assess all relevant information regarding the Big Woods and conclude whether it is appropriate to take steps to preserve it. D. Alteration of Wildlife Habitat and Movement Corridors The EAW addresses this issue in some detail. There arc few City codes specifically intended to preserve wildlife habitat and corridors. City wetland regulations do intend to preserve wetland habitats. The applicant acknowledges there will be impacts to wildlife, but suggests those impacts will be less impact with the golf course proposal than there would be with a housing development within this 195 acre site. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: (none) E. Impacts on Surface Water Runoff Quality/Quantity 1 . Dminaye. City Engineer Shawn Gustafson has reviewed the proposed improvements related to stormwater quantity and finds them acceptable from an engineering standpoint, noting that the hydraulics and hydrology arc consistent with the routing colculations and drainage patterns currently being prepared as part of Orono's Storm Water Management Plan, 1 lis letter of March 1 4 makes a number of specific comments which are incorporated into the following staff recommendation. b. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: a. Storm sewer lines should be extended to the normal water level of the wetlands or ponds. There may he a need for a drainage culvert along the north side of Co. Rd. 6 to direct drainage past the tunnel entrance. Existing roadway culverts near the site should be field surveyed and if damaged or deteriorated, should be replaced (Staff note: since applicants' plan does not require upsizing of cul ^ erts, their replacement would normally be done at City expense). c. 2. Wetlands (Also sec March 13 staff memo). An adjacent Orono property owner, Dick Krueger, has expressed concern that the proposed impoundment of Wetland #17 in Medina will act to reduce the long-term elevation of. i.c. dry up. the immediately downstream wetland on his property (tlie large wetland between Willowbrook Drive and Wyndmere 1