02/17/2004 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Tuesday, February 17, 2004 6:00 o'clock p.m. (#5) #04-2983 JAMES AND JEAN ECHTENKAMP,2800 PHEASANT ROAD, CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT—Continued) 2. Establishment of a 5-10' wide unmowed vegetated buffer (raingarden) for infiltration at the base of the slope. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. (#6) #04-2984 MCCARTHY CONSTRUCTION ON BEHALF OF BERSHIRE PROPERTIES, 2745 KELLY PARKWAY, COMMERCIAL SITE PLAN REVIEW, (follows item#7) (#7) #04-2985 TOM CULLUM, 785 FERNDALE ROAD NORTH, VARIANCE (8:05—8:18 P.M.) Tom Cullum, the Applicant, was present. Gaffron explained that the applicant requests variance approval for filling of a small portion of a City-protected wetland located mostly within applicant's property but partially within the neighboring property. The fill is intended to allow for the establishment of woody vegetation along the western property boundary. The 2,135 s.f. fill area will convert approximately 10% of the existing wetland from a shallow open water wetland to a wetland with saturated soils. Because the project will also involve excavation of adjacent upland to create new wetland(requiring a CUP), the project is being treated by the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District as a No Loss situation, and as a wetland restoration based on reducing the impacts of wetland excavation that occurred in the 1950's The property contains a small wetland which was modified in the 1950's (based on airphoto evidence)by dredging to make it deeper. The wetland since that time has generally had the characteristics of an open water pond. A residence has existed on the property since 1963,undergoing numerous remodels and additions since its original construction. As a result of legal vegetation removals by the neighboring property owner to the west, Gaffron stated that the applicant's view over the pond area has changed, and now he views the neighboring residence rather than a wooded area. Because the far shore of the pond is on the neighboring property, applicant is proposing fill in a portion of the pond just inside his property boundary to create a"berm", which will allow the establishment of wooded vegetation to regain some of the wooded character of the lot and provide a buffer to the neighboring property. It may be somewhat ironic that the neighbor may have removed the vegetation to gain a view of the pond, and the current proposal would tend to negate the impacts of that activity With passage of the WCA, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District was designated by the City as the responsible Local Government Unit(LGU) for administering the WCA PAGE 13 of 19