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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, May 28, 2013 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 10 of 18 (4. #13-3601 CITY OF ORONO – WETLANDS – ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT, Continued) Over the past several months, the City has discussed whether they should eliminate the City’s jurisdiction over buffers and turn that jurisdiction over to the Watershed District but continue to have wetland jurisdiction. Gaffron noted buffers have been a difficult issue for Staff and the residents to deal with. Staff has had good discussions with the Watershed District on how they currently and possibly in the future deal with buffers. The Watershed District has indicated that they will be bringing to their Board in the next month or two a request that instead of having their wetland buffers relate to the functional assessment and have different numbers for different wetlands for all residential single-family swelling, they would have a 25-foot buffer that would only be applied to new development. New development would obviously be a new subdivision or, for existing residences, a total rebuild or an increase in hardcover. The Watershed District expects that buffer to be 25 feet. For anything that is just an addition to a house, they would not require a buffer be established. Staff’s concern is if they were to re-establish a setback from the wetland, under the Watershed’s buffer current requirements, someone could construct right up to the wetland itself and the Watershed District would not necessarily be notified of that or have any control over that. Staff felt it would be better to have a 26-foot setback. In addition, Staff anticipates the Watershed District would require a 25-foot buffer in many cases and that the City should require an additional 9-foot buffer to come up with the 35- foot buffer setback to any structures. In cases where there is a question mark about how close someone is to a wetland, a wetland delineation would need to be done. People are more willing to have a delineation done rather than establish a buffer that limits the future use of their property. Gaffron noted the ordinance in front of the Council essentially removes the City’s jurisdiction over buffers. Following Staff’s discussions with the Watershed District, Staff is fairly satisfied that their commercial or nonresidential buffers are going to continue to be equal or more restrictive than what the City currently has in place. For any commercial, industrial or non-single-family development, Staff is expecting that the Watershed District will continue to use the functional assessment and the different tiers of buffer requirement. Staff is comfortable with that requirement and Staff anticipates the Watershed District will end up with a 25-foot requirement for all single-family homes. Based on the language contained in Subdivision 8, Staff would recommend that the setback table be revised to incorporate additional language as to the items/activities not allowed within the 35-foot setback area. As a minimum, hardcover should not be allowed within that setback. Additionally, septic systems, wells, and other construction should not be allowed. Filling, grading, and excavation within setback areas are activities which, in our experience, commonly accompany any construction project and have always been difficult to functionally prohibit. The Council may want to consider adding a sentence that merely states: “Areas within the required setback area subject to filling, grading or excavation as part of a construction project shall be re-vegetated immediately upon completion of such earthwork.” Gaffron indicated the draft ordinance has been revised to incorporate these changes. The City Attorney has reviewed the ordinance draft and is prepared to comment on it. Staff believes that the ordinance amendments will reduce the financial burdens, time delays and perceived property takings that property owners have expressed concern about. The amendments should simplify administration of the ordinance while providing sufficient levels of wetland protection. Item #03 - CC Agenda - 06/10/2013 Approval of Council Minutes 05/28/2013 [Page 10 of 18]