04-09-2018 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,April 9,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. 19. LA18-000022—GEORGE STICKNEY ON BEHALF OF JUDSON DAYTON,825 OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD SOUTH,PRELIMINARY PLAT(TOPSIDE)—RESOLUTION NO.6857—Continued Dayton noted there has been talk about this as a subdivision but that they are merely carving off five acres for one additional lot and that there are no plans at the present time to further subdivide. Walsh stated he understands where the applicant is coming from on the sewer line,and noted that if the property is further subdivided,that would send up a flag to Staff. Dankey commented the monuments are nice looking. Dayton indicated they are planning on doing some major cleanup in that area and that they are willing to work with Hennepin County on the monuments,which have been there since 1907. Dayton stated the monuments have never been an issue in 111 years and hopefully they will continue that way. Stickney pointed out they are approximately 30 feet off the road. Mark Gronberg, Surveyor,indicated he spoke with Jason Godfrey at Hennepin County and they are not going to require removal of them unless the road is widened at some point. Printup moved,Seals seconded,to adopt RESOLUTION NO.6857,a Resolution Approving a Preliminary Plat for the Plat of Topside,File No.LA18-000022,825 Old Crystal Bay Road South. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. 20. LA18-000023—CITY OF ORONO,AMEND ARTICLE XI OF THE CITY CODE RELATED TO WETLANDS AND WETLAND SETBACKS Barnhart noted last fall the City Council directed Staff to prepare an ordinance to reconsider the City's 10-foot wetland setback requirement. The Council felt that the additional setback impedes the use of a property and only provides marginal benefit,especially when considering the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District does not require a buffer in all situations. Based on Council's direction, Staff has prepared an ordinance that requires a setback of 25 feet when there is not a wetland buffer. When there is a wetland buffer,any structures are required to be outside of the buffer. This modification reduces the distances between improvements and the wetland edge from current levels. Barnhart noted there are two factors at play as it relates to wetlands. The first is a wetland buffer and the second is a wetland setback. Currently the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District regulates all wetlands within the City of Orono and requires a 25-foot setback from a wetland. In the past the City has also required an additional 10-foot setback to that buffer area. In addition to removing the 10-foot setback requirement and to avoid the overlapping of regulations,the ordinance defers jurisdiction for the establishment and maintenance of wetland buffers to the MCWD. The Planning Commission reviewed the proposed ordinance at their March meeting. The Commission felt that additional separation between a structure and a wetland was beneficial to the protection of that wetland and no change was necessary. The Commission ultimately recommended no amendment to the ordinance. Page 6 of 16