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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRe: unpermitted earth movement �°moo CITY OF ORONO Street Address: Mailing Address: Telephone(952)249-4600 S� 1 2750 Kelley Parkway P.O. Box 66 Fax (952)249-4616 19 Orono,MN 55356 Crystal Bay,MN 55323 www.d.orono.mn.us kFSHOt� December 10, 2012 Peter&Amanda Van Overbeke 2645 Watertown Road (Under construction) Long Lake, MN 55356 RE: Unpermitted earth movement at 2645 Watertown Road On October 31, 2012, City staff visited your property site and observed unpermitted earth movement on the southern boundary of the property addressed 2645 Watertown Road. The activity extended onto 2643 Thoroughbred Lane and the City understands was conducted by the property owner at 2643 Thoroughbred Lane. According to City Code Section 78-966 permits are required for filling and grading activities within the City of Orono. A copy of City Code Section 78-966 is attached for your reference. Also, according to the City of Orono's wetland maps, a Manage 2 wetland exists on or near the property line. The grading activity appears to have impacted this wetland. We do not know the exact wetland boundary and due to seasonal limitations a wetland delineation is not able to be conducted until spring. As was discussed with you in the City offices a notification letter has been sent to the owners of 2643 Thoroughbred Lane with a request for their correction of the site. They have agreed to restore the wetland area in the spring; the City holds a security for this purpose. Without proper permits, the grading/land altering activity is a violation of City Code Sections 78-966 and 78-1610; in order to bring the property into compliance the area where the grading occurred must be restored. This should be resolved by the property owners at 2643 Thoroughbred Lane. In the meantime, if you have any questions, you can contact me at 952-249-4620 or at cmattson(,d_)ci.orono.mn.us. Sincerely, CITY OF ORONO Wjkj WV C ristine Mattson Planning Assistant Enclosures: City Code Sections 78-966 and 78-1610 c Amanda Van Overbeke via email at Amanda.m.vanoverbekeCcD-accenture.com December 10, 2012 2645 Watertown Road Page 2 of 2 Sec. 78-966. Prohibition. (a) It is unlawful for any person to perform or have performed the following land alteration activities without a conditional use permit issued by the council: (1) Remove, fill, use for fill, dredge, store or excavate rock, sand, gravel, dirt or similar earth material within the limits of the city. (2) Fill or reclaim any land by depositing such material or by grading of existing land to elevate or alter the existing natural grade. (3) Build, alter or repair any seawall or retaining wall, or otherwise change the grade or shore of lakeshore property. (b) All land alterations involving filling and grading shall be performed only with clean fill as defined in section 78-1. Granting of such permits is subject to other regulations and prohibitions of this Code and other applicable statutes or ordinances of other governmental bodies. (Code 1984, § 10.03(19); Ord. No. 163 2nd series, § 1, 12-8-1997) Sec. 78-1610. -Alteration of wetlands. (a) No alteration of land within a wetland overlay district or a wetland buffer is allowed without a wetlands alteration permit, subject to recommendation by the planning commission and approval of the city council. The planning commission must hold a public hearing after notifying the property owners within 350 feet of the property on which the proposed alteration will occur. Activities that constitute an alteration regulated by this section include changes to the size, depth or contour of the wetlands or its buffer, dredging, or alterations of wetlands or buffer vegetation. Alterations do not include wetland planting or the selective clearing or pruning of trees or vegetation that are dead, diseased, noxious weeds or similar hazards. A wetland alteration permit is not required when a wetland district is rezoned to another zoning classification. (b) Alteration of land within a wetland overlay district will only be allowed if water storage is provided in an amount compensatory to that removed. Unless otherwise approved by the city council, compensatory wetland area must be provided within the same subwatershed district as the wetland being altered. In determining the appropriateness of an alteration request, the city council will consider the size of the total wetland district, the magnitude of the area proposed for alteration, the aesthetic, hydrological and ecological effect, the type and function of wetlands involved, and such other factors as may be appropriate in order to provide the maximum feasible protection to the wetlands. Application for a wetlands alteration permit must be accompanied by such information as required by the city, including: (1) A copy of the wetland replacement plan application submitted to the MCWD; (2) A concept plan showing the ultimate use of the property; (3) A grading plan, in hard copy format and a CAD or GIS format in Hennepin County coordinates, with appropriate drainage calculations and erosion controls prepared by a registered engineer; (4) A landscaping or revegetation plan; (5) Such other information as may be necessary or convenient to evaluate the proposed permit; and (6) A MnRAM assessment approved by the MCWD. (Ord. No. 28 3rd series, § 1, 8-22-2005) Christine Mattson From: Christine Mattson Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 11:37 AM To: 'amanda.m.vanoverbeke@accenture.com' Subject: 2645 Watertown Road Amanda, The $3000 wetland buffer escrow we currently hold is a result of the earth movement and construction activity related to your new home at 2645 Watertown Road. Our Code requires establishment of a native wetland buffer in the area as shown on your survey. We are requiring the property owner on Thoroughbred to restore the wetland grade and vegetation. They also should restore any additional disturbed areas on your property. Because you must also create a native buffer area -which may overlap the area of disturbance- you should coordinate with your neighbor about the seeding of the disturbed area (i.e. whether they pay for the seed in this area or not, and what kind of seed they use). It will be up to you to work out the details. The City will continue to hold the wetland escrow for your property (2645 Watertown Road), until the wetland buffer is established and conforms to the City's wetland buffer requirements. Christine- From: amanda.m.vanoverbeke0accenture.com [ma iIto:amanda.m.vanoverbeke0accenture.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 10:27 AM To: Christine Mattson Subject: RE: 2645 Watertown Road Thanks for the quick response. Currently I have 2 escrows with the city—one for wetlands and one for soil erosion. I was wondering if I could get my wetland escrow returned as you now have one for the same area from the owners on Thoroughbred. Regards. Amanda From: Christine Mattson [mailto:CMattsonOci.orono.mn.us] Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 10:22 AM To: VanOverbeke, Amanda M. Subject: RE: 2645 Watertown Road Amanda, I apologize if the letter was confusing. We do not need any additional funds from you. We currently hold funds in escrow from 2643 Thoroughbred Lane until the wetland has been restored. Christine- From: amanda.m.vanoverbeke@accenture.com [mailto:amanda.m.vanoverbeke(&accenture.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 10:08 AM To: Christine Mattson Subject: RE: 2645 Watertown Road 1 44 Thank you, Christine. I appreciate your follow up with this letter. I had spoken with our neighbors on Thoroughbred and they agreed it was their construction that caused the issue and agreed to repair any damage done to the wetlands. Based on your letter it sounds like you are retaining an escrow from both of us for the potential wetlands in question. Would it be possible to get our escrow back? If you need an address before we occupy the Watertown Road house, here's our temporary one. 2484 Sandstone Lane, Orono, MN 55356. Regards. Amanda From: Christine Mattson [mailto:CMattsonCaaci.orono.mn.us] Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 10:02 AM To: VanOverbeke, Amanda M. Subject: 2645 Watertown Road Hi Amanda, We don't have a current mailing address for you, so I'm just emailing the attached letter. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Christine Mattson Planning Assistant City of Orono 2750 Kelly Parkway Orono MN 55356(physical address) PO Box 66 Crystal Bay MN 55323-0066 (mailing address) S 952.249.4620 8 952.249.4616 M cmattson@ci.orono.mn.us -Ii� www.ci.orono.mn.us Office Hours: Monday- Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm OUR OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED: Monday& Tuesday, December 24& 25, 2012 Tuesday,January 1, 2013 This message is for the designated recipient only and may contain privileged,proprietary,or otherwise private information.If you have received it in error,please notify the sender immediately and delete the original.Any other use of the e-mail by you is prohibited. Where allowed by local law,electronic communications with Accenture and its affiliates,including e-mail and instant messaging(including content),may be scanned by our systems for the purposes of information security and assessment of internal compliance with Accenture policy. www.accenture.com 2