HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/22/2011 - re: wetland buffer compl . • .
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O r CITY of ORONO
Municipal Offices
Street Address: Mailing Address:
"SA �� ,�� 2750 Kelley Parkway P.O. Box 66
• G Orono,MN 55356 Crystal Bay,MN 55323-0066
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August 22, 2011
David &Wendi Albertson
4701 West Branch Road
Mound, MN 55364
RE: Wetland Buffer Compliance
4701 West Branch Road
On January 15, 2009 the City issued building permit 2008-00452 for construction of a new residence at
4701 West Branch Road. The new home construction triggered our wetland buffer ordinance. You
entered into an Escrow Agreement (copy attached) on January 15, 2009 for the re-vegetation of the
wetland buffer. At that time, you agreed to have a wetland delineation completed to determine the
exact location of the wetland so the buffer and setback could be determined. Our Wetland Specialist,
John Smyth, inspected the property on August 3, 2011 (copy attached) and found the property to be in
violation.
In order to bring the property into compliance a wetland delineation must to be completed. The
delineation must be submitted to the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) for their approval.
Once the delineation is approved, the delineated wetland edge and buffer must be staked and shown
on an updated survey. Any buckthorn in the buffer area must be removed along with the soil property
prepared for planting of native vegetation according to City Code 78-1605(3). Upon compliance with
the Escrow Agreement, the funds will be refunded.
Also, a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy was issued on March 31, 2010. The City will not issue a
Final Certificate of Occupancy until all the outstanding issues are resolved.
Please submit your plan to bring the property into compliance by September 6, 2011. Please be
advised, if you fail to bring the property into compliance the escrow agreement allows for the City to
enter the property and perform all work and inspections. The costs to do so which exceed the $2,500
escrow will be billed to you.
I look forward in working with you to resolve this outstanding issue. If you have any questions, please
contact me at cmattsonCcr�ci.orono.mn.us or at 952.249.4620.
Sincerely,
CITY OF ORONO
idaS
Christine Mattson
Planning Assistant
Attachments Escrow Agreement
Wetland Buffer Compliance Memo dated 8-3-11
Telephone(952)249-4600 • Fax (952)249-4616
www.ci.orono.mn.us
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August 22, 2011
4701 West Branch Road
Page 2 of 4
Sec. 78-1605.Wetland buffer areas.
(a) This subsection establishes requirements for wetland buffer areas around protected wetlands.
Buffer areas are necessary and beneficial to maintain the health of wetlands. Buffer areas protect
the edge of wetlands from erosion while filtering sediment, chemicals and other nutrients from
runoff that drains into wetlands. Buffer areas can improve the biological diversity and health of a
wetland environment while reducing the adverse impacts of human activities.
(b) Buffer areas regulated by this section are areas of vegetative cover that are upland of the wetland
edge, and that occur in a natural condition or through restoration. Buffer areas consist of
shrubbery and trees, native grasses and/or forbs that are not mowed, fertilized or manicured in
any manner. Mowing, fertilizing, manicuring, or vegetation removal within a buffer area is not
allowed unless the city has issued a permit for such activity in conjunction with an approved
buffer management plan.
(1) Acceptable buffer areas shall have the following qualities:
a. A continuous dense layer of perennial grasses that have been uncultivated or
unbroken for at least ten consecutive years, or
b. An over story of trees and/or shrubs with at least 80 percent canopy closure that
have been uncultivated or unbroken for at least ten consecutive years, or
c. A mixture of the plant communities described in a. and b. above, which have
been uncultivated or unbroken for at least ten consecutive years.
(2) Unacceptable buffer areas have the following qualities, including but not limited to:
a. Undesirable plant species (including but not limited to reed canary grass,
common buckthorn, purple loosestrife, leafy spurge and noxious weeds), or
b. Lacking a layer of organic thatch or duff, or
c. Topography which tends to channelize the flow of surface runoff, or
d. Is characteristically unlikely to retain nutrients and sediment.
(3) Buffer areas which have been broken or cultivated within the past ten consecutive years
must be restored to a condition consistent with an acceptable buffer area defined in
section 78-1605(b)(1), a restoration or landscape plan must be submitted to the planning
director, which restoration shall include, replanting and maintaining according to each of
the following guidelines:
a. Buffer areas shall be planted with a seed mix containing 100 percent perennial
native plant species, except for a one-time planting of an annual nurse or cover
crop such as oats or rye.
b. The seed mix to be used shall consist of at least 12 pounds pure live seed (PLS)
per acre of native prairie grass seed and five pounds PLS per acre of native
forbs. Native prairie grass and native forb mixes shall contain no fewer than four
and five species respectively.
c. The annual nurse or cover crop shall be applied at a rate of 20 pounds per acre.
d. Native shrubs and or trees may be used in addition to forbs and grasses. Shrubs
shall be distributed so as to provide a natural appearance and shall not be
planted in rows.
e. Native prairie grasses and forbs shall be planted by a qualified contractor.
f. No fertilizer shall be used in establishing new buffer zones, except on highly
disturbed sites when deemed necessary to establish acceptable buffer
vegetation and then limited to amounts indicated by an accredited soil testing
laboratory.
g. All seeded areas shall be mulched immediately with clean straw at a rate of one
and one-half tons per acre. Mulch shall be anchored with a disk or tackifier.
h. Buffer areas (both natural and created), shall be protected by silt fence during
construction and the fence shall remain in place until the area crop is
established, and at that time the fence shall be removed.
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August 22, 2011
4701 West Branch Road
Page 3 of 4
(c) Buffer area widths will be based on the wetland protection strategies established in the Orono
Surface Water Management Plan (SWMP) (December 2002). A protection classification has been
assigned to each wetland in Orono based on the stormwater susceptibility and functional
assessment for each wetland. The four protection classifications are described as follows:
Protection Susceptibility Rating Description
Classification
"Preserve" Highly Susceptible Highly susceptible to both quantity and quality impacts
from runoff; have the highest degree of protection
"Manage 1" Moderately Moderately susceptible to quantity and quality
Susceptible impacts; protection is less stringent than Preserve,
provides protection to maintain their characteristics
"Manage 2" Slightly Susceptible Less stringent protection than Manage 1 wetlands;
maintenance of characteristics is desirable
. "Manage 3" Least Susceptible Wetlands are significantly degraded (e.g., cultivated
or canary grass monotype) or lack of wetland
characteristics; not typically impacted by runoff; no
quantity and only limited quality treatment of runoff is
required
The protection classification for each wetland will be found on the "Wetland Management Classification
Map & List" which is hereby adopted by reference, a copy of which shall be kept on file in the office of the
city clerk and shall be available for public review during all normal office hours. The following are the
required buffer area widths for each protection classification:
Protection Classification Width of Buffer Area Additional Protection Requirements
from Wetland (B = Bounce = Change in water level
Boundary due to runoff event) (P = Phosphorus)
"Preserve" 50 feet B: Maintain bounce at or below
existing conditions P: Limit loadings
to predevelopment loading (0.14
Lbs./Ac/Yr)
"Manage 1" 35 feet B: Maintain bounce at or below
existing conditions plus 0.5 foot P:
Limit loadings to predevelopment
loadings times 2 (0.28 Lbs/Ac/Yr)
"Manage 2" 25 feet B: Maintain bounce at or below
existing conditions plus 1.0 foot P:
Limit concentration to
predevelopment concentrations (200
ppb)
"Manage 3" 16.5 feet B: No quantity requirement P: Limit
concentration to 225 ppb
(d) In cases of new development or redevelopment the city shall require that vegetation in the
wetland buffer be installed prior to the issuance of the certificate of occupancy. The city may
waive this requirement in lieu of a cash escrow or letter of credit equal to 150 percent of the cost
to install the required buffer.
(e) The city may allow the disturbance of an existing buffer area during the course of construction
activity. This disturbance must be kept to a minimum, soils must be decompacted to a level that
will accommodate root growth, and the buffer area must be re-established as required by the city.
The city will determine the amount of allowable disturbance. The city may require a cash escrow
or letter of credit equal to 150 percent of the cost to re-establish the buffer to its original condition.
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August 22, 2011
4701 West Branch Road
Page 4 of 4
(f) The city may require buffer area planting and maintenance when the city determines that there is
inadequate vegetation in the buffer area to meet the intent of this section. The city may require a
cash escrow or letter of credit equal to 150 percent of the estimated cost of the vegetation and
installation. The escrow or letter of credit must be valid for up to two years and may be used by
the city to replace any vegetation that dies.
(g) The affected property owner or homeowner association that is responsible for the maintenance
must:
(1) Maintain and repair damage to buffer areas from such activities as mowing, cutting,
grading or other prohibited activities, unless mowing is approved by the city as a buffer
management plan. Permission must be obtained from the city before implementing buffer
management plans, which may include mowing, burning, and the use of herbicides.
(2) Maintain only the permitted vegetation in the buffer area and must remove all noxious
weeds and invasive, non-native species such as European buckthorn, upon obtaining a
vegetation removal permit from the city in conjunction with an approved buffer
management plan.
(3) Ensure that all soil surfaces in the buffer area are planted with the permitted vegetation
and that there is no open soil surface that may result in erosion.
(4) Ensure that livestock or other domesticated animals which have the potential to
permanently disturb the buffer area by compaction or vegetation removal be kept from
entering the buffer area and wetland by a fence or other suitable means.
(h) The final upslope edge of the buffer shall be provided to the city in a hard copy and in a CAD or
GIS format in Hennepin County coordinates.
(i) Golf course partial exemption. Public and private golf courses existing and in operation on the
date of adoption of this article shall be allowed a partial exemption from buffer creation and
maintenance requirements with regards to mowing or cutting buffer vegetation in areas subject to
golf play, subject to the following:
(1) At such time that this article requires establishment of a buffer, applicant shall submit a
certificate of survey identifying the location, size and type of the wetland for which buffer
exemption is requested.
(2) Applicant shall submit a buffer management plan for city council approval, identifying
those areas where exemption is requested and providing for alternative methods of
wetland protection equivalent to an unmowed buffer.
(Ord. No. 28 3rd series, § 1, 8-22-2005)