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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-10-07 ENR Minutes ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, October 7, 2008 COUNCIL CHAMBERS - MAPLEWOOD CITY HALL 1830 COUNTY ROAD BEAST 1 CALL TO ORDER - 5:17 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Commissioner Judith Johannessen Commissioner Carole Lynne Commissioner Frederica Musgrave Commissioner Bill Schreiner Commissioner Carol Mason Sherrill Commissioner Dale Trippler Chair Ginny Yingling Council Liaison Present: Kathleen Juenemann Staff Present: Shann Finwall - Environmental Planner Ginny Gaynor - Open Space Naturalist Ann Hutchinson - Lead Naturalist 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA a. Chair Yingling added a commission presentation on Fish Creek. b. Commissioner Musgrave added a commission presentation on transit. c. Planner Finwall added two staff presentations (Maplewood Seasons and City News). Chair Yingling made a motion to approve agenda, seconded by Commissioner Mason Sherrill, the motion carried by a vote of 7 to O. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. August 19, 2008 Commissioner Musgrave recommended a need for protocol for the minutes. She suggested not using the story-telling format and to just include the motions and processes. Proposed changes to the minutes by the commission included: 1. Third point under item 3 on page 6, the word commission should be changed to city. 2. Under call to order, change the word to nominated 4th point on page 6 change wording to - "Commissioner Johannessen pointed 1 out that the model ordinance was for review and meant as an overview," 3. Page 6, the last bullet - the two sentences should be one sentence not two. Commissioner Trippler made a motion to approve the August 19 minutes as amended, seconded by Commissioner Schreiner. The motion carried by a vote of 4 to 1 with Commissioner Musgrave voting against and Commissioner Mason Sherrill and Chair Yingling abstaining. b. September 2, 2008 Chair Yingling made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Trippler to approve the September 2 minutes as written. The motion carried by a vote of 6 to 0 with Commissioner Musgrave abstaining. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: a. Wetland Ordinance Planner Finwall reviewed three main changes made during the September 2 meeting. She mentioned that the revised Wetland ordinance with changes is also included in the packet. Tonight the Environmental Commission is being asked to review the changes for accuracy and once the Commission makes their final recommendation, the ordinance will be forwarded to the City Council. The commissioners reviewed the ordinance and suggested six minor modifications. Chair Yingling then asked if there were any comments from the visitors. Sharon Sandeen, 1748 Gulden Place stated that the definition of lawn does not include all uses referenced in the September 2 packet. She stated that this is not consistent with what the staff recommendations are on this point. She feels that language needs to be clarified. Under nonconforming use Ms. Sandeen stated it would allow homeowners to rebuild only if best management practices were implemented on the property. She said this does not seem consistent with the intent, which was to allow people to rebuild and use their lawn the way they were using them. And last is the item on access to a lake, the added language only allows removal of vegetation which is under the DNR's jurisdiction, within the ordinary high water mark. Lake owners need to access the lake by walking through the vegetation which is in the buffer zone. Tom Devink, 220 South Sixth Street (attorney for Rolling Hills Manufactured Home Park) states that he would like to see the non- conforming language added which states that "after the date of adoption of this chapter, it shall be permitted nonconforming use to place any manufactured home on property that is of the date of the adoption of this chapter, either occupied by manufactured home or located in a manufactured home community." 2 Paul Ruby, 1334 Pearson Drive, president of Rolling Hills Association. Mr. Ruby stated that even though the city attorney states that state statute would cover the replacement of nonconforming manufactured homes in the buffer, he would prefer that the nonconforming language be added into the city's wetland ordinance as an added precaution. Elizabeth Sletten, 2747 North Clarence Street, stated that federal laws have been broken during this process. She said that you cannot create a wetland and then call it a wetland because you are creating a wetland ordinance. Council Member Juenemann suggested that the legal issue of whether to add the nonconforming language requested by Attorney Devink might be something for the city council to tackle since the city attorney has already recommended to the commission that the language not be added. Commissioner Yingling suggested incorporating the following language changes: => Redefine lawn area under definitions - "Lawn area means an area of mowed turf grass or other areas used for the purpose of outdoor enjoyment which may include gardening, non-permanent structures, and patios or play areas." => Page 10 item I, add language - "have access as described by section 2. f. to be consistent with the access approved by the permit. Chair Yingling made a motion to adopt the language for lawns and DNR permits. Seconded by Commissioner Schreiner, the motion carried by a vote of 6 to 1 with Commissioner Musgrave voting against the motion. Commissioner Schreiner made a motion to keep the nonconforming language regarding manufactured home parks out of the ordinance and to recommend approval of the ordinance, seconded by Commissioner Trippler. The motion carried by a vote of 6 to 1 with Commissioner Musgrave against. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Environmental Natural Resource Commission Rules of Procedure Planner Finwall brought forward two points from the City Council regarding formulizing the rules: 1) Special meetings should be changed to 72 hours notice rather than 45 hours to reflect state statute which requires public notification of open meetings at least three days in advance. 2) The commissioners should review the language on abstaining to ensure it meets their intent. Chair Yingling made a motion to adopt the recommended changes to the rules of procedure, seconded by Commissioner Musgrave. The motion carried by a vote of 7 to O. 3 b. Environmental Ordinance Planner Finwall brought this to the commission's attention to get their initial review and reaction with the intent of bringing it back in the future. In particular she asked the commission to review the following items prior to the next meeting: 1) The last portion in regards to slopes and critical areas. 2) Standards and guidelines for local governments when adopting ordinances in critical areas. c. Wind Towers Planner Finwall stated that there has been some interest expressed to city staff from one resident and one business about the feasibility of installing a wind tower on their property. Maplewood does not have an ordinance which regulates wind towers currently. Included in the staff report are some background material and a proposed ordinance by Woodbury for the commission's review. Staff will bring this item back to the commission in the future. 7. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS 8. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. Fish Creek: Chair Yingling mentioned a concern about damage to Fish Creek resulting from off road vehicles. She contacted staff who contacted the police department. She wanted to note that city staff and Ramsey County have now blocked off access to that area. b. Transit: Commissioner Musgrave is wondering if the commission is going to address mass transit. Commissioner Yingling stated that a discussion of transit can be added to the commission's goal setting meeting. 8. STAFF PRESENTATIONS a. U of M Senior Project (Sustainable Maplewood) Naturalist Gaynor gave the commission an update on the Capstone Project and welcomed Professor Gary Johnson along with one of the students. She mentioned projects students will be working on: => Impervious surfaces in the Maplewood Mall area. => Public area vegetation => Sustainable park issues, park use => Green work place model => Connectivity with neighboring cities => Education 4 Gary Johnson, U of M professor, gave the commission an overview of the Capstone course. He also noted questions and comments from the commission. b. Collaborative Buckthorn Project Naturalist Gaynor mentioned that we have an invitation by North St. Paul to join their environmental commission along with Oakdale to do a hands on buckthorn removal project at Joy Park on November 8. c. Maplewood Nature Center Landscaping Naturalist Hutchinson mentioned a buckthorn removal event at Vista Hills Park. She also passed around info on targeted areas for the city's buckthorn removal program. Ann Hutchinson also gave an overview on the Maplewood Nature Center sustainable landscape project. She stated the goals and objectives include addressing storm water management; promote and demonstrate best management practices for sustainable landscaping. She also reviewed upcoming programs at the nature center including Bird Feeder Watch and Feed the Animals. Planner Finwall stated due to time she would e-mail items d through g to the commissioners for their comments. 10. MEETING ADJOURNED - 6:58 p.m. 5