1b. Wetland Permit for Pond in a Class B Wetland, 1200 Lyman Blvd. b,
C I T Y O F P.C. DATE: Oct. 5 , 1988
C.C. D1988
CASE
1 • Prepared by: Olsen/v
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STAFF REPORT
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1 PROPOSAL: Wetland Alteration Permit to a Class B Wetland for
the Construction of a Pond
Action by Gay n, ii;iiNii!
1 Endorsed, 6`"�
Modified
I LOCATION: Lot 1, Block 2 , Hillside Oaks Rejected
Date_ 9/.3,9 zeir. -..
Date Submitted tL; i;,!)i.nr
I a,d
APPLICANT: Brent Miller l�te Sub�tr:c! c: c4.tu;.ia
1200 Lyman Boulevard
Chanhassen, MN 55317
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1 PRESENT ZONING:
A-2 , Agricultural Estate
1 ACREAGE: 3 .8 acres
DENSITY:
ADJACENT ZONING
AND LAND USE: N- RSF; vacant
S- A-2; agricultural
R . E- A-2; single family residence
IId . W- A-2; single family residence
I 1.11j WATER AND SEWER: The property does not have sewer and water
available.
1 Cl) PHYSICAL CHARAC. : The site contains a single family residence
and a Class B wetland located in the
northern portion of the lot.
2000 LAND USE PLAN: Agricultural
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Miller Wetland Alteration
' October 5 , 1988
Page 2
' APPLICABLE REGULATIONS
Section 20-421 requires a wetland alteration permit for the
' creation of a pond within a Class B wetland (Attachment #1) .
REFERRAL AGENCIES
' Fish and Wildlife Service Attachment #2
BACKGROUND
In the fall of 1987 , the applicant met with staff to discuss the
construction of a duck pond in his rear yard on property located
at the northeast corner of County Road 17 and Lyman Boulevard.
At that time, staff stated to the applicant that there was a
wetland in the area he was proposing for the construction of a
duck pond and that a wetland alteration permit would be required.
The applicant stated that he would contact staff when he made the
decision to construct the duck pond. In the meantime, staff
visited the site with Dr. Rockwell to determine whether or not a
' duck pond would be recommended for approval in the wetland. It
was felt by Dr. Rockwell that the construction of a ponding area
within the wetland ,if designed to the six conditions of the Fish
and Wildlife Service would be an improvement to the wetland. The
' applicant did not contact staff about pursuing the wetland
alteration permit.
It was brought to staff' s attention by the Building Department
that a pond was being constructed on the subject site. Staff
visited the site and found that the applicant had constructed the
ponding area within the wetland without contacting staff or pro-
ceeding with a wetland alteration permit process. Staff con-
tacted the applicant by letter stating that his action was in
violation of the Wetland Ordinance and that he would be required
to go through the wetland alteration permit process (Attachment
#3 ) .
' ANALYSIS
The applicant has made application for the wetland alteration
permit and has provided the necessary information. The construc-
tion of the pond did meet the recommendation of the Fish and
Wildlife Service by providing varying depths and left in a
natural state. When the applicant had the pond constructed, the
fill from the pond area was placed within the wetland area. This
is not permitted by the city.
Staff visited the site again with Mr. Paul Burke, of the Fish
and Wildlife Service, to determine whether or not steps should be
taken to remove the fill placed in the wetland area and whether
or not the existing pond should remain as is and is a benefit to
the wetland. Mr. Burke felt that although the placing of fill in
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Miller Wetland Alteration
October 5 , 1988
Page 3 ,
the wetland is not desirable, it had not impacted the wetland
vegetation or function of the wetland. Mr. Burke felt that it
was best to maintain the pond as it is rather than remove any
fill from the wetland.
The applicant had at one time stated to staff that he would like ,
to clear an area around the ponding area. Staff and the Fish and
Wildlife Service agreed that the wetland area around the pond
must be maintained in its natural state and that any additional
of clearing of the wetland vegetation would not be permitted.
RECOMMENDATION
Although the pond was constructed within the Class B wetland
prior to city approval, it has been confirmed by the Fish and
Wildlife Service that the design and construction of the pond has
not negatively impacted the wetland and will actually be an
improvement. Therefore, staff is recommending approval of the
wetland alteration permit to allow the existing pond to be main-
tained as is .
Planning staff recommends the Planning Commission adopt the
following motion:
"The Planning Commission recommends approval of Wetland
Alteration Permit #87-15 with the following conditions :
1 . No additional alteration to the pond shall be permitted and
no additional fill material is permitted within the wetland
area.
2 . The wetland area surrounding the pond shall remain in its
natural state.
PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION
The Planning Commission recommended approval of the wetland
alteration permit with the conditions as recommended by staff .
The Commission was concerned with the number of cases where
wetlands are altered without city approval and directed staff to
review how the wetland ordinance could be better enforced.
CITY COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION I
Staff recommends the City Council approve Wetland Alteration
Permit #87-15 with the following conditions : '
1 . No additional alteration to the pond shall be permitted and
no additional fill material is permitted within the wetland
area.
2 . The wetland area surrounding the pond shall remain in its
natural state.
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Miller Wetland Alteration
' October 5 , 1988
Page 4
' ATTACHMENTS
' 1 . Section 20-421 from City Code.
2 . Memo from Paul Burke dated September 20 , 1988 .
3 . Letter to Mr . Brent Miller dated November 19, 1987, and
January 25 , 1988.
' 4 . Planning Commission minutes dated October 5 , 1988 .
5 . Site plan dated September 13 , 1988 .
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ZONING § 20-422
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DIVISION 2. WETLAND ALTERATION PERMIT I
Part A. General Provisions
Sec. 20421. Required.
The following activities are prohibited in the wetland area indicated unless the city
III
council issues a wetland alteration permit allowing the activity:
(1) Scientific research projects in a class A or class B wetland which alter the wetland.
(2) Public works in a class A or class B wetland except for emergency public works which I
shall not require a wetland alteration permit.
(3) Creation of ponds or dams and alterations of the natural drainageways or water
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courses of a class A or class B wetland.
(4) Removal from class A wetland of trees or vegetation except hay, crops and diseased
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and storm damaged trees and vegetation which shall not require a wetland alteration
permit.
(5) Docks, walkways and boardwalks, within class A or B wetland. I
(6) Installing or replacing drain tile or ditches in a class A wetland. Repairing existing
drain tile,in a class A wetland if the property has not been in active agricultural use I
during the twelve(12)months preceding February 19, 1987.
(7) Development in any class A wetland or within two hundred (200) feet of a class A
wetland that is within the wetland's watershed. '
(8) Septic or soil absorption systems in a class B wetland.
(9) Sedimentation basins in a class B wetland.
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(10) Any structure in a class A or B wetland except for minor expansion and additions to
single-family detached dwellings existing February 19, 1987 that do not require a
wetland alteration permit.
(11) Digging, dredging, filling in a class A or B wetland.
(12) Advertising signs in a class A or B wetland.
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(Ord. No. 80,Art. V, § 24(5-24-7), 12-15-86)
Sec. 20422. Application,issuance,etc. I
The applicant for a wetland alteration permit shall furnish the information required by
the city including but not limited to, a site plan, topographic data and hydrological data for
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the review of a wetland alteration permit application. A wetland alteration permit shall not
be issued without having been first reviewed by the planning commission and approved by the
(.....- council following the review procedures set forth for conditional use permits. The applicant
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shall have the burden of proving that the proposed use or activity complies with the purposes,
intent and other provisions of this article.A permit must be approved by a three-fifths vote of
1191 I
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IIMemorandum to File
Subject: Report of Field Investigation of Two Wetland Sites
within the City of Chanhassen, Carver County, MN
} Field Investigator: Paul J. Burke
Date: September 20, 1988
1 -
Following my on-site review, I have found the following: _
I ---- Site 1:
This is a small ( 2 acre) wetland (Palustrine Scrub-Shrub) in
the back yard of Mr. Brent Miller at 1200 Lyman Boulevard in
Chanhassen. It appears that Mr. Miller had a small ( .125
acre) pool excavated for landscaping purposes, with the
IIexcavated material being graded over the adjacent wetland
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vegetation. This activity occurred about a year ago (my
estimate) .
II found the site to be stabilized, with a dense mat of reed
,. canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) growing over the graded
fill from the pond. While placing fill in a wetland is a
IL prohibited practice, the amount in this case was
sufficiently small, and the results almost insignificant to
the overall function of the affected wetland. In principle,
the fill should be removed. But in this case, such a
IL� requirement could result in more ecological impact than
_. allowing the fill to remain. I would suggest that an after-
the-fact permit be issued for the project as it now exists.
`�- Site 2:
Iri,p:,- :,, This is a large tract with two wetlands that are proposed
' for alteration by the developer (Rosemont, Inc. ) . An
entrance road and parking facilities are planned that, along
4- preliminary landscaping plans, would adversely
�� � with some
. ;; -. affect wetland sites #1 and #2 (see Rosemont, Inc. site
= " ` s1- plans, dated September 13 , 1988) . The consulting engineers
-,,o,S. - (OPUS, Corp. )P• ) have gone to some effort to plan the
incorporation of the wetland complexes into the aesthetics
_ _'f4�? �, of the project site However, the plans appear to emphasize
''' aesthetics over other wetland functions and values. The
: <,,N,' total values associated with these wetlands is best
conserved by reducing to a minimum the work planned for
--r- their
"improvement. " I would recommend that wetland site 1
:' be left undisturbed. If the plans call for an employee
, recreation site, I would suggest the use of an elevated
board walk (on piles) with wide spots for tables and
•',t "' benches.
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C1TYOF
i CHANHASSEN
• 690 COULTER DRIVE • P.O. BOX 147 • CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317
(612) 937-1900
November 19, 1987 CERTIFIED MAIL
Mr. Brent Miller
1200 Lyman Boulevard
Chanhassen, MN 55317 '
Dear Mr. Miller:
Approximately one month ago you met with me at City Hall to '
determine whether or not you could construct a duck pond on your
property located on the northeast corner of County Road 17 and
County Road 18. At that time, I told you that it appeared that
the area was a wetland and was protected by the city and that any
alteration to the site is not permitted unless you receive a
wetland alteration permit. I explained that there was a wetland
alteration permit fee, and a public hearing in front of the
Planning Commission and the City Council. You stated that you
would contact me the following week so that we could establish a
time to go out to the site with Dr. Rockwell from the Fish and
Wildlife Service. I never heard from you that week but did visit
the site with Dr. Rockwell. We saw where you had staked out the
area that you wanted to construct the pond. Dr. Rockwell felt
that a ponding area would be beneficial to the wetland if it was
designed to the six design standards of the Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Since I did not hear from you, I assumed you were not going to
pursue the matter since it was understood that you could not do
anything without receiving a wetland alteration permit. It has
come to my attention that the pond has been constructed and that
you have altered the wetland without receiving permissio from
the city. This is in violation of the Zoning Ordinance And you
must comply with the ordinance regulations. You must now apply
for a wetland alteration permit to receive permission from the
city for construction of the pond. If the city does not approve
the wetland alteration permit, the land would have to be returned '
to its natural state.
I am sending this letter by certified mail and am requesting that 1
you contact me within ten days of receipt of this letter. Should
I not hear from you within ten days upon receipt of this letter,
you will be contacted by the City Attorney. '
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Mr. Brent Miller
November 19, 1987
Page 2
' I feel that this issue can be resolved but until you contact the
city and receive city approval you cannot alter the site any more
' than it already has been. I will expect a call from you within
ten days from receipt of this letter.
incQrely,
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Jb Ann Olsen 14 —_
' Assistant City Plan er
JO:v
' cc: Jay Johnson
Gary Warren
Ron Julkowski
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LAND DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION
CITY OF CHANHASSEN
690 Coulter Drive
Chanhassen, MN 55317
(612) 937-1900
APPLICANT: �i`L'/11t /SIJ�C/d l�%//c OWNER: .s.4A C 4.5*PL%c f
ADDRESS / .2o D / y 11/0 ADDRESS '
Aeik hts S cw 55-3 17
Zip Code Zip Code I
TELEPHONE (Daytime) TELEPHONE 93 - 7o 3 7
REQUEST: ,
Zoning District Change Planned Unit Development
Zoning Appeal Sketch Plan 1
Preliminary Plan
Zoning Variance Final Plan
Zoning Text Amendment Subdivision
Land Use Plan Amendment Platting
Metes and Bounds
Conditional Use Permit
Street/Easement Vacation
Site Plan Review
Wetlands Permit
PROJECT NAME '
PRESENT LAND USE PLAN DESIGNATION
REQUESTED LAND USE PLAN DESIGNATION /Q4644 '
PRESENT ZONING
REQUESTED ZONING ,
USES PROPOSED
SIZE OF PROPERTY 6 At:its
LOCATION /ccV L i m cav at 1/0
- 1
REASONS FOR THIS REQUEST
LEGAL DESCRIPTION (Attach legal if necessary) ///1/3/4
Oak-
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City of Chanhassen
Land Development Application
' Page 2
' FILING INSTRUCTIONS :
This application must be completed in full and be typewritten or
' clearly printed and must be accompanied by all information and
plans required by applicable City Ordinance provisions . Before
filing this application , you should confer with the City Planner
to determine the specific ordinance and procedural requirements
' applicable to your application .
' FILING CERTIFICATION:
The undersigned representative of the applicant hereby certifi
' that he is familiar with the procedural requirements of all es
applicable City Ordinances .
' Signed By �' ,✓�1
A ppli
i� cant _ Date 9c�� o � `fig},
' The undersigned hereby certifies that the applicant has been
authorized to make this application for the property herein
described .
1
Signed By
Fee Owner Date
Date Application Received
Application Fee Paid
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City Receipt No.
1
* This Application will be considered by the Plannin
Board of Adjustments and Appeals at their g Commission/
meeting .
-.-'i.int4M:•YN.dSreMC.r d
CHANHASSEN PLANNING COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
l ., OCTOBER 5, 1988
1
Chairman Conrad called the meeting to order at 7: 35 p.m. .
MEMBERS PRESENT: Tim Erhart, Steve Emmings, Ladd Conrad and Brian Batzli II
MEMBERS ABSENT: Annette Ellson, James Wildermuth and David Headla
STAFF PRESENT: Jo Ann Olsen, Asst. City Planner and Larry Brown, Asst.
City Engineer
PUBLIC HE ,
U HEARING:
WETLAND ALTERATION PERMIT FOR THE CREATION OF A POND IN A CLASS B WETLAND,
1200 LYMAN BOULEVARD, BRENT MILLER.
Public Present :
Mr. and Mrs. Brent Miller 1200 Lyman Boulevard '
Jo Ann Olsen presented the staff report.
Brent Miller : My name is Brent Miller . I am the property owner at Lyman
Blvd. . I had a couple questions. What determines a wetland area? How
does the City determine a wetland area?
Olsen: The vegetation, the type of soils . '
Brent Miller : So do they make an on-site inspection of the area prior to?
I guess what I 'm trying to say, I assume there was a wetland plan that was
adopted in 1984? My question is, how do you determine what a wetland area
is without going on the site prior to my applying for this permit?
Olsen: What they did was they used a lot of the DNR' s maps or they had an I
aerial of some vegetation and standing waters and soils. Your wetland had
been designated . . .
Brent Miller: By the DNR? '
Olsen: By the map adopted by the City which consolidated DNR information.
Brent Miller: Prior to my digging this, and before I contacted you, I 11
went to the DNR and also to the Carver County Soil and Water Conservation.
Both of them, both places showed no wetland, Class A or B on my property. II
I guess also when I did purchase the property back in 1984, the developer
did not inform me that the land was a wetland area. Is he supposed to
inform me by the plot sheet or by someway notifying me that it is wetland
area. The City approved it right? The development?
r
Olsen: Your subdivision was approved prior to the wetland ordinance.
What happens now is that the wetland will be designated as part of a
subdivision procedure. The area will be designated as wetland area and
protected and it will have to show up on future site plans. But it is a
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Planning Commission Meeting
October 5, 1988 - Page 2
' protected wetland by the City and it had been confirmed twice by Fish and
Wildlife.
' Brent Miller : This is after the fact that I inquired it right, you
determined it was a wetland area. You determined it before that without
informing me it was a wetland area?
Olsen: No, I told you it was. . .
' Brent Miller : You said the developer had approval of that property before
the wetland came into effect. I bought the property in 1984. The plot
sheet that I got did not show a wetland area on that . So it was approved
before 1984 and that' s the reason why. . .
' Olsen: In the fall of 1984.
' Conrad : But I don' t think that' s relevant. Is it relevent at all? If
it's a designated wetland, regardless of when the plat was approved or
when you bought it, it is a designated wetland period. The DNR gave us a
' map of where the wetlands were. We adopted their map for Chanhassen.
Regardless of whether it' s on their map or not , if you have a wetland ,
based on vegetation and based on soil, you can' t dig in it without a
permit. So timing in this case, Jo Ann correct me if I 'm wrong, but
timing is not a factor. It' s simply a case where you have a wetland and
you wanted to do something to it and we have a regulation, as does the DNR
but we have a regulation that says you can' t without a permit.
Brent Miller : But the DNR did show that it was a wetland there on their
map?
Olsen: The DNR may have told you that it ' s not protected . We have a lot
of wetlands that we protect that are not protected by the DNR.
II Brent Miller : The City doesn' t have to contact the private owners?
Olsen: We did go through a whole public hearing process during the
wetland alteration ordinance. We did not contact every single owner .
That's why when you come in, we look at it then.
Brent Miller : That ' s all I ' ve got.b
Conrad: Jo Ann, in the case where somebody has a wetland on their
property and they decide they want to do something to it, and they' re not
' putting in a building, they want to do something to that wetland, what is
to catch that? Would an owner expect to , what ' s going to trigger any kind
of staff review of what they' re doing? If there ' s not a building, we ' re
not talking about a building permit here. What ' s going to get staff
involved?
Olsen: When they contact us , that ' s when we' re notified . A lot of times
' they will contact the DNR or other official agencies who then contact us.
But we really have no idea of what ' s going on in every back yard .
• . I
Planning Commission Meeting
October 5, 1988 - Page 3 '
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Brent Miller : How is a person' s taxes affected by the wetland area?
Conrad: Normally they' re much lower.
Brent Miller : How is it that the County Assessor had no knowledge of my
property being a wetland?
Conrad: Then I think you should inform him and I think it' s typically a
case, and we've looked into this in the past that wetlands are, wetlands
is non-buildable property, period . Typically it ' s taxes that way. More II
than likely you could ask them how it's assessed and you can make some
adjustments for future years . You don' t have any recourse for the past to
my knowledge, and I 'm getting out of my league when I start talking about
taxing but I understand from past. . .
Brent Miller : . . .the fact that the City did not contact me telling it was
a wetland. . .where I 've been paying taxes for the last 4 years and all of a II
sudden it' s . . . Prior to buying that, I had no knowledge. . . I was told it
was a buildable lot.
Conrad : A building lot you can put one house on it . That ' s a buildable I
lot. Anywhere that' s permitted. Any other comments?
Erhart moved , Emmings seconded to close the public hearing. All voted in
favor and the motion carried. The public hearing was closed .
Batzli : Does this happen on a regular basis? We approve this after the
fact?
Olsen : It has happened a couple other times . One of the most recent ones
was a dock that was installed through a wetland in Lotus Lake.
Batzli : Are these the normal conditions that we put in? '
Olsen: . . . in a conditional use.
Batzli : I guess one other question I had . You indicated there was an
attachment dated January 25th. Did we not get that or wasn' t there a
second letter?
Olsen : The second letter is just referring to the letter to Brent Miller
stating that the Corps of Engineers, he had contacted the Corps of
Engineers. . . to see whether or not it was in violation of the Corps . They
have stated that. . .
Batzli : As I understand it though, the second person from the DNR that
went out there, Paul Burke, he said that it appeared to him that the pond II
was constructed according to the normal 6 conditions that we would have
imposed if the ,applicant had come in before hand?
Olsen : He said to alter it would have harmed the wetland more.
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Planning Commission Meeting
October 5, 1988 - Page 4
Batzli : But as far as slope and that kind of stuff, that was all . . .
Olsen: It was pretty close. He did provide a uneven bottom. The wetland
vegetation has grown back around the pond to provide the protection for
wildlife. He was satisfied.
Batzli : What' s our rationale for passing this after the fact?
Olsen: Again, to go in and fill it would be more of an impact to the
' wetland and actually would cause. . .to the wetland.
Batzli : Speaking hypothetically, what would it take before we'd prosecute
somebody who did this?
Olsen: If we would have found that he had, what he had done had harmed
the wetland, we would not recommend approval. We would recommend that it
be returned to it' s original state . Where that dock is on Lotus Lake, we
did make a change so that the conditional use would have less impact to
the wetland .
Batzli : Okay, I don' t have any more questions .
Emmings : I guess I don't have anything different than Brian. It ' s
' irritating that people will find out there are regulations they' re
supposed to follow and then refuse to follow them but I guess if there' s ,
it ' s a no harm, no foul situation so I 'd vote for it on that basis but I 'm
' just wondering though if it wouldn' t be appropriate, since we know about
this situation, to take some pictures out there of the situation as it
exists presently and put them in a file so if there' s any further
' alterations later on, we have some evidence of what it was . Just as a
suggestion. A good basis for prosecution.
Erhart: Let me ask Jo Ann, if Mr . Miller had come in, which he did and
I . I 'm sure it was explained that this land was wet, what would have been the
requirements for him to do what he had requested? What would we have
required from him?
Olsen: For a wetland alteration permit he would have to provide a plan . . .
Erhart: So it would require a surveyor. Would it require contours?
' Olsen : Yes .
' Erhart : And how far away from the pond? How big an area would have to be
surveyed?
' Olsen : Typically the whole wetland area . But our major interest is . . .
Erhart: So you had requested . . .
Olsen : He would have been shown where the boundaries are.
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Planning Commission Meeting
October 5, 1988 - Page 5 '
Erhart : Can I ask what it cost to have the pond dug? What do you think a
survey would have cost? $200.00 to $300. 00? Does it include all
contours? When you did that before the pond was dug . . . My point is ,
I think it' s great. My view of the wetland is that it's not wet. He' s
got about 30 acres of closed wetlands without any open water and for
someone to invest and improve the wetland and bring some open water, I
think is good . Obviously I would have liked to have seen you follow the II
City's procedures. My concern is that the City encourage, I should say,
we have a lot of wetlands in the Chanhassen area that are closed and grown
over. I 'd like to make sure that we don' t discourage people who want-: II them, that we don' t discourage them making their investment in such a way
that we work together to try and improve the wetlands. I 'm not suggesting
that you did but discourage them in terms of what kind of hoops they have
to jump through and the expense of the drawings and surveys and so forth. 11
I guess I only put that in as a comment in general . Obviously I would
have liked to see you follow the procedure. I drive by everyday. I think
it' s a nice little pond . I see ducks and geese in it. There' s no ducks
and geese in anyplace around there so I support it.
Conrad : I guess I 'm disturbed about two things . One, there ' s really no II way to, we haven' t found a way to inform people what our wetland ordinance
is speaking to and we kind of hope that somebody comes to the City to
stumble into us. The second is that this particular thing happened after
the fact. Mr . Miller , the staff report tells me that they told you a year II
ago that it was a wetland and that you couldn' t dig in there without a
wetland alteration permit. I 'm curious why you went ahead anyway.
Brent Miller: After I found out what it would cost. . .the neighbor right
adjacent to me has the same. . .put up a pole barn. . .
Olsen: The survey didn' t show a wetland on his land . '
Brent Miller : If I would have applied for a building permit , I wouldn ' t
have had to go through this. . . '
Conrad : Jo Ann, the other case that he' s mentioned , what happened there?
Olsen: We get surveys that show the building site and where the buildings I
are and the setbacks and if the wetlands don' t show up on it, then we're
not aware that there is that wetland out there, we just sign off on it.
Conrad : They' re signed off because we' re not visiting the site?
Olsen: If they put it on the plan, we don' t . . .
Conrad : And how come we don' t do that?
Olsen: Because I get about 20 a day on my desk and we don' t have the
manpower .
Conrad : So it ' s a manpower issue?
Olsen: Yes .
__ _ ;.yams-......_ a:�-�:ay;;;��.J,.,,-� M.;.,b..L::R...,..,k_•:�
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Planning Commission Meeting
IOctober 5, 1988 - Page 6
Batzli : Or is it an issue of trying to match up the building sites with
' our overall map? The wetlands?
Olsen : We've got a pretty good awareness of where wetlands are. We check
those pretty closely. . .
Conrad : Is it unrealistic to have sites checked out? What do other
communities do?
' I Olsen: Every site?
Conrad : Yes , every site . Maybe that ' s wrong . Maybe I 'm misspeaking.
I Maybe it' s so obvious that we don' t need to check out some things like
when we' re in town and we' re putting on a deck or putting on a porch. I
don't know but are we different than other communities?
Olsen : I don' t believe so. I don' t know off hand if they do a site by
site inspection. The building inspectors are out there too. . .on other
' regulations and they do see a wetland or something , they will contact us .
Conrad: So if it' s a staffing problem, who ' s staffing problem is it? Is
it a building inspection function? Is it a planning function?
' Olsen: It would be under planning. Everyone signs off buildings. The
planning looks at the setbacks . . .
' Batzli : If a wetlands is partially defined by soils, isn ' t the building
department the one that has to sign off on that aspect of it?
Olsen: If you have wetlands, you need to determine if there is a wetland .
If you look at vegetation or soils. . . Again, most of the lots out there,
they don' t have soil borings performed on. . .
Batzli : When do we normally require soil borings? Only if we think. . .
' Brown: Only in areas such as Woodcrest where it' s fairly obvious that
we'd expect to see poor soils .
' Erhart : I think there' s a real problem here. We' ve had two garages built
in wetlands down by me and I ' ve contacted Jo Ann and Barb about both of
them to try and figure out how these things, this is before I even
understood the whole process but within the last 3 years. It' s
' incredulous to me that these things got as far as they did before anybody.
They had discovered them about the same time I did.
Conrad : It ' s real irritating . The gentleman , Mr . Miller is doing it
because he saw somebody else do it and they did it on a much grander scale
so therefore no big deal .
Erhart : It ' s a big difference in putting a building down there. Are we
prosecuting that guy now?
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Planning Commission Meeting
October 5, 1988 - Page 7
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47
Olsen : The City signed off on it. I
Erhart: Is Ron now pretty aware or is the building department. . .
Olsen: Yes . In fact I had one the building inspectors out measuring with II
that fellow yesterday but again, if it' s not on a site plan or it's not an
area that we know is a wet area . - '
Erhart : I think we have made a lot of changes in the building inspection
department. Very positive changes. i
Conrad : Is this a case , it bothers me, this is a case where we want Jo
Ann or staff to come back with a recommendation on the situation? If
we' ve got it happening, it ' s a case where we' re just trusting the land
II
owner. There' s nothing triggering anything here. Do we want staff to
look into it a little bit or should we just say there' s nothing we can do
and we' re comfortable with the way it is? Should we have staff report
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back?
Batzli : I 'd like to hear their recommendations for what can be done to
have something be put in the specs somehow or would it take another II
person?
Conrad : Could you do that Jo Ann? Make recommendations to us , what it 1
would take and the costs of implementing such a thing without a big
consultant oriented research project.
Emmings: It isn' t as simple as looking at an overlay because that will II
only catch the ones that are obvious and well known.
Erhart: You alomst have to go back and try to put the wetlands on all
II
plats.
Conrad : You go back and that' s what we stayed away from. We adopted the II
DNR map and just trusted that it was as accurate and that we couldn' t
spend the time to do it ourselves . To go back through the entire City of
Chanhassen to develop our own map. I suppose that' s one alternative. I
Erhart : One of the things you could do is hand out with any building
permit application, a small map that shows all the wetland area in the
City. One of the questions in the building permit application, I believe, II
is there a wetlands? Isn ' t that one of the questions? Well , the idea is
that with the application is a stapled map that shows all the wetlands and
the question, does this application involve any of the areas shown on the
attached map? If the guy says no, then he ' s blatantly misstated the
facts .
Conrad : Okay. Put that down on the things to do list Jo Ann. Anything II
( else on this issue? Is there a motion?
Erhart moved , Batzli seconded that the Planning Commission recommend to
approve the Wetland Alteration Permit #87-15 with the following
conditions :
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Planning Commission Meeting
' October 5, 1988 - Page 8
1. No additional alteration to the and
p shall be permitted and no
additional fill material is permitted within the wetland area .
2. The wetland area surrounding the pond shall remain in it' s natural
state.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Batzli : Steve, did you want to include that as a condition? You just
wanted to make a note for the staff?
Emmings: Yes , it ' s just a suggestion. I don ' t want it to be a condition.
' PUBLIC HEARING:
ROME DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LOCATED ON LOT 3, BLOCK 2, CHANHASSEN LAKES
BUSINESS PARK, ON PROPERTY ZONED IOP, INDUSTRIAL OFFICE PARK (1450 PARK
COURT) :
' A. SUBDIVISION OF LOT 3, BLOCK 2 INTO TWO PARCELS OF 2. 25 ACRES AND 1.36
ACRES.
B. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO CONSTRUCT A 6 , 700 SQUARE FOOT STATE LICENSED
DAY CARE CENTER.
Public Present :
Roman Roos - Applicant
Jerome and Linda Carlson
Jo Ann Olsen presented the staff report .
Chairman Conrad called the public hearing to order .
' Roman Roos: Roman Roos from the Rome Corporation. A couple weeks ago we
came before the Planning Commission with a zoning text amendment to allow
a free standing day care within the IOP. As of last week we had the first
' reading and approval on that so this evening we' re here to continue that
process. It is actually a two part process . One will be the replat to
allow a site for the proposed day care center and the second would be the
site plan approval . This evening we have Jerome Carlson and Linda Carlson
here . The day care center is going to be used by the employees of Instant
Webb, United Mailings and Victory Envelope and Linda Carlson has been
working with the architect to prepare the overall structure and the use of
that structure for the employees of those companies . I think this evening
I ' ve got behind me a map showing the Lot 1, 2 and 3 of the original
-� business park. What we ' re doing in essence, we have Lot 2 in the orange.
Lot 1 and Lot 3. Back in 1984 , I built this building down here . At that
point in time it was my intent and probably noted to Council that we would
eventually put in something in the better portion of this lot . When I put