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Letter to DNR • • N H A S CITY OF ClIANIIASSEN 5 Chanhassen is a Community for Life-Providing for Today and Planning for Tomorrow July 15, 2021 Jami Markle Regional Wildlife Manager 1200 Warner Road St. Paul, MN 55106 Dear Jami Markle: Recently,the City of Chanhassen requested input and collaboration from the MN Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on a regulatory issue concerning an area of mutual interest. As an important partner, I want to share feedback regarding the process in hopes that we can work together to improve for the future. The specific issue is Planning Case 2021-02, a request to reinstate and subsequently amend the issued Interim Use Permit(IUP) for a golf driving range located at 825 Flying Cloud Drive. Over a period of more than six months, City staff reached out to multiple members of your organization requesting that the DNR comment on the case in general and the condition requiring the installation of nets in particular. Staff was repeatedly informed that our requests had been received and that there were no comments; however, during the July 12, 2021 City Council meeting, Area Wildlife Supervisor, Robert Fashingbauer, who City staff had previously been informed had no comments on the proposed IUP or its conditions,testified that the DNR believed the condition to be undesirable/unnecessary and that the DNR had no concerns about the business's potential impacts on the adjacent wetlands. No effort was made prior to his appearance to contact City staff and inform us that the DNR had decided to take a position on this issue. The City understands that as new information becomes available,your staff may reevaluate their initial comments and recommendations, or lack thereof; however, it is extremely unprofessional and discourteous not to provide your local government partners advanced notice of what these comments and recommendations will be. Had staff been informed by Mr. Fashingbauer of the DNR's position on the issue, both our report and recommendation would have been altered to reflect the DNR's comments. Advanced notice would also have provided us with an opportunity to reach out to other impacted agencies, such as the local watershed district,to verify that they also shared the DNR's position and were not relying on the City's recommendation to ensure adequate environmental protections were in place. By providing the DNR's comments in the manner he did, Mr. Fashingbauer undermined a major purpose of the City submitting Agency Review Requests to the DNR. In this case, Mr. Fashingbauer's failure to reach out to City staff is especially inexplicable because he was forwarded a request for comment by the Area Hydrologist on May 25, 2021 and PH 952.227.1100 • www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us • FX 952.227.1110 7700 MARKET BOULEVARD • PO BOX 147 •CHANHASSEN • MINNESOTA 55317 Jami Markle, Regional Wildlife Manager July 15, 2021 Page 2 he subsequently informed her that he had no comments, a position that was relayed to City staff on June 4, 2021. As he was previously made aware of this case and that the City desired the DNR's input, it is difficult for us to understand why he did not feel it appropriate to contact City staff with his revised assessment. I am sure you can appreciate how awkward it is to have the staff of another agency unexpectedly appear at a public meeting and make comments that directly contradict a staff recommendation, especially after having been explicitly informed that this agency and staff member had no comments. I will note that Mr. Fashingbauer was respectful and apologetic for the lack of notice while speaking at the meeting,which further encourages me that we all want to work well together and we just need to be more aware of our processes and impact. Staff has enclosed a brief timeline of the case in question, our requests for DNR comment, and the responses we received. It is our belief that the enclosed timeline demonstrates that we went well beyond the minimum requirements to reach out to your organization for comment and that your staff members were provided numerous opportunities to comment on the case in advance of the City Council meeting. It is our hope that in the future your staff will demonstrate their commitment to our partnership and shared interests by providing comments through the frame work of the Agency Review Request process,and that, in cases where they revise their initial assessments,they will reach out to their counterparts here at the City to relay those comments in advance of providing those comments at public meetings. Sincerely, r edid Kate Aanenson, AICP Community Development Director Attachment g:lplan12021 planning cases121-02 825 flying cloud dr-golf zonelconfidential\etter to dnr golf zone.docx Jami Markle, Regional Wildlife Manager July 15, 2021 Page 3 Timeline: City staff first submitted an Agency Review Request for this case to the Area Hydrologist, Taylor Huinker,on December 7, 2020 with a request that comments be provided by December 21, 2020. Staff received no response. Prior to the January 25, 2021 City Council meeting, additional questions were posed by the applicant regarding the IUP's condition requiring the installation of nets. On January 13, staff emailed and left a voicemail for Taylor Huinker requesting that the DNR weigh in on if they would still like to require the netting. Staff requested that this question be forwarded to the Non- game Wildlife Manager or other appropriate staff members, as we recognized that it may not fall under the Area Hydrologist's preview. On January 14, Taylor Huinker forwarded staffs question to Non-game Specialist,Neil Slifka, and Area Wildlife Supervisor, Diana Regenscheild. Staff received no response. In response to the owner's request that the condition requiring netting be removed,the City submitted an Agency Review Request to the Area Hydrologist on May 24, 2021 with a request that comments be provided by June 3, 2021. On May 24, 2021, staff emailed Taylor Huniker and again requested that the information and request for comment be forwarded to Neil Slifka and Diana Regenscheid. On May 25, staff received an email from Taylor stating that she would forward the request to Neil Slifka and Robert Fashingbauer, who had replaced Diana Regenscheild. On June 2, 2021, staff again reached out to Taylor Huniker noting that we had not received any comments and asking if either Neil Slifka or Robert Fashingbauer would like to comment. On June 4, 2021, Tylor Huniker sent staff an email stating that she had not heard back from Neilf Slifka, but that Robert Fashingbauer had no comments. During the July 12, 2021 City Council meeting, Robert Fashingbauer attended and informed the City Council that he had visited the site on July 9,2021 and that the DNR did not believe the nets should be installed and had no concerns with operation of a golf driving range and associated equipment adjacent to and potentially within a wetland. Prior to this, no effort was made by Mr. Fashingbauer to reach out to City staff to discuss the condition or to advise us that his position on the case had changed.