Agenda - Council - 11/27/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Case# RECEIVE PETITION REQUESTING AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET RELATING TO THE DIAMONDS CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REQUEST: CASE OF CITY OF RAMSEY By Breanne Dalnes, Associate Planner Background: On November 16, 2007, the City received a petition from 33 Ramsey residents, requesting that an EAW be conducted for the proposed conditional use permit amendment that Diamonds Sports Bar and Grille is requesting to conduct motocross, demolition derby, music events, and bull riding /rodeos on the property. State law allows citizens to petition their Responsible Governmental Unit (RGU -in this case, the City of Ramsey) to request that the City Council consider the need for an EAW. By law, the :City Council must make a determination as to the merits of this.request and decide whether or not an EAW is warranted before a decision is made regarding the Diamonds' conditional use permit request. Therefore, action cannot be taken on the CUP until a decision has been made regarding the need for an EAW. The following information is included in your packet, for your information: 1) Site location map 2) Resident and agency letters 3) Local Government Coordination of Petitions for Environmental Review: A Step by Step_ Guide 4) EAW form 5) Citizens' petition Notification: There is no public hearing associated with the citizen's petition. Observations: The Environmental Quality Board sets forth land use activities ; that require Environmental Assessment Worksheets (EAW). The purpose of the EAW is to assess the needs for further environmental review. On projects where a mandatory EAW is required, the costs associated with completion of the worksheet can be significant. The request at Diamonds does not meet the threshold for a mandatory EAW. However, citizens have the right to petition the City to request EAW completions on non - mandatory projects. The City received one petition for an EAW in recent years regarding the Ponds of Ramsey subdivision. In response to that citizen's petition, a limited EAW was conducted by.ProSource Technologies to aid the City Council in making a decision about the need for a full EAW. The determination was that a full EAW was not needed.