Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Councilmember McGlone inquired if staff is aware of Andover's code on dirt and <br />inquired why Ramsey would not have more a hard line on that - it is best to do it at the <br />time of building. <br /> <br />Assistant City Engineer Himmer responded that he is aware of Andover's code - he <br />reviewed the codes of Andover, Blaine and St. Francis. He read Andover's code and <br />noted that it is almost the same as what is being proposed here. He talked about how <br />there will be a formula for quantifying the organic amount. He asked if it makes more <br />sense to be more stringent at the introduction of an ordinance. He asked why not make it <br />as good as we can and save the water if that is the goal. Mr. Himmer asked about <br />enforcement of this. <br /> <br />Councilmember McGlone sated he would like to take it a step further than that. H would <br />like to see it in concrete. If everyone knows the rules, everyone plays by the rules. He <br />would like to see this get taken back to the Public Works Committee and to give Mr. <br />Enstrom a chance to talk about it. <br /> <br />Mr. Himmer responded that Mr. Enstrom will say 20% clay and 60 to 80% organic -lay <br />it on the top of what is out there and roto-till it in. <br /> <br />Councilmember McGlone stated that building codes are the minimum allowable by law <br />meaning if something is built to code - the standards are minimum. His thought was to <br />"do it right or leave it alone". <br /> <br />Mayor Ramsey referred to page 285 of the agenda where it talks about irrigation and <br />inquired if that means everyone will be required to put in an irrigation system. <br /> <br />Mr. Himmer replied that would be for the R-3 District - multi-family - and we currently <br />require that to be done. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen stated that he is not in favor of bringing this back to the Public <br />Works Committee. He noted that developer John Peterson was in the audience and asked <br />him to talk about soils. <br /> <br />John Peterson, 16735 Nowthen Boulevard NW, stated he was at home watching the <br />meeting where John Enstrom was present and heard his speech relating to the organic <br />mix. The development/construction business has been so devastated it almost does not <br />matter anymore. He stated he has an old degree in biological science and that John <br />Enstrom knows more about soil than he does. He knows that the overall cost in housing <br />is a big deal and the use of water is a big deal. If you go to a specific that is almost <br />impossible to find that would be very, very expensive. Ramsey is almost as stringent as <br />anywhere we work right now. The same specifics as Andover are workable - such a <br />stringent specific would make it too costly. I feel you can go too far and it would be too <br />difficult for builders and developers to meet the specs. <br /> <br />City Council/January 13,2009 <br />Page 24 of31 <br />