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CASE # <br />WETLAND BUFFER ORDINANCE DISCUSSION; <br />CASE OF CITY OF RAMSEY <br />By: Chris Anderson, Environmental Coordinator <br />Background: <br />On October 11, 2005, -City Council adopted the Wetland Protection ordinance,. which went into <br />effect on November 14, 2005.. Since the adoption of this ordinance, there have not been any <br />development proposals subject to these provisions (there have been several commercial projects <br />approved, but none on lands containing wetlands), which Staff could use to review and <br />determine the effectiveness of the ordinance. <br />Observations: <br />The ordinance, as written, is applicable only to new lots of record created after the November 14, <br />2005 effective date. The ordinance requires a strip of vegetation, or a buffer strip, adjacent to the <br />delineated boundary of a wetland. The width of a buffer strip is dependent on the overall quality <br />of a wetland, which was determined using an assessment method, developed by the Board of <br />Water and Soil Resources, known as MnRAM (Minnesota Routine Assessment, Method): The <br />required width of a buffer ranges from five (5) feet to fifty (50) feet, dependent on the quality. of <br />a wetland, as outlined in the table below: <br />Marra ement Classification Preserve Marra e 1 Marra e 2 Marra e 3 <br />Wetland Buffer Strip Min. Width 25' 20' 15' S' <br />Wetland Buffer Stri Max. Width 50' 30' 25' 15' <br />Wetland Buffer Strip Average Width 30' 25' 20' 10' <br />-Min. Structure Setback from Buffer Strip 15' 15' 15' 15' <br />The~intent of the ordinance is to aid and/or improve water quality by utilizing native vegetation, <br />including trees,. sliiubs, grasses and wildflowers to filter sediments, nutrients and toxicants from <br />surface water runoff prior to discharge into a wetland. Certain activities, such as mowing, <br />filling, and placing. of structures are prohibited within the buffer area. <br />Recommendation: <br />In contemplating whether to keep the wetland buffer requirement as is, or to amend or repeal it <br />altogether, there are several points that should be considered including: <br />• Does the City Council want to consider any provisions for voluntary buffers, such as <br />density credits or other incentives? <br />• Does. the City Council want to consider any minimum structure setback from a wetland? <br />• How does this impact the three developments that voluntarily provided wetland buffers as <br />part of their plat? <br />-159- <br />