Agenda - Council - 01/12/2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

After much deliberation the Planning Commission motioned to approve the proposed changes. Following that meeting staff continued working with a local organic soil distributor and discovered that the testing criteria used to certify the samples was slightly flawed, The problem that exists is that standard sampling and testing protocols for topsoil are conducted by weight, and all the previous discussions on this topic focused on a volumetric basis. This item was brought before the City Council on September 22, 2009 to introduce an ordinance amendment related to the definition of topsoil. Council did introduce the ordinance amendment that evening but requested that staff continue investigating options for improvement, with the understanding that water conservation was the ultimate goal. While it would be possible to change the existing definition of topsoil to more accurately reflect the intent of the ordinance (volume basis), it would be much more difficult to gather accurate reproducible test results. There is no widely accepted volume-based topsoil test, and therefore staff would be required to conduct a "jar test" for every sample submitted to determine compliance. This would be extremely onerous (particularly when the housing market rebounds) and somewhat subjective; and it has always been staffs intention to present clear direction to builders/developers and eliminate as much subjectivity as possible. It should be noted that due to the recent recodification that went into effect on January 1, 2010' th~ chapter numbering will have to be modified appropriately, but since this was first introduced under the old system staff carried the previous numbering system forward for easier tracking. Funding Source: City Code amendments are processed with Staff time. Recommendation: Staff is recommending the following change to the detinition of topsoil within City Code Section 9,02 (Definitions): Topsoil: Black dirt composed of unconsolidated material, largely undecomposed organic matter that is a suitable foundation for vegetative growth, The composition of the topsoil shall include a well balanced medium consistent with the requirements of Table 3877-3 in MnDOT Specification 3877C (Premium Topsoil Borrow), and a copy of said table will be on file at the City offices. Council Action: Motion to waive the reading and adopt Ordinance #10-_, amending the definition of topsoil in City Code Section 9.02 (Definitions) to read as follows: Topsoil: Black dirt composed of unconsolidated material, largely undecomposed organic matter that is a suitable foundation for vegetative growth, The composition of the topsoil shall include a well balanced medium consistent with the requirements of Table 3877-3 in MnDOT Specification 3877C (Premium Topsoil Borrow), and a copy of said table will be on file at the City offices.