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<br />After much deliberation, the Planning Commission recommended that the City Council ~pprove <br />the proposed changes. Following that meeting, Staff continued working with a local organic soil <br />. distributor and discovered that the testing criteria used to certify the samples were slightly . <br />flawed. The problem that exists is that standard sampling and testing protocols . for topsoil are <br />conducted by weight, and all the prev~ous discu~sions on this topic were volume based. <br /> <br />. This item was brought before the City Council on September 22, 2009 to introduce an ordinance. <br />. amendment related to. the . defInition of topsoil. Council did introduce the ordinance amendment <br />that evening but requested that staff continue investigating options for improvement, With the <br />understanding that water conservation was the ultimate goal. ' <br /> <br />While it would have been possible to change the defInition of topsoil to more accurately reflect <br />the intent of the ordinance (volume basis), it was determined to be much more difficult to gather <br />accurate, reproducible test ~esult~.!, There is no. widely accepted, volume-based topsoil test, and <br />therefore Staff would need to conduct a "jar test" for every sample submitted to determine <br />. compliance. This ,Would be extremely onerous (particularly when the housing marke{ rebounds) <br />and somewhat sl;lbjective; and it was always Staff's intention to present clear direction to <br />builders/developers and eli.t:llinate as much subjectivity as possible. . <br /> <br />Ultimately, Staff brought forth an ordinance for adoption by City Council on January 12, 2010 <br />that amended the defInition oftopsoil to read as follows: <br />Black .dift composed of unconsolidated l1iaterial, largely Ultdecomposed organic l1iatter tltat <br />is a suitablefoundationfor vegetative growtlt. Tlte composition oftlte topsoil sltall iitc/ude <br />a well balanced med~um consistent witlt tlte requirements of Table 3877-3 in MnDOT <br />. Specifications 3877 (Premium Topsoil Borrow), aitd a copy of said table will be on file at <br />tlte City offices. - <br /> <br />After continued research and conversations with various individuals with a soils background, <br />Staff was confIdent that this specifIcation would provide a soil that is more readily available <br />'while, also aiding in the City's goal of water conservation. City Council did adopt this new <br />defInition htit did direct Staff to revise the required depth from four (4) inches to six (6) inches <br />and to incorporate an alternative to allow four (4) inches of compost in lieu of topsoil. . <br /> <br />Recommendation: <br /> <br />Staffrecommends.forwarding th€? proposed ordinance to City Council for adoption. <br /> <br />Commission Action: <br /> <br />Motion to recommend that.the City Council adopt Ordinance #10-_ amending the required <br />depth of topsoil from four (4) to six (6) inches. and to allow for alternatives to topsoil, such as <br />.compost, with the prior approval of the City Engineer... <br /> <br />-or- <br /> <br />Motion to recommend that the City Council deny the proposed ordinaric~. <br /> <br />26 <br />