Agenda - Council - 11/14/1989 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF RAMSEY POSITION STATEMENT REGARDING ACTIVITIES AT 14140 AZURITE STREET N.W. PIN 27-32-25-44-0002 November 3, 1989 Chapter 170.016I (Industrial District) of the Ramsey City Code states that the intent of this district is to accommodate general industrial activities. Permitted uses include: manufacturing, research labs, testing labs, offices, supply yards, warehousing, truck terminals and athletic facilities. Other uses may be permitted upon obtaining a conditional use permit. The City's interpretation of I- 1 Industrial District permitted uses does not include the processing of waste material because of hazards inherent with the proposed use. This policy is documented by the City past actions to require conditional use permit processes for aluminum and tire recycling operations. Chapter 170.013D (Conditional Use Permits) states that the purpose of this section is to provide the City with a reasonable degree of discretion in determining the suitability of certain designated uses upon the general welfare, public health and safety. A conditional use is a use which because of certain characteristics cannot be properly classified as a permitted use in the zoning district within which it is proposed. Conditional use permits are designed to meet the problem which arises where certain uses, although generally compatible with the basic use classifications of a particular zone, should not be permitted to be located as a matter of right in every area included within the zone because of hazards inherent in the use itself or special problems which its proposed location may represent. The City defines the woody material stored on Mr. Gorecki's property at 14140 Azurite Street N.W. to be a waste by-product of trees that is being reprocessed into chips and firewood. Just as with aluminum, tires, etc., there are inherent hazards with storage and processing of wood wastes. Those inherent dangers include the spread of tree disease due to improper storage and possible fire hazards. The City's genuine concern for the inherent dangers associated with Mr. Gorecki's operation has been documented since December of 1984, at which time he was storing wood at 6331 153rd Lane N.W., then relocated to 14280 Sunfish Lake Blvd. and currently located at 14140 Azurite Street N.W. Over the past 5 years, the City has made ,~tten and telephone contact with Mr. Gorecki regarding it's concerns with importing wood from outside of Ramsey, spreading tree disease through improper storage practices and the possible fire hazards and the need to establish monitoring controls. Monitoring controls could best be achieved through a conditional use permit. Upon inspections of the 153rd Lane site and the Sunfish Lake Blvd. site in past years, diseased wood was found to be stored on the properties. Upon an inspection of the Azurite Street site on Ocotber 20, 1989, evidence of diseased trees was visible but technically Mr. Gorecki was in compliance with the diseased tree ordinance because oak and elm wood disease are dormant from late summer until spring. It should be noted that City Staff has been unable to f'md any written responses from I~@. Goreck_i over the past 5 years relating to the City's transmittals to him regarding concerns with his operations at all 3 sites. Just as the City cannot assume that all waste processing facilities will comply with EPA an I~CA regulations, it cannot assume that all wood processing facilities will comply with the City's Diseased Tree Ordinance. As with all recycling operations, the City needs a way to inventor,, regulate and monitor those activities that are generally compatible with the zoning but have inherent dangers -- thus the intent of the conditional use perm/t.