Agenda - Council - 08/25/2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Our Mistionc To work together to reipoiibly grew our comma nityr, and to provide quality, cert-oliBcdwe, and efficient government services. CC Regular Session 7. 7. Meeting Date: 08/25/2015 By: Geoff Solomonson, Community Development Information Title: Discuss Initial Policy Direction Regarding a Potential Amendment to City Code Section 105-1 Entitled Hours of Construction Purpose/Background: The purpose of this case is to commence a discussion topic as requested by the City Council during the most recent approval of a single-family subdivision. At that time, concern was raised about the hours listed in City Code of when construction activities shall terminate for the day. The intent of this case is to review how peer communities address the issue and seek general policy direction from the City Council in order to aide in developing a potential amendment to City Code. Notification: Notification is not required at this time. If a formal Ordinance is brought forward, a Public Hearing will be held. Observations/Alternatives: Ramsey City Code Section 105-1 lists the acceptable hours of construction for projects requiring a Building Permit per the Minnesota State Building Code. The reason for this possible amendment to the Code is due to the number of concerns that have been raised to City Council regarding the time limits and to address some of the public perception of the listed hours. The question was most recently raised during the review of a Major Subdivision. Residents have had concerns with the hours listed as the maximum allowance, not necessarily being the standard hours of construction that most contractors choose to use. The goal of this amendment is to look at the possibly of introducing an earlier stopping time for construction with exemptions built in for public improvement projects, private homeowner construction, and extenuating circumstances which would involve City Administrator approval or City Council approval. It is noted, however, that it is rare that the complaints the City actually receive are that of evening work hours. Almost exclusively, the complaints are in regards to early start hours in the morning. Also included in this document for examples are the hours of construction and stipulations of neighboring communities as a basis for discussion. It is worth noting that the majority of the surrounding communities have similar hours in effect as the City of Ramsey with some starting at 6:00 a.m. The City most recently negotiated a limits of construction hours from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. with the Developer of Harvest Estates. The City has received three (3) complaints of work occurring after 8:00 p.m., but before 10:00 p.m. Staff believes that the City has now resolved this complaint, and that said hours of construction have now been