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Mr. Hovey talked about the ecologic, social and economic value of wetlands. He reviewed the <br />existing wetland protection programs in Ramsey. Mr. Hovey then reviewed wetland buffers, <br />their purpose and potential effectiveness. Buffers are a zone of undisturbed area around a <br />wetland. A very important implementation tool for wetlands is physical signing of the wetland <br />buffer area. Mr. Hovey then went on to review the interaction of ground and surface water. He <br />provided a list of resources on wetland buffers. <br /> <br />Case #2: Presentation by Remi Stone, Builders Association of the Twin Cities <br /> <br />Ms. Stone reviewed the purpose, goals, objectives, timeline of the Metro Area Buffer Study <br />sponsored by Metropolitan Council, private developers, National Association of Home Builders, <br />the University of Minnesota and area watershed districts. <br /> <br />Ms. Stone stated that she would recommended that buffers be measured from the ordinary high <br />water mark. She also recommends signing the buffer on site, not just on a paper plan. On-site <br />signage puts the public on notice that the buffer exists, that it must remain natural, and that they <br />can't replace it with turf grass <br /> <br />Chairperson McDilda opened the meeting up for questions and answers. <br /> <br />Mr. McDilda asked if there are any boiler plate wetland buffer ordinances. Ms. Stone stated that <br />she would provide the EPTF with a model put out by the Builders Association. She also <br />recommended contacting the League of Minnesota Cities and some of the watershed districts. <br /> <br />Mr. Bacon noted that there should be monitoring of the animal life in the water body as well as <br />the plant life around the water body. At what point do we address how herbicides and pesticides <br />are impacting the waterways? <br /> <br />Mr. Hovey responded that you can tell the health of a stream by the life that is in the stream. <br />Hennepin County is utilizing high school students to study these issues; it gets the children <br />involved in the planet they live in. He hopes that one of Ramsey's sites could be included in the <br />Metro Buffer Study because it is important to have some scientific data from the sand plain. <br /> <br />Mr. Hovey stated that earlier studies stated that the larger the buffer, the better; now they are <br />leaning towards formulas based on slope, etc. <br /> <br />Ms. Stone stated that slope is critical; use is also a variable that is part of the formula. <br /> <br />Mr. McDilda stated that existing development around existing wetlands is a problem as far as <br />trying to get a buffer zone after the fact. What can the City do to reclaim what has been lost? <br /> <br />Mr. Max inquired as to the importance placed on ordinance consistency with neighboring <br />communities. <br /> <br />EPTF April 5, 2004 <br />Page 2 of 3 <br /> <br /> <br />