Agenda - Council - 06/13/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Record of Decision — Riverstone Addition Environmental Assessment Worksheet Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Comments Shorelands It is unlikely that a request for removal of the project area from the shoreland district would be approved by the MnDNR. Shoreland throughout the state contains roads that have created topographic divides and changed the drainage direction of overland sheet flow. Allowing land to be removed from a shoreland because of these human modifications to the landscape would defeat the purpose of the shoreland program. Shoreland is defined as a specific distance from a water body, not by topographic divide. Therefore, the portion of the development within the 1,000 foot shoreland district of Lake Itasca should be designed to comply with the standards in the City's Shoreland ordinance. Response The City intends to process Riverstone Addition as a shoreland PUD. Tier 3 of the shoreland district of Lake Itasca covers approximately 193,605 square feet (4.4 acres) in the northwestern part of the site. This shoreland area includes 478 square feet of delineated wetland, but does not include any bluffs. Based on the PUD methodology and standards described under MN Rules 6120.3800 and the Ramsey city code, subtracting the wetland from the total shoreland area leaves 193,127 square feet of Suitable Area. Dividing the Suitable Area by the 20,000-square- foot minimum size for sewered, nonriparian lots in a Natural Environment shoreland yields an allowable density of 9.65 lots. The structural setback from the OHW of Lake Itasca will be roughly 750 feet, about five times the required 150-foot setback. Much of the shoreland lies within Lake Itasca Park, which will provide abundant open space. The City recently purchased 37 acres north of Alpine Drive to expand Lake Itasca Park from 23 to 60 acres. Based on the open space and the large setback from Lake Itasca, use of the 200% density multiplier in Tier 3 will increase the allowed density from 9.65 lots to 19.3 lots. The Site Plan includes 12 lots in the shoreland, which is less than the 19 lots allowed. The City of Ramsey recognizes that removal of areas from shoreland districts require MnDNR approval and that such approval is unlikely. However, the definition of shoreland under state rules and the Ramsey city code notes that: "The limits of shorelands may be reduced whenever the waters involved are bounded by topographic divides which extend landward from the waters for lesser distances and when approved by the commissioner." Review of historical aerial photography suggests the project area drained southeast, and away from Lake Itasca, prior to construction of Alpine Drive in 1986. Drainage patterns showing drainage toward the southeast are apparent on aerial photographs back to 1937. An analysis completed for the Sommerset Station EAW in 2005 indicated the project area is located down gradient (i.e., "downstream") from Lake Itasca. Floodplains The EAW indicates a previous analysis showed Lake Itasca does not outlet during 100-year snowmelt and rainfall events, so the City of Ramsey proposed to install an outlet for the lake. It is not clear from the EAW discussion whether that outlet was previously installed or is being proposed now. Any change to the existing outlet characteristics of the lake will likely require a Public Waters Work Permit. 2