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Board Member Moore asked if there has been any talk about whether it would be beneficial for <br />different parts of the City to have different soil requirements because of the different soil <br />conditions that exist throughout the community. <br />City Planner Anderson stated that staff has soils maps that identify fingers of clay but noted that <br />the majority of Ramsey is composed of sandy soils. He stated that it would be difficult to design <br />a standard based on an underlying soil type, noting that sometimes the soils maps are inaccurate, <br />or pockets of clay are found that were previously unknown. <br />Board Member Hiatt referenced the proposal from Capstone which requested the change to the <br />topsoil requirement and a mandate for inground irrigation with water sensors. He stated that water <br />sensor information was not included in this recommendation and asked if the City already requires <br />that. <br />City Planner Anderson confirmed that the zoning code was previously amended to require a form <br />of water efficient technology. He explained that the language was left broader, providing <br />examples, to ensure that the City would not preclude new technology that is developed after the <br />code was enacted. He stated that a majority of the irrigation systems in the City were already <br />installed prior to the adoption of that ordinance change. <br />Motion by Board Member Hiatt and seconded by Chairperson Valentine to direct staff to prepare <br />an Ordinance Amendment to revise the definition of topsoil. <br />Motion carried. Voting Yes: Chairperson Valentine, Board Member Covart, Hiatt, Madison, and <br />Moore. Voting No: None. Absent: Board Member Bernard and Fetterley. <br />Board Member Hiatt stated that perhaps this would be a good time to work on an incentive -based <br />model that would encourage those that already have irrigation systems to install the new sensor <br />technology to reduce water usage. <br />City Planner Anderson noted that although education was not a focus of this discussion, it will <br />continue to be an element going forward. He stated that staff can develop and make available all <br />the educational material, but people have to actually read it. He agreed that staff could connect <br />with other communities that have enacted incentives to gather information and develop a proposed <br />implementation plan. <br />Chairperson Valentine asked if staff would need additional support in order to move this forward <br />with sufficient speed. <br />City Planner Anderson stated that he is unsure of the staffing needs but agreed that there would be <br />added time to administrating any incentive -based program. He noted that there would be options <br />for interns or other options that may not have a cost to the City. He did agree that there would be <br />added resources needed from staff to implement a program of that nature and would be included <br />in anything that comes forward for review. <br />