Agenda - Council - 11/24/2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Project. Understanding The City of Ramsey is home to an abundance of natural resources including lakes.. rivers, streams and wetlands. The residents and city officials have made the protection of natural resources a crucial component of a successful community. They understand the value of the Wetland Conservation Act and the preservation of wetland habitat. Project Background The City is seeking to comply with the wetland permit requirements of the 320-acre Ramsey Town Center development While a wetland replacement plan was approved in 2005 and construction was completed the City has been notified by the Lower Rum River Watershed Management Organization that the monitoring program is delinquent and has requested that monitoring be resumed to assess the success of the proposed mitigation, with a goal of achieving regulatory compliance and termination of monitoring requirements Project Objectives VVe understand that the City is seeking to meet the permit requirements of the original project • The primary task of the project will be to evaluate credit shortages of the project through assessment of project plans and permits. and to evaluate the condition and size of the existing wetlands onsite • Next. the project team will design a vegetation establishment and monitoring plan to monitor the progress of the site Finally a strategy to address credit shortages will be established to outline any future steps that may need to be completed to provide a means to find a successful outcome to meet the permit requirements of the original project. This may include new management plans, and potentially addressing shortages in wetland credits. Project Approach SEH proposes the following to achieve the project goals • Review the Original Plans and determine wetland impacts. The initial task will be to review and understand what was proposed and the work completed to date This includes auditing the impacts to ensure they are accurate • Preform a routine on -site VVetland Delineation of the mitigation sites. The two mitigation sites will be delineated using the 1987 Manual and Northeast Northcentral Regional Manual to quantify the amount of wetland present The wetland boundaries will be mapped using GPS to allow for GIS analysis of total wetland area and calculation of each wetland community present • Compare the wetland vegetation to proposed conditions and determine if performance standards are met. SEH will complete an assessment of the quality of the vegetation presentand compare the current conditions to the proposed conditions and previously agreed upon performance standards. Data will be summarized in tabular format for a concise presentation of results. • Prepare a 5-year wetland vegetation management plan. On the assumption that the vegetation present fails to meet the required performance standards, SEH will prepare a five year management plan that will strive to improve the quality of the wetlands so that success criteria are achieved. The plan will be prescriptive for initial actions. include contingencies for subsequent activities, and rely on adaptive management techniques to ensure the proper techniques are utilized. • Identify credit shortages. On the assumption that the mitigation sites are deficient in the area of wetland created, and assuming that adjacent upland buffer is insufficient for making up the shortage through additional Public Value Credit. SEH will initially determine the shortage. and determine the costs and means to achieve compliance through purchase of wetland credits • Prepare cost estimates for on -site mitigation As an alternative. and again on the assumption that the wetland mitigation is actually insufficient. SEH will also prepare an estimate of costs to do additional project specific mitigation. This may be on -site or within the City of Ramsey, and wilt include costs of construction. vegetation establishment. and 3-years of monitoring • Communication plan. Throughout the process, SEH will provide consistent updates and advice, and will collaborate on an approach that meets the City's needs SHORT ELLIOTT HENDRICKSON INC i