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Findings of Fact <br />Pulte Homes Sommerset Station Development <br />July, 2005 <br />page l <br /> <br />FINDINGS OF FACT <br />Environmental Assessment Worksheet <br />for <br /> <br />PULTE HOMES SOMMERSET STATION DEVELOPMENT <br /> <br />Ramsey, MN <br />July, 2005 <br /> <br />T__vpe,.extent, and reversibility of environmental effects: <br /> <br /> Fish, Wildlife and Ecologically Sensitive Resources <br /> 1. The main impact urbanization has on plants and animals is a loss of habitat. This <br /> site has a considerable amount of wetland habitat area. Loss of suitable habitat <br /> can result from physical landscape modification by clearing and grubbing trees. <br /> Another way that urbanization affects wildlife is .by fragmenting the habitat areas. <br /> This reduces the travel corridors necessary to some wildlife for escape routes and <br /> to reach food, water, and shelter. <br />2. The proposed project will likely displace the wildlife population that uses the <br /> wetland areas for protection, food and cover. The wildlife will likely relocate to <br /> other nearby habitat in the area until construction is over. Some species may <br /> return after construction and some others may be permanently displaced. <br />Erosion and Sedimentation <br />I. The area to be disturbed by the project is 170 acres through the excavation of <br /> 600,000 cubic yards of material. The site also contains several areas with slopes <br /> over 12%. <br />2. An Erosion and Sediment Control Plan and a Storm Water Pollution Prevention <br /> Program (SWP?P) will be submitted and approved as part of the platting process. <br />3. MPCA Best Management Practices (BMP) will be implemented to mitigate <br /> erosion and sediment, wh/ch are required for all land disturbances. Grading will <br /> be limited to roadway construction, storm water ponds, and house pads. BMPs.to <br /> be implemented include silt fences, storm water basins, rock construction <br /> entrances, and seeding disturbed slopes, and will be implemented as soon as <br /> possible. The developer Will obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination <br /> System (NPDES) permit and comply with the requirements. <br /> <br />Cmnulative potential effects of related or anticipated future proiects: <br /> <br />The cumulative effects associated with this project are essentially the effects of sub- <br />urbanization. This can have both positive and negative cumulative effects socially and <br />environmentally. Some of the cumulative effects that can be observed from the expansion <br />of urban development in the City of Ramsey are loss of agricultural land and loss and <br />fragmentation of wildlife habitat. <br />There is a competing issue with the goals of many communiiies in balancing residential <br />development with agricultural needs, open space, and natural resources while trying to <br /> <br />131 <br /> <br /> <br />