Agenda - Council - 02/13/2024 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Howell said she knows it was discussed in a previous meeting and encouraged Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick to go back and listen to the recording from the Work Session on December 28, 2023 so he can revisit these updates. Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick explained that for log and brush piles there are requirements for size,height, location, and being placed off of the ground to eliminate some of the rodent concerns. He shared that there are a lot of residents in the City who burn wood logs; however, they also get a lot of complaints on location and storage of logs and brush piles. Councilmember Musgrove asked about item C under Obstructions of Right-of-Ways and noted this covers things in a better way than item I under General Nuisances. Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick said both of these items are existing in the current code and have just been rearranged. He noted this item covers trails and walkways whereas the other covers debris falling from roofs so there is a difference between these two items. Councilmember Riley asked if the City follows the 48 hour requirement of removing snow or ice from sidewalks and trails. Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick said this would be a question for Parks and Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood. He added this is a part of the existing code so he would hope they were complying with this. Mayor Kuzma stated he does not believe they are currently clearing trails and sidewalks in 48 hours. Councilmember Musgrove noted that it could also depend on the amount of snow. Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick said they can lengthen this to 72 hours to give everyone more time to comply. Councilmember Woestehoff suggested adding the need for a special event permit to subdivision 7 of the Noise section, rather than having it in subdivision 1. Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick said they could move this to the Exemptions subdivision. City Administrator Hagen asked how the noise of heavy equipment relates to general business operations in an industrial park. Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick shared that this needs to meet State statute for noise limits from the MPCA. He explained when there is a large business operation plant that operates 24/7, the decibel limits have to meet the State guidelines, which is what the ordinance says. He noted if a business park has a complaint against them for noise then they would contact the MPCA to have an agent come out with their sound meters and take a sample of the noise at the time the complaint is occurring and the MPCA would address this. City Council Work Session /January 23, 2024 Page 6 of 9