Minutes - Council - 04/24/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Merlyn Hunt, 17860 Nowthen Boulevard NW, stated he had been promised by a staff member that he would meet with him and explain why his property was classified as Manage 1. On Monday he saw that this was on the agenda after he had been told it would be held back until they had talked. He had to put his information together quickly and only had the last draft of the wetland buffer ordinance before the last revision. The ordinance states that the functions and values of Manage 1 wetlands are to be maintained without degradation and adverse impacts avoided whenever possible. When he talked to staff about his wetland being moved up to a Manage 1 and development being prevented, staff said if a house is put along the wetland it will degrade it. That is exactly what this ordinance draft states. The wording is changed from the response of staff, but the meaning is the same. You cannot do anything to degrade a Manage 1 wetland, such as build houses next to it. Acting Mayor Elvig clarified the buffer would be within a certain number of feet. Mr. Hunt is suggesting he cannot build anything on any of his land because it is classified as Manage 1, but that is not correct. Mr. Hunt stated his property is unique. He has three to four acres next to where his house is and about four acres on the northwest corner. There is about 1-~ acres along the road of highland and about 1-lf4 acres across the road next to a wetland. If he has to put this big buffer in it will eliminate those completely. When he bought this land that was not required. The property is now being raised to a higher level and he objects. One of the things that Councilmember Strommen said is that all Manage 1 properties were physically inspected. That is incorrect. It was stated at the public hearing that his property was not physically inspected; they took some pictures. The report says that the fish habitat on his property is low, and that added to the value, but there are no fish on his property. The report says the water downstream is high quality, but in the middle of the property it is moderate. He questioned how they can tell the water quality goes from moderate to high without samples. Mr. Hunt stated there is so much qualitative analysis in these things that you could come up with any number. Increasing his property from a Manage 2 to a Manage 1 will significantly decrease the value to a developer. He firmly believes that and may have to get an appraisal on it before and after the changes to prove it. Mr. Hunt stated there are two pictures that were taken on his property, and both are from the same place on the road. No one walked onto his property; they stood on the road and took these pictures. There are a couple that were taken ~ mile away from his place; that is part of the wetland along County Ditch 27 and that is included in the whole wetland designation. Mr. Hunt stated looking at the designation listed on the National Wetland Inventory, the surrounding wetlands that have been classified at a lower Manage 2 classification. Acting Mayor Elvig indicated Mr. Hunt's concerns have been noted. He stated he has a concern on what the appeal process would be, and is not certain at this time that he will be agreeing with the map that has been presented. Mr. John Enstrom, 8702 - 181st Avenue NW, stated he will have more to lose than anyone in the City if his land and property are disseminated. He has asked the Council to come to his property. If they look at how he has enhanced his property they may have a different view. He does not think the City of Ramsey needs a wetland buffer ordinance. Every project that goes through is required to go through the DNR, LRRWMO, etc. With the amount of shoreland he has with a 30 City Council / April ~4, 2007 Page 22 of 38