02-15-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The City has designated David Bernard Builders & Developers and Sherman Associates as housing developers for the west side of Old Highway 8. Contracts have been signed, grading and infrastructure work is in process, and on-site marketing efforts have begun. Housing construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2007 and continue into 2008 and 2009. The City is working in cooperation with Ramsey County on plans for the upgrade of Old Highway 8 through the NWQ. Expectations are that work will be completed during the 2007 construction season. Preliminary plans have been prepared for the design for the road. Landscaped medians, boulevards, and protected turn lanes are included. New signals will be added as required. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS The Northwest Quadrant is a classic "brownfield" site, with several sizable areas impacted by contamination from previous land uses. The City is working with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and will remediate all properties to the standards agreed upon with the agency. The objective is to obtain a "certificate of completion" or comparable protection against further liability from regulators. Throughout the area, small areas of contamination were removed as part of the negotiations for the purchase of each property. There are two substantial remaining areas to be addressed. On the west side of Old Highway 8, petrochemicals from one-time refinery and solvents operations contaminated the soil under a portion of the current Midwest Asphalt property. The MPCA approved a Response Action Plan calling for the complete removal of soil from all contaminated areas, down to approximately two feet below the water table. This work will be completed in 2007, after the acquisition of the Midwest Asphalt property is completed. This contamination does not affect either of the sites proposed herein. On the east side, a substantial portion was used as a private dump for several years in the 1960s. The dump contains construction and household debris, and continues to generate methane. The City has prepared a Response Action Plan, which is available for review upon request. The plan proposes substantially reshaping the dump material on-site, covering the material with four feet of clean fill (more in residential areas), and installing perimeter venting systems around all buildings. The agency has approved this plan with some additional conditions. The majority of the dump remediation work is scheduled for early 2007, in preparation for site availability later in 2007. While the dump extends into the proposed office sites in only several small areas, the remediation plan will affect the entire east side of the highway. The reshaping of the dump will result in raising the grades throughout. Developers will need to address structural stability through added support under all buildings. The City is aware of this situation and will respond to proposals accordingly.