PC Worksession Memo 03-18-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Moratorium Exception As the Commission was advised last month, the Council adopted a moratorium on January 28, 2014 affecting approximately 27 acres of land Belair acquired from the federal government as excess railroad property. There is a former landfill on a large portion of one of the properties and Belair needs to cap the landfill (put a 2'-4' clean soil cover) in order to meet a "no association determination" by the MPCA. Belair feels, based on commitments made to the MPCA, they need to cap the landfill ASAP. After discussions with the City Attorney and Belair's attorney, it is likely an exception to the moratorium would be requested in early April to allow the cap project to be competed while the moratorium is still in effect. An exception would likely be approved for the landfill cap, but only after staff has reviewed the plans and confirmed the grading project only consists of efforts to cap the landfill and not to prepare the site for a future expansion. The moratorium exception is a request that only needs to be reviewed by the City Council. However, there likely will be an impact to the residents based on the amount of grading (and truck trips) that will be necessary to complete the cap. Land Use Approvals for Expansion Staff has also been discussing how to resolve the land use concerns related to the moratorium and subsequent future expansion by Belair. Staff has explored an idea with Belair that consists of the following: • Zone and guide all the expansion land for I-1, Light Industrial • Consider the expansion request in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Constraint Overlay Area(ECOA) zoning district • Rewrite the ECOA to accomplish the following: o Create a map that specifically notes which properties can take advantage of the ECOA ordinance (which is on the only means to permit an aggregate crushing operation) o Rewrite the ordinance to require buffers to public streets and adjacent and nearby sensitive land uses (such as Rush Lake and Long Lake Regional Park) o Impose all the same sound, odor, dust, and maximum pile height regulations o Determine if the 30% coverage requirement for piled material should be increased or decreased. The idea is that Belair would be given credit for the land they would preserve as buffers, but it is unknown at this time how that "credit" would impact their overall site plan (including their current property and the expansion property) This strategy was suggested to Belair with the ultimate goal of them agreeing to not develop (or preserve as buffer areas) the land that extends into Long Lake Regional Park, the land directly north of Rush Lake, and the land directly adjacent to Old Highway 8. Staff feels a major goal would be to prohibit the aggregate crushing use (and piled material and outdoor storage) on this land as these uses would not be compatible with surrounding land uses. Belair would then be able to expand operations onto the approximate 10 acre property directly adjacent to their current site. Belair seemed agreeable to this concept and planned to work on a more detailed Site Plan. Once a more