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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 11/17/2015 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2015 CITY CENTER 5:00— 6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30— 6:55 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher Wickstrom, Kathy Nelson, and Ron Case CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Rob Reynolds, Fire Chief George Esbensen, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters L LOCAL WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN UPDATE Public Works Director Robert Ellis gave a presentation on the City's Local Water Management Plan. Ellis said watershed districts were created by state statute in 1955 to conserve natural resources through land use planning, flood control and conservation projects. There are 46 watershed districts in Minnesota, 14 of which are in the metro area. Watershed districts are governed by boards of managers, which are appointed by county commissions. Ellis said cities often submit nominations for board membership to the county. Council Member Case said he would like staff to remind the City Council when the nomination phase comes up so the City can be sure to have input on appointments. Getschow said the City Council could develop a slate of candidates to forward to the County Board. Aho agreed that the City Council needs to be much more involved in the nomination process. Ellis said there are state statutes that outline how the process works. Ellis said the purpose of water management plans (WMPs)is to: • Plan for surface and groundwater protection • Recognize natural assets • Assess issues unique to the area • Establish management goals • Suggest policies to achieve goals • Outline an implementation plan Both watershed districts and cities have WMPs. Watershed districts, the Metropolitan Council, the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BOWSR), municipalities and the public are all involved in the development and approval of water management plans. Each watershed district is required to create a WMP that applies to its entire watershed. The plans typically include issues, goals, policies and implementation plans. Each city within the City Council Workshop Minutes November 17, 2015 Page 2 watershed must have a Local WMP, which must conform to the watershed district's WMP and be approved by the district. Ellis said most metro cities have multiple watershed districts since watershed districts cover natural boundaries rather than political boundaries. Eden Prairie has three watershed districts: Lower Minnesota River, Nine Mile Creek and Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek(RPBC). Each has its own policies and rules. Ellis said the City can choose to call out each area in the Local WMP or adopt rules from the strictest plan and apply them to the other watersheds. Ellis said watershed districts have statutory authority to create and enforce rules for land disturbing activities. Cities and the public have the opportunity to provide comments and influence outcomes of proposed watershed district WMP amendments. Once a watershed district has adopted a WMP, the rules must be implemented. Prior to 2014, Nine Mile Creek's WMP included rules, and it issued permits and variances; Lower Minnesota's plan had standards but it did not issue permits; and RPBC had no rules or standards, and did not issue permits. In 2014, RPBC amended its WMP and instituted rules. This triggered the requirement for the City to amend its Local WMP. In January 2015, RPBC began issuing permits and variances. Ellis said the City prepared a draft Local WMP Amendment this spring in response to RPBC Watershed District's new WMP. The City's Local WMP recommended that the City issue permits and variances based on watershed district rules. The City Council approved the Local WMP amendment in June after holding a public hearing, and the document was submitted to the watershed districts and the Met Council. City received the following comments: • The City must provide annual reports to the watershed districts • The administrative plan amendment provision is to be removed • The City will use "affirmative statements" in its goals • The Watershed Districts will retain variance authority Ellis said the recommended changes must be made for the Local WMP to receive approval. Ellis said staff originally proposed that the City issue permits and variances because it would streamline the one-stop shop process for owners who must already work with the City throughout the development process. Ellis said the City is also better suited to administratively handle routine permits, and the Council could perform variance reviews more timely as they meet twice per month. Ellis recommended against splitting the permitting and variance authority between two agencies as it creates redundancy, is inefficient for the applicant, is inefficient for the review agencies, and has the potential to create conflict and entangle applicants. Ellis further commented that in the absence of vital watershed district partners, the City would need to challenge the watershed districts' decisions to retain variance authority in district court. He said an argument for watershed districts issuing permits and variances is that this is a fairly typical model in the metro area, and it makes a certain amount sense for the districts to interpret and enforce their own rules. City Council Workshop Minutes November 17, 2015 Page 3 Butcher Wickstrom asked if the City can respond to the comments from the watershed districts. Ellis said the City can respond. He suggests holding staff to staff meetings to address issues and concerns. Butcher Wickstrom said she would like our comments to be committed to paper so that our concerns will be documented. Case said he has heard about new fees being imposed by the watershed districts. Ellis said that watershed districts are allowed to charge fees for permits, mainly to recoup the costs they incur to review the permit. They also require bonding/surety to ensure projects are completed in a timely manner. Case said he is concerned that this appears to be a duplicative process that involves another fee and potentially slows down projects. Nelson said she would like to see a requirement that the watershed district make a decision on a permit within one month of submittal. Rosow said state statutes currently give the watershed district up to 120 days to take action on a permit application. Ellis said he has not heard of problems with districts taking action on permits in a timely manner. He said delays typically occur when an incomplete application is submitted. Ellis said the City could ask the watershed district to allow district staff to administratively approve some permits. Nelson said she is in favor of that. Case said he has concerns with a body of non-elected officials making decisions on permitting. Getschow noted that the City has three watershed districts that are in very different places in regard to permitting. He said staff can influence the process through submitting comments and working with the districts as a partner. The City can also influence the County Board in making appointments. Aho asked about the fact that Lower Minnesota River is not currently doing permitting. Ellis said it appears the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District has been evolving lately and is looking to expand its scope so that may be changing. They had recently completed a Strategic Resource Evaluation. Nelson said she would like any complaints the City receives regarding watershed district permitting to be forwarded to the County Board so they can take them into consideration when they make appointments. Tyra-Lukens suggested looking into recruiting watershed district board candidates at the same time the City does its Commission recruitment. Getschow said staff will look into the feasibility of combining the two recruitment processes. Nelson said she is hearing from residents who live on lakes that while the water quality may technically be good, some of the lakes are not usable for recreational purposes due to the amount of aquatic plants. She would like the watershed districts to be made aware of this concern, and see if they would be willing to address it. Ellis said the City will have to decide whether to pursue the permitting issue before resubmitting the Local WMP to the watershed districts. Once the plan is approved, the City can go forward with implementation. If the plan is rejected, the City will have to weigh alternatives. City Council Workshop Minutes November 17, 2015 Page 4 Tyra-Lukens asked why cities have WMPs if the watershed districts' plans trump them. Ellis said Local WMPs often include elements beyond those required by the watershed districts. Watershed districts only concern themselves with Local WMP items common to their plans or issues that may conflict. Ellis said RPBC had a robust public process during the development phase of their WMP. They held open houses and public hearings, and made changes based on the input they received. Aho said at one point he and other City Council members were under the impression that the City's rules superseded watershed district rules. Ellis said that a year ago, the City believed it had an approved LMP. When RPBC adopted their new plan, it triggered the requirement for the City to amend its plan. Ellis said the City did not feel RPBC had the authority to implement their rules right away. Ellis said RPBC also amended their LMP in 2011, and due to confusion about requirements the City did not respond to that amendment within the required two-year time frame. Aho asked if the watershed districts have the wherewithal to process permits and variances in a timely manner. Ellis said it varies with each watershed district. Nine Mile has been issuing permits for a long time, and they have a process that works well. City Attorney Ric Rosow said state statutes require watershed districts to make decisions on permit applications within a certain time frame. To further complicate matters, BOWSR adopted new rules in July, which must be incorporated into watershed district plans. As a result of BOWSR's new rules, watershed district WMP's are becoming more prescriptive. II. OPEN PODIUM A. BACKYARD CHICKENS— SARAH KALLAL III. ADJOURNMENT