Land areas to be dedicated to the City may be required to have an environmental evaluation completed prior to transfer of title as determined by the Zoning Administrator or City Council. This section applies to land areas to be dedicated to the City in either fee title or easement title, whether by dedication of the whole parcel or a fractional part (e.g., easement corridors) and all fill material placed on land areas to be dedicated to the City, such as streets, alleys, drainage and utility easements, and parkland or conservation areas shall be environmentally tested and evaluated according to the requirements of this section.
A. Evaluation Requirements.
1. All environmental evaluations, studies, inspections, and tests shall be conducted at the expense of the applicant.
2. The applicant shall reimburse the City, when billed, for the services of the City Environmental Engineer, if the City Environmental Engineer has been utilized.
3. At the applicant's expense, the applicant's surveyor shall place and maintain either permanent or temporary staking sufficient to identify the location of all proposed dedications for the purposes of environmental evaluation.
4. The environmental testing and evaluation required by this shall be conducted in such detail as is required by the City Council, in its sole and absolute discretion, to provide necessary protections from environmental liability arising under all federal, state, and local laws, regulations, rules, or ordinances.
5. The Environmental Engineer who conducts the environmental evaluation shall submit an original signed report or opinion letter, addressed to the applicant and the City Council, containing data, findings and conclusions in a form which complies with the requirements of the City Council.
6. Samples of fill material to be placed in the dedications shall be laboratory tested according to the standards established by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
7. All environmental evaluations, studies, inspections, and tests shall be conducted with the purpose of disclosing the presence of, the release of, or the threatened release of "Hazardous Substances" as defined in Section 8-201(A).
B. During Preliminary Plat Proceedings.
1. If the applicant is confident that the proposed preliminary plat complies with the design requirements of the City Code, then the applicant is advised to arrange environmental evaluation of the dedications with the Environmental Engineer at the earliest possible date. If the applicant is not confident that the proposed preliminary plat complies with the design requirements of the City Code, then the applicant is advised to wait until the plat design is approved before proceeding with environmental testing of the dedications. In any case, the applicant is advised to refrain from placing fill in the dedications prior to environmental testing to not increase the difficulty and the costs of the testing.
2. Notwithstanding any of the time periods stated elsewhere in the City Code or in Minnesota Statutes, the preliminary plat shall not receive approval by the Planning Commission until complete reports of environmental testing of the dedications have been submitted to the City in a form satisfactory to the City Engineer and the City Attorney. If satisfactory environmental reports have not been received and approved by the City within 180 days after the Zoning Administrator's receipt of a completed application [§8-500(2) above], then the Planning Commission shall advise the City Council to deny approval of the preliminary plat.
3. If satisfactory environmental reports are received and all platting requirements are met, the Planning Commission shall then recommend approval of the preliminary plat. If the environmental reports indicate that a hazardous or toxic material, as defined by state or federal law, has been released into the soil or groundwater, then the Planning Commission shall advise the City Council:
a) to deny approval of the plat, or
b) by written agreement with the applicant, to indefinitely suspend further City proceedings in consideration of the plat until on-site remediation and satisfactory reinspection can occur.
C. During Final Plat Proceedings. The environmental evaluations required during preliminary plat procedures (B., above) are presumed to be sufficient to disclose any pre-existing environmental problems. However, after the preliminary plat has been approved, new environmental problems may be disclosed through additional testing of the dedications or through testing of the fill material. In the event that such later testing indicates that a hazardous or toxic material, as defined by state or federal law, has been released or is likely to be released into the soil or groundwater, then the City Council shall either deny approval of the final plat or by written agreement with the applicant, indefinitely suspend further City proceedings in consideration of the plat until on-site remediation and satisfactory reinspection can occur.
[§ 8-503, amended by Ord. No. 89-16, effective July 19, 1991, Ord. No. 92-2, effective April 17, 1992, Ord. No. 93-8, effective October 7, 1994, and Ord. No. 01-08, effective January 17, 2002, amended by Ord. No. 07-02, effective March 1, 2007.]