(A) Activities requiring permits. The following activities in or upon a wetland zoning district shall require either a wetland alteration permit or a wetland buffer permit, as provided in division (B) below:
(1) The digging, dredging, filling, draining or in any way altering or removing any material from a wetland;
(2) The alteration of vegetation within the wetland or the destruction of vegetation within the wetland zoning district, except to abate a public nuisance;
(3) The construction, alteration or removal of any structure;
(4) The altering of any embankment or ponding area or the changing of the flow of water or ponding capacity;
(5) The storing of materials which would interfere with the flow of water and/or ponding capacity;
(6) Disposing of waste materials, including, but not limited to, demolition debris and yard waste; and
(7) Installation or maintenance of essential services.
(B) Types of permits required. The following permits shall be required for any development in a wetland zoning district.
(1) Wetland alteration permit. No development shall be allowed within that portion of a wetland zoning district which is delineated as a wetland on the Wetland Zoning District Map without first having obtained a wetland alteration permit from the city as provided for in this section.
(2) Wetland buffer permit. No development shall be allowed in the area defined as the wetland buffer area as shown on the Wetland Zoning District Map without first having obtained a wetland buffer permit from the city as provided for in this section.
(3) Development overlapping wetland and wetland buffer area; authority for approval with combinations of activities having different approval authorities. Where a proposed development includes area in both the wetland and wetland buffer area, the applicant shall only be required to apply for a wetland alteration permit which shall cover the entire development area. Where a proposed development includes activities subject to City Council approval, and activities subject to administrative approval, the permit shall cover all activities and shall be reviewed and approved by the City Council.
(C) Exceptions to permit requirements.
(1) Emergencies. Upon the declaration of an emergency by the city, emergency work necessary to preserve life or property shall be permitted in a wetland zoning district.
(2) Repairs. Upon application and approval by the City Council, a person may repair or maintain any lawful use of land existing on the effective date hereof.
(3) Recreation areas or parks. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, a person may develop a municipally-owned recreation area or park facility on city-owned lands which will involve the development within a wetland zoning district as part of an integrated plan, comprising not less than 75 acres, where the development would reasonably conserve, preserve and enhance the environment by providing facilities that would protect the public health, safety and welfare.
(4) City or city agent work. When the city or agents working on behalf of the city are engaged in or otherwise undertaking activities requiring permits, as provided for in division (A) above, the city or its agents shall not be required to obtain any of the permits provided in division (B) above.
(5) Public nuisance abatement. Ordinary, normal and reasonable maintenance activities undertaken by owners of private and public properties located within a Wetland Zoning District shall not require a wetland alteration permit or a wetland buffer permit so long as this maintenance is in keeping with the purposes described in § 159.002(B) of this chapter. Examples of ordinary, normal and reasonable property maintenance that is in keeping with the purposes of the wetland zoning regulations include, but are not limited to, chemical-free buckthorn removal and lawn care.
(D) Standards for approval of permits. No permit shall be issued unless the city finds and determines that the proposed development complies with the standards as stated in this division (D). Approval of either a wetland alteration permit or wetland buffer permit shall constitute approval of a variance to the requirements of this chapter.
(1) Minimum alteration in ecological and hydrological characteristics. A minimum alteration of a wetland may be allowed when necessary for the use of property, but only when it will not have a substantially or significantly adverse effect, as determined by the city, upon the ecological and hydrological characteristics of the wetland. However, in no case shall the restrictions set out in divisions (D)(1)(a) through (D)(1)(f) below be exceeded. Since the extent of alteration which can be permitted is limited, the city, when considering a permit application, shall consider equal apportionment of alteration opportunity. The alteration opportunity within the wetland shall be allocated among property owners in proportion to the area of wetland located within each property.
(a) Any alteration shall not cause a reduction in the flood storage capacity of the wetland. Flood storage capacity shall be determined by analysis of the runoff from the entire developed wetland drainage district resulting from both the two-year and 100-year frequency, 24-hour SCS Type I distribution storms.
(b) An alteration shall not reduce the existing water quality enhancement value of a wetland under conditions of ultimate development, during both the two-year and 100-year frequency, 24-hour SCS Type I distribution storms. Water quality enhancement value of a wetland shall be determined using methods approved by the city.
(c) Any alteration shall not reduce the existing wildlife habitat value of a wetland as measured using methods approved by the city.
(d) Alterations shall be carried out so as to minimize the impact on vegetation. Removal of vegetation within a wetland zoning district shall be permitted only when reasonably required for the placement of structures and use of property.
(e) Alterations shall not adversely affect the water flow characteristics within the wetland as determined by the city.
(f) Storm water runoff from a development may be directed to the wetland when in conformance with the Local Water Management Plan and only when substantially, as determined by the Council, free of sediment, debris and chemical pollutants and only at rates which will not substantially disturb vegetation or increase turbidity as determined by the city.
(g) The proposed action shall not cause storm water runoff from the development to take place at a rate which would exceed the rate or volume of runoff as anticipated by the city’s Local Water Management Plan.
(h) The quality of water infiltrated to the water table or aquifer shall remain substantially, as determined by the city, unchanged by the alteration of the site.
(i) No part of any sewage disposal system requiring on-land or in-ground disposal of waste shall be located closer than 100 feet from the wetland. All on-land or in-ground sewage disposal systems shall meet criteria set out in Minn. Rules Ch. 6, MCAR 4.8040, Individual Sewage Treatment System Standard.
(j) Waste which would normally be disposed of at a solid or hazardous waste disposal site or which would normally be discharged into a sewage disposal system or sewer shall not be, directly or indirectly, discharged to a wetland.
(2) Soil conditions; control of erosion.
(a) Construction erosion control measures and retention facilities shall be designed to limit soil loss from the development site to not more than five tons per acre per year. Plans and supporting documentation for such measures and facilities shall be developed and approved by the city prior to commencement of construction.
(b) The applicant for the wetland alteration permit shall be required to demonstrate that, after the development is completed, the conditions on the site will be stabilized such that the yearly soil loss from the site will not be greater than five-tenths ton per acre per year.
(c) Sediment and soil loss shall be determined utilizing the Universal Soil Loss Equation as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Field Guide, as amended from time to time, as provided for Ramsey Soil and Water Conservation District.
(d) Only fill substantially free of chemical pollutants and wastes, as determined by the city, may be used.
(e) A building’s minimum elevation permitted in a wetland zoning district shall be as defined in the Local Water Management Plan.
(f) No alteration shall be allowed which will endanger the health, safety or welfare of persons or which may result in unusual road maintenance costs or utility line breakages due to soil limitations, including high frost action.
(3) Scheduling of work. Work in the wetland will not be performed during the breeding season of water fowl or fish spawning season.
(4) Size of area. The size of the altered area shall be limited to the minimum required for the proposed action.
(E) Standards for denial of permits. No wetland alteration or wetland buffer permit may be granted which would allow any use that is prohibited in the zoning district in which the property is located or which will:
(1) Result in incompatible land uses or which would be detrimental to surface and ground water resources;
(2) Increase the financial burdens imposed on the community through increasing floods and overflow of water onto land areas within the city or onto land areas adjacent to Rice Creek;
(3) Be not in keeping with land use plans and planning objectives for the city or which will increase or cause danger to life or property;
(4) Be inconsistent with the objectives of encouraging land uses compatible with the preservation of the natural land forms, vegetation and wetlands within the city; and
(5) Include development of land and water areas essential to continue the temporary withholding of rapid runoff of surface water which contributes to downstream flooding or water pollution or development of land and water areas which provide ground water recharge or development which diminishes the land or water which are necessary to carry increased flows of storm water following periods of heavy precipitation.
(F) Permit issuing authority. The issuing authority for wetland alteration permits shall be as set forth hereinafter.
(1) Administrative authority. The Director of Community Development or designee shall have the authority to issue wetland alteration or wetland buffer permits which meet the standards in this chapter for the following types of activities:
(a) Repair or maintenance of any lawful use of land existing on the effective date hereon;
(b) Public and/or private utility work on existing facilities;
(c) Alterations within the wetland buffer if they do not extend into or create an adverse impact the adjacent wetland as follows:
1. Installation and maintenance of fences;
2. Landscaping, and impervious surfaces which surfaces do not exceed 1,264 square feet;
3. Detached garages, accessory buildings and driveways, and additions thereto which do not require a conditional use permit;
4. Grading which does not adversely alter storm water storage capacity, storm water flow direction or runoff intensity;
5. Temporary structures not requiring permanent foundations or pads for support; and
6. Building and structural additions to a principal building which addition does not exceed 1,264 square feet.
(2) City Council authority. The City Council may issue permits which meet the standards in this chapter and are beyond the scope of the administrative authority stated in division (F)(1) above or those that are appealed to the Council after having been reviewed and denied by city staff.
(G) Application and review procedures.
(1) Submittal materials required. The following drawings and exhibits may be required with a permit application, unless specific items are waived by the Director of Community Development based on the scope of the proposed development:
(a) The name and address of the subdivider, developer and owner or any other party of interest;
(b) A legal description of the proposed site with a map showing its location with indications of private access roads and existing or proposed public roadways within and surrounding the development site;
(c) A full and adequate description of all phases of the operation and/or proposed physical changes;
(d) A soil survey map of the proposed development site;
(e) A topographic map of the development area with contour information at two-foot intervals or spot elevations at 200-foot intervals and at a horizontal scale of one inch to 100 feet or larger;
(f) A detailed site plan of the proposal showing proposed drainage, grading and landscaping:
1. Information on existing drainage and vegetation of all lands within the site and to a distance of 500 feet surrounding the site or to the wetland drainage district boundary, whichever is shorter;
2. The location of existing and future human-made features within the site and to a distance of 500 feet surrounding the site or to the wetland drainage district boundary, whichever is shorter; and
3. Proposed drainage, grading and landscaping.
(g) The time period for com- mencement and completion of the development, including time for staging of development, if applicable;
(h) Design specification and plan for all sediment and erosion control measures as well as all grading and drainage appurtenances and practices;
(i) Engineering data related to computations of existing and proposed hydrology, water quality, hydraulics and soil loss; and
(j) Such additional information as necessary to evaluate the permit application.
(2) Processing of application.
(a) The permit application shall be submitted to the city. The city shall process the permit application according to the provisions of this section. For permits requiring City Council action, the Community Development Department shall prepare a report and recommendation for consideration by City Council prior to the City Council taking action on the permit application. The Community Development Department or the City Council may refer the permit application to the Planning and Zoning Commission for its recommendation prior to action being taken on the permit application.
(b) A wetland alteration permit may be processed concurrently with any other application for use permit approval that may be required under other provisions of the municipal code.
(3) Action on permit; conditions.
(a) Compliance with standards. No wetland alteration or wetland buffer permit shall be approved, except it meet the standards set forth in this section. A permit may be approved subject to conditions reasonable and necessary to ensure compliance with the aforementioned standards in division (D) above. Such conditions may, among other matters:
1. Provide for the enhancement of storm water storage, fish and wildlife habitat, and water quality enhancement functions of wetland zoning districts;
2. Provide for enhancement of recreation and education opportunities in wetland zoning districts;
3. Limit the size, kind or character of the proposed work;
4. Require the construction of storm water detention facilities or other structures;
5. Require replacement of vegetation;
6. Establish required monitoring or maintenance procedures, including the payment of costs for such procedures;
7. Stage the work over time and increments of land to be developed;
8. Require the alteration of the site design to insure buffering;
9. Require posting of sufficient surety to guarantee conformance to the purposes of the permit and all laws regulating the activity; or
10. Require the conveyance to the city of certain lands or interest therein.
(b) Modification of zoning requirements. The dimensional requirements of the underlying zoning ordinance may be modified in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter.
(c) Considerations in granting of approval. The city shall consider all relevant factors specified in other sections of this chapter, as well as the following:
1. The relationship of the proposed use to the Comprehensive Plan and the impact of the proposed use on the wetlands in the surrounding area; and
2. The impact of the proposed wetland alteration on the surface water storage, fish and wildlife habitat and water quality enhancement values of the wetland.
(d) Action by resolution or by written notice. Action on permits shall be by the City Council or by the Director of Community Development, as provided in division (F) above. A permit approval may include such terms and conditions as is deemed necessary by the approval body to protect the public health, safety and welfare and to meet the standards set forth in this chapter. For permits requiring City Council action, the City Council shall take action to approve, approve with conditions or deny a permit application by resolution. For permits allowing action by the Director of Community Development, the Director shall notify the applicant in writing of the decision on the permit.
(H) Expiration; extensions and renewals. A permittee shall begin the work authorized by the permit within 90 days from the date of issuance of the permit unless otherwise set forth in the permit. The permittee shall complete the work authorized by the permit within the time limit specified on the permit which shall in no event exceed more than 12 months from the date of issuance unless such time limit is extended by the approval authority. The permittee shall notify the city at least 48 hours prior to the commencement of work. Should the work not be commenced as specified herein, the permit shall become void.
(Prior Code, § 1010.08) (Ord. 505, passed 04-27-1992; Ord. 602, passed 08-25-1997; Ord. 957, passed 05-28-2019)