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PL 12/04/2002 - 30926CITY OF FRIDLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, DECEMBER 4, 2002 � CALL TO ORDER: Vice-Chairperson Kondrick called the December 4, 2002, Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Dave Kondrick, Barb Johns, Larry Kuechle, Brad Dunham, Leroy Oquist Members Absent: Diane Savage, Dean Saba Others Present: Jay Michels, Minnesota Erosion Control Association Stacy Stromberg, Planner Julie Jones, Environmental Planner APPROVE THE OCTOBER 2, 2002, PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES: MOTION by Mr. Oquist, seconded by Ms. Johns, to approve the October 2, 2002, Planning Commission meeting minutes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. � 1. APPROVE THE 2003 PLANNING COMMISSION CALENDAR. MOTION by Mr. Kuechle, seconded by Mr. Oquist, to approve the 2003 Planning Commission calendar. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 2. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 25. 2002, APPEALS COMMISSION MEETING. MOTION by Mr. Kuechle, seconded by Ms. Johns, to receive the September 25, 2002, Appeals Commission meeting minutes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 5. 2002, PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING. MOTION by Ms. Johns, seconded by Mr. Kuechle, to receive the August 5, 2002, Parks and Recreation Commission meeting minutes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. � PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, DECEMBER 4, 2002 PAGE 2 ^ 4. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 9, 2002, APPEALS COMMISSION MEETING. MOTION by Mr. Kuechle, seconded by Ms. Johns, to receive the October 9, 2002, Appeals Commission meeting minutes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 15, 2002, ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY & ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING. MOTION by Ms. Johns, seconded by Mr. Kuechle, to receive the October 15, 2002, Environmental Quality & Energy Commission meeting minutes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 23, 2002, APPEALS COMMISSION MEETING. MOTION by Mr. Kuechle, seconded by Ms. Johns, to receive the October 23, 2002, Appeals Commission meeting minutes. � UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 7. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 7, 2002, PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING. MOTION by Mr. Dunham, seconded by Mr. Kondrick, to receive the October 7, 2002, Parks and Recreation Commission meeting minutes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 8. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 3, 2002, HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY COMMISSION MEETING. MOTION by Mr. Oquist, seconded by Mr. Dunham, to receive the October 3, 2002, Housing and Redevelopment Authority Commission meeting minutes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 9. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 13. 2002, APPEALS COMMISSION MEETING. MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Ms. Johns, to receive the November 13, 2002, Appeals n Commission meeting minutes. PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, DECEMBER 4, 2002 PAGE 3 � UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OTHER BUSINESS: 10. NEMO WORKSHOP PRESENTATION BY JAY MICHELS. Ms. Jones introduced Jay Michels of the Minnesota Erosion Control Association. She explained that the Springbrook Watershed Project is a costly and labor-intensive project, attempting to restore a regionally-significant natural resource, the Springbrook wetlands. She said there were some key facts discovered in the Phase I investigation worth mentioning. One finding was that an inlet into the Nature Center that has almost no storm water ponding has ten times the storm water runoff coming into it compared to another inlet that has regional ponding. This proves that storm water treatment measures, like ponding, really do make a difference and can help protect natural resources. Ms. Jones stated another discovery in the storm water testing was that there were three chemical readings found to be too high in the wetlands. Two of those chemicals were phosphorous and nitrogen. Phosphorous comes from grass clippings or leaves going into the street; and, it is one of the ingredients in lawn fertilizer. The third chemical component that was high in the water level was total suspended solids. TSS is soil in the storm water coming from soil erosion, and it can bury plant roots, making it difficult for them to survive. Ms. Jones stated it is good to see new leadership happening in the Rice Creek Watershed. ^ Springbrook Watershed is a small watershed, but Rice Creek Watershed is a large watershed, so improvements are important in other watersheds also. The effects of the quality of storm water runoff is happening all across the city. Ms. Jones stated the staff of all four cities involved in the Springbrook Watershed Project are going to be looking at their city ordinances over the next year to see what changes need to be made based on the information in this NEMO presentation. She explained that Jay Michels is from the Minnesota Erosion Control Association and that he is much more knowledgeable than staff on the issue of storm water pollution. Mr. Michels explained that NEMO stands for Non-Point Education for Municipal Officials. The NEMO program started back in the early 1990's down in Connecticut and is sweeping the country. Mr. Michels warned that we have some very dramatic growth ahead of us by the year 2030 in the metro area, according to Metropolitan Council estimates. The question becomes how are we going to deal with half a million additional households in the metro area? How are we going to still protect these water quality resources that we hold near and dear in the State of Minnesota? Over 70 percent of residents feel that one of the biggest reasons they live here is our water and our natural resources. Mr. Michels explained that the goal of the NEMO program is not to make experts out of Planning Commission members, but to get them to ask the right questions when development projects are proposed. The goal is to get planning commission members and city council members to ask "How is this going to change storm water?" when they look at new development and redevelopment and how it is going to affect the community. � Mr. Michels explained the impact of development on waterways, the pollutants that are in polluted runoff, called land use impact water quality, and tied that information back to PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, DECEMBER 4, 2002 PAGE 4 � impervious surfaces and the kind of uses that are an indicator of the health of our receiving waters within a watershed. He explained that the goal or mission of NEMO is to get heavily urbanized areas to function more like naturally vegetated area. He explained how impervious surfaces change the quantity and quality of storm water runoff. He explained that storm water ponding is an effective tool, but that there are also new technologies that can also be used. Mr. Michels explained that erosion control is also a battle. We have ordinances in place locally, but we have a lack of enforcement. Rain drops come down and permeates at 38 feet per second, reaching exposed soil, and get the sediment particles moving around. Since those tiny sediment particles do not drop out of the water column until it is dead still, exposed soil translates into sedimentation problems. Sediment also carries nutrients, pathogens, and toxics contaminants, so erosion not only transports sediments into our water ways, but it's also a carrier of the pollutants. What we do in our backyard right here in Fridley has a huge affect on the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Construction staging and construction ordinances are a very important part of solving water quality problems. Mr. Michels stated that public education is needed since 58 percent of the people surveyed thought that when they dumped something down the storm drain, it was going to go directly into a wastewater treatment plant. He explained that litter is an issue also. Mr. Michels stated that water quality is directly tied to land use. As we start intensify land use, we have more impervious surfaces and we start seeing more pollutants and erosion. Even a gravel driveway or gravel roadway is an impervious surface, he stated, because it is usually compacted to 98 percent rock density, which is the same as building an impervious surface. � Mr. Michels also explained that impervious surfaces inhibit the recharge of groundwater and prevent that natural processing that goes on between the soils and the plants. This is becoming a problem, and we are seeing some communities starting to limit development and implement watering restrictions due to a reduced available water supply. Certain types of vegetation can actually absorb hydrocarbons and petroleum products. But, for the most part, we use Kentucky blue grass and the water just runs right off, because the root system is so shallow. Any plant that has an 8 or 9 foot root system, can act like a chisel and break apart the compaction and allow for infiltration. Mr. Michels gave some examples of different development projects which are designed in a manner that reduces storm water runoff and pollutants. He showed some pictures of different storm water filtering systems. Mr. Michels explained that there are also underground retention systems that put a storm water pond underneath a parking lot. He showed examples of pervious pavement options. Other design measures like narrower streets, engineered swales, and raingardens with native plantings were shown. He explained that these measures have been shown to dramatically reduce pollutants and the level of suspended solids in storm water runoff. Mr. Michels stated that, regarding zoning, one of the big questions to consider was how many parking spaces do we require? He discouraged cities from zoning for the day after Thanksgiving, when 75% of parking areas largely sit empty the rest of the year. Mr. Michels explained that redevelopment is an opportunity to correct some of the problems that � were created years ago. Every little big of green will help. He also felt there was opportunity to get homeowners involved in protecting water quality through education about proper lawn care PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, DECEMBER 4, 2002 PAGE 5 � practices, household hazardous waste disposal, rain water storage, shoreline protection, installation of gutters, and the effect of additional impervious surfaces. Mr. Michels explained how maintenance practices of the public works department, like street sweeping, salting streets, and catch basin maintenance, also have an impact on water quality. Mr. Michels stated that the Minnesota Erosion Control Association is here to help. The NEMO program is funded for the next couple years to come in and complete follow-up programs. They have fact sheets, and they have a website (www.nemo.uconn.edu), which is a one-stop shop for anyone interested in non-point source pollution. He also provided the Minnesota Erosion Control Association (www.mnerosion.orq) website address. Mr. Michels stressed that solutions are up to us. It is our receiving waters and these waters make our community what it is today: Rice Creek, the Mississippi River, the wetlands, and the ponds. But, the job has just begun, and he is willing to help. Mr. Kondrick asked where does the automobile tire rubber go when the tread wears down? Mr. Michels replied it goes directly into our receiving waters. He doesn't think we have a real feel for what that does as far as a pollutants are concerned, but, eventually, it will work its way into the catch basins of the receiving waters along with other things like automotive fluids. Ms. Jones commented that we have to think about the impact of development and redevelopment on the Mississippi River, which is the drinking water source for a quarter of the ^ population of the State. She said some people will argue against new measures that protect the quality of water when they are required by law to do something, but everyone will agree that we all deserve access to a clean water supply. Mr. Kondrick commented about what Mr. Michels stated about most people thinking storm water gets reprocessed. Ms. Jones commented on how that would make a good citizen survey question. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION by Mr. Oquist, seconded by Ms. Johns, to adjourn the meeting. . UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE DECEMBER 4, 2002, PLANNING COMMISSION WAS ADJOURNED AT 9:08 P.M. Respectfully submitted, �,,r�'�;c, rn, �j;�c,,�iv�. Denise M. Letendre � Recording Secretary � � CITY OF FRIDLEY SIGN-IN SHEET PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING ��� r r����f° � , �� �,%�,� Name and Address Agenda Item of Interest �� �