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PL 12/15/2004 - 6952����� CITY OF FRIDLEY AGENDA PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2004, 7:30 P.M. � __________________________________________________________________ LOCATION: CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS FRIDLEY MUNICIPAL CENTER, 6431 UNIVERSITY AVENUE NE CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: APPROVE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES: November 17, 2004 1. Upcoming Springbrook Watershed Project/Restoration Plan. 2. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 8, 2004, PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSSION MEETING. 3. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 4, 2004, HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING. OTHER BUSINESS: ADJOURN � � �moran u m Pianning Division DATE: December 8, 2004 TO: Scott Hickok, Community Development Director FROM: Julie Jones, Environmental Planner Siah St.Clair, Springbrook Nature Center Director SUBJECT: Upcoming Springbrook Watershed Project/Restoration Plan Background Since June 2002, the City of Fridley has been coordinating a mult jurisdictional effort to restore emergent plant vegeta.tion in the Springbrook Nature Center wetlands. Over this coming winter, the Advisory Committee overseeing this project expects to be moving forward with its final storm water treatrnent project, wluch will occur within the Nature Center borders. This project, which is still currently being designed, will require the removal of a number of trees in the Nature Center. Extensive landscaping will be done in the Spring of 2005 to restore the area impacted. While it is unfortunate that trees must be removed in order to restore the streambed with.in the eastern part of the Nature Center, this work is necessary to restore the wetlands within the park, which are a.n important pa.rt of the wildlife habita.t the � park provides. The purpose of this project is to stabilize the section of Spring Brook which enters the park on the east side and leads to the park's main wetland complex. This streambed is extremely eroded and is thought to be part of the cause of sediment smothering plant root rhizomes in the Park's wetlands. Sta.bilization of this section of Spring Brook is now possible since the storm water pond at University and 85`� was expanded last year, significantly reducing peak flows into the stream from the east. The storm water treatment project proposed involves installing a 48" bypass pipe (shown in red on the atta.ched photo) next to the existing stream coming into the park on the east side. The function of this pipe will be to bypass the stream (in white) in times of a heavy rain storms. These flows will be brought to the surface near the eastem edge of the park's main wetland complex. The streambed will be re-meandered and raised and widened in parts (see streana cross-section graphic at bottom of drawing) to stabilize it and prevent further erosion. City Code Section 510.01 (attached), Tree Preservation, requires Commission and Council approval of any tree removal in a public pazk. The Pazks and Recreation Commission reviewed the plans at their November and December meetings and have approved the attached restorarion plan. Staff interprets that this project falls under paragraph 3 of 510.01, tree removal for purposes of public utility construction. This requires that a detailed plan that includes plans for reforestation be reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission a1so. Because the exact area of removal of trees will be adjusted at the time of construction to save certain trees, it is not possible to submit a drawing indicating a precise landscaping plan. However, as the i"1 attached letter from WSB indicates, the reforestation plan relies primarily on the natural sprouting of seedlings in the impacted area with new trees planted in straxegic locations to screen trails and view of Springbrook Apartments. Staffs experience following the 1986 tornado demonstrated that it is futile to plant tree seedlings in this part of the park. Deer consume the seedlings despite all feasible means of screening the plants. With the deer population in the park about ten times what it was back in the 80's, staff does not recommend dedicating landscaping funds for this project to massive tree planting efforts. In � addition, trees that naturally sprout on their own will not need to be hand watered to survive. Despite the difficulties with the deer, Nature Center staff will be seeking volunteer assistance to reforest the azea using donated or onsite, transplanted materials. Besides the replacement of trees, re-vegetarion of the streambank is also part of this reforestation plan. r'1 The wood fiber blankets being installed will be seeded with a woodland/wetland seed mix and are designed to let the existing seedba.nk sprout and grow through it. Again, volunteers will likely be utilized to supplement these efforts. The Springbrook Watershed Project Advisory Committee approved the final design plans, authorizing bids for the proj ect at their December 1 meeting. The award of the bid and approval of the contract, according to the final design plans, will be completed by the Fridley City Council, as Fridley is the coordinator of this project's finances. Recommendation Staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve the attached landscape restoration plan, realizing that the City staff will be closely overseeing the removal and replacement of vegetation in the park with the intent to minimize visual impacts of this extensive streambank stabilization project. M-04-157 '--� � � � � FRIDLEY CITY CODE CHAPTER 510. TREE PRESERVATION (Ref. 559) 510.01. DESTRUCTION OF LIVING TREES No person or corporation, public or private, including but not limited to the City of Fridley, its officers, employees or agents, shall order or cause the injury or destruction of any living tree on City-owned land except under any of the following conditions: 1. For control of verified cases of Oak Wilt or Dutch Elm disease as provided in Chapter 104 of the Fridley City Code; 2. For purposes of woodland management, the removal of up to three (3) trees per acre per year may be permitted, but only after a management plan justifying such removals has been approved by the Fridley Parks and Recreation Subcommittee, the Fridley Planning Commission and the Fridley City Council. No tree removal shall be allowed under the provisions of this Paragraph which is not defined in the plan; or, 3. For purposes of necessary public utility construction, but only after the preparation of a detailed plan and approval by the authorities named in 510.01.2. No such plan shall be approved that does not provide for reforestation and the restoration of the land to its original condition. 510.02. EXEMPTION Trees measuring less than three (3) inches in diameter at a point four (4) feet above ground are exempt from the provisions of this Chapter. 510.03. TRIA'IlVIING Nothing in this Chapter right-of-ways. 510.04. VIOLATION shall be construed to prevent the routine trimming of trees in street Any person who violates tlus Chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to all penalties provided for such violations under the provisions of Chapter 901 of this Code. The injury or destruction of each protected tree shall be a separate violation. - . ��� & Assocuues, Inc. Infrastructure 1 Engineering 1 Planning � Construction 701 Xenia Avenue South ' • Suite 300 ,--� Minneapolis, MN 55416 ' Te1:763-541-4800 December 2, 2004 Fax: 763-541-1700 Ms. Julie Jones City of Fridley 6431 University Avenue NE Fridley, MN 55432 , Re: Landsca.pe Restoration Plan-for Springbrook Nature Center Stream Improvements WSB Project No. 1449-02 Dear Ms. Jones: This letter is intended to provide you with a description of the restoration efforts that will take place as part of the stream restoration project at Springbrook Nature Center. Attached, for your information, are two figures; one shows the location.of disturbances within the Nature Center and the second shows the loca.tion of priority azeas for tr� restoration. The restoration plan for disturbed areas consists of the following: 1. The stream channel will be stabilized using field stone for the western portion, as shown in the stream restoration plan. � 2. The eastern portion will be stabilized using natural wetland vegetation and wood fiber . blanket to encourage growth of the new plant materials and to stabilize the soils during the early stages of vegetation growth. 3. Priority areas, as identified on the attached sheet, will be planted with trees immediately upon completion of construction to provide a visual buffer in key locations. As you can see, one of the priority areas is to re-establish the buffer between the Springbrook apartment complex and Springbrook Nature Center right at the construction access from the east end of the project Other areas have been chosen to provide screening which will break up the anticipated impacts of the conslruction project to visitors on the trails within the nature center. 4. Tree restoration will continue over the next several years and will provide opportunities for programming with students and volunteers. This may consist of transplanting trees from one portion of the park to the disturbed azeas. Minneapolis � St Cloud F:IWPWIIVI1449-021LTR jj-120204.doc Equal Opportunity Employer � Ms. Julie Jones December 2, 2004 Page 2 � 5. Past experience associated with the tornado in the 1980's within the Springbrook Nature Center has shown that the natural reproduction and restoration of trees without assistance is very effective. In faet, most of the trees that will be disturbed as part of tlus activity were not even in e�cistence following the tornado of the 1980's. The stream restoration project and the location of the stream are approximate in the atta.ched figures. The width of the stream and the area. of disturbance will vary as the stream travels from east to west through Springbrook Nature Center. The figure represents the largest possible azea of disturbance. The variations in the stream location and width of disturbances will allow for flexibility in the final stream alignment to preserve assets that the Nature Center staff and City staff anticipate to be of great value. The exact location of trees to be planted will be determined following the stream restora.tion project. The locations will be determined so as to provide the greatest benefit to visual appearances, wildlife, and ha.bitat benefit. If you have any questions, please call me at 763-287-7182. Sincerely, WSB & Associates, n� /`` ��� _. � Todd E. Hubmer, P.E. � '"� F.• 1 YYPWIM1449-OZ1 LTR;(%-120204.doc Springbrook Watershed Project Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes December 1, 2004 Attendees "^� Roark Haver (Blaine), Sandra Majhors (Springbrook Apartments), Ken Belgarde (Belgarde Enterprises), Jon Haukaas (Fridley), Siah St. Clair (Fridley), Julie Jones (Fridley), Chuck Lenthe (Blaine), Chris Lord (ACD), Wanda Brown (Spring Lk Pk), Emie Larson (Coon Rapids-ACD), Mary Jo Truchon (Blaine-LWV), and Todd Hubmer (WSB). Call to Order Roark Haver called the meeting to order at the Springbrook Nature Center at 2:10pm with introductions. Project Design Review Todd Hubmer of WSB displayed and explained a revised design for the stream restoration within the Springbrook Nature Center in the Site 3 subwatershed. WSB had realigned the stream bed from the previous plan, creating more meanders. This will prevent any cleared views, looking straight east out of the interior of the park. This redesign also includes more angles in the 48° pipe. Another change to the plan was removal of the waterfall feature and, instead, extending the length of the 48" pipe almost completely to the border of the main wetland complex. WSB and Fridley staff felt this change was necessary to: 1) reduce the energy of the storm water coming off the stream; 2) making the waterFall look natural appeared to be impossible and financially infeasible; 3) there was concern about future needs to remove silt behind the new structure with heavy equipment that would need to travel across a great length of the park, damaging vegetation. Not having a structure in this area of the stream would also allow migration of wildlife along the entire length of the stream area to the park's eastem border. �� Todd Hubmer further explained that the stream bed bottom will be raised 2-3' in certain sections. The eastem two-thirds of the realigned stream channel would have erosion control mats and vegetation installed and the western part would have rip rap installed. There were also plans to strategically place small boulders in certain areas of the stream to create a natural appearance. The site vegetation clearance area would be 52' at the widest and would vary upon section of the stream. Mr. Hubmer explained that initial storm water flows during small rain events will flow to the stream. However, the design would send heavier flows into the bypass pipe. Chris Lord asked about expected flow velocities. Mr. Hubmer answered that they expect a flow velocity of 2'/second in the stream or 6 cfs in a 100 year event. Chuck Lenthe asked about how the stream bed will be stabilized initially upon construction. Mr. Hubmer explained that stream bank conditions would need to be watched closely upon installation. Erosion control blankets on the stream bank will be used to prevent erosion, allowing natural vegetation to grow through it. Siah St. Clair added that he is working with the University of Minnesota to see if they can locate rare plants in the area to be excavated now and save them to plant later in the reworked stream bed. Ken Belgarde asked how many trucks of dirt and tree debris will be removed and trucked through the Springbrook Apartments site. An additional question about the staging of construction vehicles was asked. Todd Hubmer explained that there will need to be a right of entry agreement prepared with Belgarde Enterprises, the owner of Springbrook Apartments, to protect their property. He did not expect more than 100 trucks a week removing materials. Most � of the moved dirt will be used on site. He expected most of the tree debris to be trucked out and not chipped on site, but that detail would be negotiated with the selected contractor, based on the needs of the Nature Center. Sandra Majhor asked if there would be any changes to the ponds in the Springbrook Apartments development. It was clarified that there will be no physical changes to the pond depths, which are controlled by the western structure in the pond by their swimming pool. Mr. Hubmer pointed out that they should have noticed a reduction in the bounce in that pond during �1 this year's storm events following the completion of the University Avenue pond. Sandra Majhor asked about the construction timeline. Staff explained that the plan was to award the bid on January 24 and have construction begin in February 2005 with plans to finish in April 2005. However, Mr. Hubmer wamed that a warm winter will likely result in construction needing to be completed the following winter as certain portions of the project can only be completed when soils are firmly frozen. Ms. Majhor also voiced concem about construction times and impact to noise levels. Jon Haukaas confirmed that the City of Fridley has ordinance requirements regarding allowed times of construction that the Police Department can enforce if there is a problem. Chris Lord asked why WSB did not direct more of the stream bank meanders into the more naturally less-forested portion of the park to the south. Mr. Hubmer explained that existing elevations in the area to the south would have resulted in more regrading to prevent the creek from naturally flowing to lower elevations that would have resulted in even more tree loss in the area in-between. Reforestation of the area impacted was discussed. Siah St. Clair explained staff s past experience re-vegetating the park following the 1986 tomado. Deer devoured most of the seedlings despite massive screening efforts. The most success was from natural growth that germinated on its own or grew back from stumps left in the ground. Chuck Lenthe asked if it had been considered to put initial storm flows into the pipe rather than the stream. Mr. Hubmer said they can consider that option. � Siah St. Clair asked how wide the tree removal swath would be in the westem part of the restoration project. Mr. Hubmer indicated it would be about 20' wide, significantly less than the 52' width in other eastem areas. The budget of the project was discussed. Todd Hubmer said this redesign costs out the same as the previous budget numbers. That cost was an estimated $220,000. Julie Jones explained that she recalled that there was only about $170,000 in the budget for this project. Others recalled $180,000. Ms. Jones explained that the previously discussed plan was to proceed in hopes that the bids would come in less than expected. If they did not, the Advisory Committee would need to re-evaluate how they plan to proceed. Julie Jones and Siah St. Clair explained the process that the City of Fridley must go through to remove any trees in the park due to a requirement in the City's tree presenration ordinance. The Fridley Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, and City Council must approve a reforestation plan for the project to be allowed. Chris Lord suggested focusing the planting of substantial landscape materials near the trail crossings. Mary Jo Truchon asked Siah St. Clair if he feels the project design will benefit the Nature Center. Siah St. Clair summarized the damage that the erosion of Springbrook stream has caused in the park. He admitted that he actually would like some of the trees removed in this area of the park to bring back some of the previous habitat that supports woodcock populations that used to exist in the park. He said elimination of the waterfall feature and the gradual slopes of the restored stream bed will allow amphibians coming from the Mississippi River to migrate ^ upstream again. He commented that past experience has shown that removal of ground covers ahead of time will allow the soils to freeze quicker and suggested this be done, if possible, in this project. Chris Lord asked if any of the necessary permits have been pulled. Todd Hubmer said some permit applications have been submitted, and there were no major concems regarding approval. An exemption request regarding WCA regulations was underway. Chuck Lenthe suggested that the participating cities could possible contribute some of their in- %"� kind dollars to the project by assisting with the tree removal part of the project. He wondered if public works employees dedicated to snow removal could be used during down time for such a purpose. He did not know if that was feasible in the City of Blaine, but said he would check into the option and encouraged others to do the same. Julie Jones encouraged this idea as a means to make the project financially feasible. WSB was directed to have the tree removal portion of the bid a separate piece that could be removed if we found a way to do this work with City employees. The concems of Belgarde Enterprises regarding Springbrook Apartments were further discussed and clarified. It was agreed that great care will need to be taken to ensure safety and cleanliness of the area, including frequent street sweeping and protection of pavements. Siah St. Clair moved and Chuck Lenthe seconded a motion to approve WSB's final design plans and direct preparation af a corresponding bid packet. Motion carried unanimously. Vegetation Survey Chris Lord summarized the findings of the second wetland vegetation survey from Critical Connections Ecological Survey Services, which basically showed the wetlands were more dominated by perennial species the second year of the drawdown as opposed to annuals. He asked why the wetland water levels were not raised this fall as planned. Siah St. Clair said raising water levels in late fall would have damaged the new cattail growth. He plans to raise the water level 2' in the spring and maintain a normal pond elevation of 852'/a'. Fridley staff explained that water levels were not raised earlier in the fall due to the planned !� installation of a new water level control structure at the wetland outlet. Julie Jones explained that she still has not gotten approval from the Metropolitan Council for reallocation of funds for this project. Mary Jo Truchon asked about future management plans of the wetlands to prevent the reoccurrence of damage to wetland vegetation. Chris Lord explained that the wetland management plan is written in such a manner as to give Siah the flexibility to manage the wetland water depths according to the current habitat needs in the park and cuRent moisture conditions. It is anticipated that future wetland drawdowns will be needed. Chuck Lenthe asked why the water levels need to be restored. Siah St. Clair explained that the wetland has lost many normal wetland animal and bird species. Water levels need to be restored to provide the habitat they need. In addition, Chris Lord said, keeping water levels drawn down would violate WCA requirements. Educational Items Julie Jones reported that the Education Subcommittee has set Saturday, April 23 as the date of the Yard and Garden Get Together to be held at Springbrook Nature Center. The Subcommittee will be meeting soon to start planning that event. Julie Jones explained that she is still working on development of new surface water quality protection code language for the City of Fridley. She explained a recent setback was realization that a shoreland protection ordinance was never passed in the City and needs to be re- evaluated, which may take some time. Chuck Lenthe explained that the City of Blaine had the same problems dealing with the nonconformity of existing lake properties when they attempting to pass a shoreland ordinance years back. Litter Julie Jones voiced concern about frequent litter around the University Avenue pond. Knowing that MnDOT no longer is coordinating litter cleanup in the area, possible solutions were discussed. It was suggested that donations from a private company could be sought to use to '� hire a clean up crew once per month. Potential liability was discussed. Since no representative from Northtown was present, Julie Jones suggested that she start by contacting Northtown for their thoughts as this pond is the gateway to their property. Outlet Weir Jon Haukaas explained the previous decision to replace the wetland outlet weir with a new water control structure. The City of Fridley is still hoping to move ahead with installation of the wetland outlet weir this winter, Ms. Jones explained, but we have not gotten authorization from the Metropolitan Council yet on reallocation of the grant funds for this work. Siah St. Clair moved and Wanda Brown seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjoumed at 3:52pm. /'1 �