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• • Bill Armstrong of MPCA staff confirmed in a letter to Stephen Rohlf, dated April 2, 1997, that the height of the landfill was not an issue that the MPCA permit will address. MPCA considers final elevation to be land use issue to be resolved locally. • In a letter dated April 2, 1997, city staff member Stephen Rohlf highlighted the city's concerns regarding the finished elevation at the landfill to Victoria Kreger and emphasized the city's authority to regulate final elevation as a local land use issue. • City staff met with landfill representatives on April 9, 1997. The major topic of discussion was the ultimate landfill height. City staff expressed the following concerns regarding additional landfill height: 1. Negative impacts on neighboring property values and land use. 2. Negative aesthetic impacts -The property on which the landfill is situated is already one of the highest points in a five county area. At 1,170 it would be the highest point and a treeless dominate feature on the skyline. Staff is concerned with how this elevation would impact nearby residences and the Railroad Hiking Trail and Woodland Trails Park, both of which currently offer natural settings. US Trunk Highway 169 is the major corridor entering the city from the north. The average elevation of this • highway adjacent to the landfill is closer to 1,000 feet than it is to 1,100. The landfill is the first thing one sees when entering the city from this road. 3. Adding 70 feet to the elevation the landfill would exacerbate existing dust and litter problems. 4. Allowing the landfill a large height increase over surrounding adjacent property eliminates the potential to screen the landfill with trees. Trees can not be planted on waste disposal areas because their roots will potentially penetrate the final cover barrier layer used to close the landfill. Sherburne County's ordinance, which does not apply within the city, limits the height of a landfill to 25 feet above surrounding average grade. • At the 4/9/97 meeting the landfill representatives explained the economic benefits of the increased height. The additional height allows the landfill to get more use from each section of liner they install by placing more waste on top of it. • The landfill proposed a compromise of 1,145 feet; between the 1,105 that is currently allowed and the 1,170 they were requesting. City staff indicated that they felt the negative impacts of increasing the landfill height were not sufficiently mitigated by • Lanfil97