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Oakwater Ridge EAW 7 Findings of Fact and Conclusions, Response to Comments, and Record of Decision Comment 6: We appreciate the opportunity to review this Project. Please be aware that this letter does not constitute approval by the MPCA of any or all elements of the Project for the purpose of pending or future permit actions by the MPCA. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the Project Proposer to secure any required permits and to comply with any requisite permit conditions. If you have any questions concerning our review of this EAW, please contact me by email at chris.green@state.mn.us or by telephone at 507-476-4258. Response: So noted. Thank you. FINDINGS OF FACT Proposed Project The project proposer is planning a residential/commercial development currently referred to as “Oakwater Ridge” in the City of Elk River, Sherburne County, Minnesota. The project was previously referred to as the “Specht Farm” site. The project area is located along the Mississippi River, south of the intersection between Minnesota Highway 169 and U.S. Highway 10/169, adjacent to the intersection between U.S. Highway 10/169 and 165th Avenue Northwest. The site is located in the southeast corner of Elk River, with the City of Otsego west of the Mississippi River, the City of Dayton to the southeast, and the City of Ramsey to the east. The project will include 536 single-family residential homes and a commercial parcel (likely consisting of a multi-tenant retail strip and a gas station). The project will include several internal roadways, a river overlook, an open space/recreational area, a future trail, a greenway corridor, and stormwater features. An EAW was prepared pursuant to Minnesota Rules Part 4410.4300, Subp. 19 (D) and 32. The EAW and the respective comments have been reviewed in accordance with Minnesota Rules 4410.1700 to determine if the project has potential for significant environmental effects. Site Description and Existing Conditions Under existing conditions, the Project Area consists of cultivated fields, hayfields, old paddocks, woodlands, wetlands, floodplain, and a farmstead with two single-family homes and barns. A former bus lot with two buried diesel/gasoline tanks is located east of the farmstead structures. One of the structures was utilized as a bus-maintenance garage. A bluff (per the Sherburne County Zoning Ordinance and Elk River City Code) is present along the hillslope east of the lower cultivated field. Portions of the lower cultivated field and woodland are within shoreland. The 100-year floodplain outlined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is present along the western project area boundary and throughout the lower agricultural field. Decision Regarding the Potential for Significant Environmental Effects Minnesota Rules 4410.1700, Subp. 7 lists four criteria that shall be considered in deciding whether a project has the potential for significant environmental effects. Those criteria and the City’s findings are presented below. Criteria A: Type, Extent, and Reversibility of Environmental Effects Minnesota Rules 4410.1700 Subp. 7 (A) indicates the first factor that the RGU must consider is the “type, extent, and reversibility of environmental effects.” The City of Elk River’s findings are set forth below. 1. Cover Types. Currently, the project area consists of cultivated fields, hayfields, old paddocks, woodlands, a tributary (Mississippi river oxbow), and a farmstead with two single-family homes and several barns/sheds. The site has been in agricultural production since at least the late 1930s. The