5.3. & 5.4. PCSR 06-09-2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Case File: CU 09-12 ERL CUP Page 3 City of Elk River In 1997 the Landfill applied for an expansion of the existing facility. This request was approved and brought the landfill from its origina140 acres to the current 93 acre footprint. The crucial land use issue at the time was the final elevation (height) of the Landfill. Additionally, comments were made about the expansion's impact on property values, aesthetics, screening, and many other land use issues. The approved elevation for the facility was set at 1,120 feet. At that time, the Landfill stated they planned on operating 30-50 years with a total capacity being 13.1 million yards of refuse. In 1998, Landfill was approved to construct additional demolition debris cells in the City and Livonia Township. In 2002 the landfill gas to electric facility was approved for construction in cooperation with Elk River Municipal Utilities, the Landfill, and Sherburne County. In 2003 the City entered into a Host Community Agreement with the Landfill. In 2004, staff informed the Council of the current proposal of the Landfill to expand to the south. This proposed expansion required the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Pursuant to State law, the MPCA is the Responsible Government Unit (RGU) for the EIS, meaning that MPCA prepared and determined the adequacy of the EIS. The City commented on the EIS during its preparation, but did not prepare or approve the EIS. The MPCA made their decision on the EIS on March 28, 2006 by approving it. The Council authorized a report by Hoisington Koegler Group, Inc (HKGi) on the impact an expansion would have for future land uses in the area. The study was presented to the City Council on November 10, 2008. The Landfill presented its comments on the study to the Council on January 12, 2009. On March 30, 2009, the Landfill applied for a comprehensive plan amendment, rezoning, Conditional Use Permit and License from the City. The City has worked on end use plans with the Landfill through several meetings with the Park and Recreation Committee. Comprehensive Plan 1988 Growth Management Plan The City of Elk River adopted a Growth Management Plan on August 22, 1988. The purpose of the Growth Management Plan was to enable the City to effectively manage the challenges associated with future growth. The Elk River SDA was shown as being moderately restrictive for development due to the slopes and vegetation. The landfill consisted of 160 acres at that time. The northern third of the City was to be regulated to provide for large lot, rural housing and agricultural land uses. Clustering of home sites was encouraged and can be administered through the City's planned development and conditional use permit. The Landfill site did not appear on the existing Industrial Zoning map as a SWF since they had not yet gone through rezoning to an SWF District. The Highway 169 corridor from the northern city limits south to the Brentwood Development and in about 1 mile, was depicted as a potential industrial site. The Parks and Trails Plan mentioned the city's desire to acquire the abandoned Burlington Northern railroad bed running north-south through the City. 1995 Comprehensive Plan A Comprehensive Plan was adopted by the City Council on December 18, 1995. In this plan, the current Landfill area is depicted as being part of the mining district boundaries. The Zoning map shows the area as Mineral Excavation Overlay and Solid Waste Facility Overlay District with the underlying zoning Agriculture, which is still relevant today. In this Comprehensive Plan, the northern area of the City was to be regulated to provide fox large lot, rural housing and agricultural S:\PLANNING MAIN\Case Files\CUP\CU 09-12 Elk River Landfill Inc\Staff report to PC-CU 09-12.doc