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Case File: CU 10-08 Page 7 ERL CUP City of Elk River • Section 58-171(8) (8) 200 feet from the nearest property which is not located within ME SWF -Solid Waste Facilities Overlay Zoning District. C. State Regulations (Minn. Rules, Part 7035.2815, Subp. 5(Cl (C) Any new fill area at a land disposal facility must be located at least 200 feet from the nearest property line, unless otherwise approved by the commissioner based on existing filling procedures, existing site structures, the facility design, compliance boundaries, and existing land restrictions. Zoning and Comprehensive Plan According to the Landfill, the 200-foot buffer zone which they propose to fill with solid waste was not entirely within the City's SWF Zoning District until the City Council's Apri119, 2010 action zoning the entire Landfill into the SWF and ME Overlay Districts. Similarly, at present the eastern edge of the 200-foot buffer zone proposed to be filled is not currently guided "landfill" on the Land Use Map element of the 2004 Comprehensive Plan. However, staff has proposed, and the City Council will consider on May 17, 2010, an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan that will designate the entire Landfill property as "Landfill". The April 19, 2010 zoning action and the proposed May 17, 2010 Comprehensive Plan amendment were not proposed by staff so that the Landfill could place solid waste in the buffer zone. These actions were proposed and taken in order to implement the City's, and we believe, the Landfill's long time understanding and intent that the entire Landfill property between the rail trail and Highway 169 be zoned and guided to allow Solid Waste Facilities. However, the fact that the Landfill property is, or soon will be, correctly zoned and guided does not mean that there is a right to place solid waste in the 200-foot buffer zone. The requested amendment to allow this must still meet the requirements of City Code and State law, including the standards for issuance of a Conditional Use Permit and the requirements of the City's Solid Waste Facilities Ordinance. Analysis The Application to expand the Landfill by extending the area approved for the deposit of Solid Waste into the existing 200 foot buffer zone on the southern boundary of the Landfill appears, from an overall engineering standpoint, to meet the design requirements for expansion of the Landfill. However, the proposed expansion will result in the state-mandated 200 foot buffer zone being located on adjoining property outside of the Solid Waste Facility Zoning District, and would require that significant infrastructure components, including groundwater monitoring wells, gas monitoring probes, a service road, and potentially, surface water management facilities,be located outside of the SWF Zoning District. This raises a number of concerns regarding the consistency of the proposed amendments with State regulations, the City's Solid Waste Facilities Ordinance, and the Standards for Issuance of a Conditional Use Permit. With respect to state regulations, location of the state-mandated 200-foot buffer zone onto adjoining property appears to be inconsistent with the state regulation that requires any new fill area to be S:\Community Development\Planning Main\Case Files\CUP\CU 10-08 Waste Management\Staff report to PC-CU 10-08.doc