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<br /> <br />Item # 5.4. <br /> <br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />TO: Mayor & City Council <br /> <br />FROM: Rebecca Haug, Environmental Technician <br /> <br />DATE: January 10, 2005 <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Wetland Buffer Ordinance <br /> <br />Once a month, the Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP) which consists of people from the <br />Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), Board of <br />Water & Soil Resources (BWSR), Sherburne Soil & Water Conservation District <br />(SWCD), Sherburne County Ditch Inspector and I meet to discuss projects in the City <br />that affect wetlands. <br /> <br />A suggestion that came out of the Natural Resources Inventory is the City adopting a <br />wetland buffer ordinance. At the December and January TEP meetings, this item was <br />discussed and several communities were contacted to review their ordinances. City <br />staff is aware that this is going to be very controversial for developers since it will <br />impact them economically. However, several communities in the metro area have <br />adopted wetland buffer ordinances that are much more restrictive than what is being <br />proposed by staff for the City of Elk River. <br /> <br />The purpose of a wetland buffer is to provide a vegetated area that surrounds a wetland <br />and reduces the negative impacts to wetlands from adjacent development. Buffers are <br />necessary for protecting water quality and for providing wildlife habitat. The <br />effectiveness of a wetland buffer in removing sediments and nutrients from surface <br />runoff varies widely due to many factors which include, but are not limited to; slope, <br />vegetative cover density, vegetation types and width. Typically, buffers are established <br />for their water quality improvement potential. High quality wildlife habitat requires <br />significantly wider buffers and higher vegetative diversity/integrity. <br /> <br />At the January 6, 2005 TEP meeting the following recommendations were made: <br /> <br />a. Require a 45' setback for structures from wetlands allowing for a 20' <br />backyard and a 25' wetland buffer. The wetland buffer would be included in <br />the drainage and utility easement. Nothing would be allowed to be placed in <br />