CARVER COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION Regular Meeting Minutes Members Present: Members Late: Members Absent: Staff Present: John P. Fahey, Jim Ische, Jim Burns, Robert McNulty, Frank Mendez, Gabrielle Soojian None Mark Willems Steve Just, Jason Mielke Pursuant to due call and published notice thereof, the, regular meeting of the Carver County Planning Commission was called to order by Chairman Fahey at 7:00 p.m. Minutes A motion was made by Burns and seconded by McNulty to approve the minutes from the February 17, 2015 meeting. All voted aye. Motion carried. File #20150003 Joseph Diethelm Chairman Fahey called the public hearing to order at 7:01 p.m. to consider a request by Joseph Diethelm. The purpose of the public hearing was to consider a request for an accessory structure pursuant to Chapter 152 of the County Code. The property is located in Section 33 of Waconia Township. The following were present: Joseph Diethelm The following items were entered into the record: Exhibit A Legal Description Exhibit B Proof of Publication of the Hearing Notice Exhibit C Proof of Mailing of the Hearing Notice Exhibit D Site map Exhibit E Letter to the Planning Commission and Waconia Township dated March 10, 2015, and attachments Just explained the applicant s request for a 20 x 26 addition to a detached garage for personal storage. He stated that a parcel of less than two acres is allowed a total of 2,000 square feet of personal storage space without a conditional use permit and this addition would exceed that total by approximately 700 square feet. The building would be used for storage of equipment and tools and part of it as a wood shop. The addition would meet all setbacks. Waconia Township reviewed and recommended approval of the request at their February 23, 2015, meeting. Just read the conditions for consideration if the request is approved. Mr. Diethelm asked if he could change the request to increase the size of the proposed addition to 24 x 26. Planning Commission Minutes - 1 -
Just indicated that the request to increase the size would require republication and renotification of the surrounding property owners because the size was noted. Mr. Diethelm stated he would proceed with his originally requested size. A motion was made by McNulty and seconded by Mendez to conclude the public hearing. All voted aye. Motion carried. The public hearing was concluded at 7:05 p.m. A motion was made by Ische and seconded by Burns to approve and issue Order #PZ20150003 incorporating the findings of fact and staff recommendations in the order for the conditional use permit. All voted aye. Motion carried. File #20150004 LeRoy Chard/Sibley Aggregates Chairman Fahey called the public hearing to order at 7:06 p.m. to consider a request by LeRoy Chard/Sibley Aggregates. The purpose of the public hearing was to consider a request for gravel mining pursuant to Chapter 152 of the County Code. The property is located in Section 1 of San Francisco Township. The following were present: LeRoy Chard, Tim Culp, Nick Monserud, Larry Schmidt, Kellen A Schmidt, Doug Weber, Kevin Lundquist, Dan Chard, Mitch Michaelson, Jim Merten, Brehanu Cox, Ron Olson, Terry Hanson, Lori Hanson, Chuck Tuma, Nancy Tuma, Ken Turnquist, Claudine Solseng, Bob Olson, Bob Perkins, Cheryl Perkins, Bobby Olson, Jr. The following items were entered into the record: Exhibit A Legal Description Exhibit B Proof of Publication of the Hearing Notice Exhibit C Proof of Mailing of the Hearing Notice Exhibit D Site map Exhibit E Letter to the Planning Commission and San Francisco Township dated March 10, 2015, and attachments Mielke explained that there has been an active mining operation on this parcel since the 1950 s. The most recent Conditional Use Permit was granted to the prior property owner in 1992, which provided approval to enlarge the aggregate mining area on approximately 22 acres. Mr. Hanson, the current owner, has retained the mining activity with a few different mining companies under the current CUP after acquiring ownership of the property in 1998. The applicant, Mr. Chard, is requesting to replace the existing CUP with an Interim Use Permit (IUP) allowing expanding the aggregate mining area to approximately 35 acres. The 35 acres would consist of 10 acres of active mining, 15 acres of processing, and 10 acres of active reclamation activity. The reclamation will be an ongoing process, so that no more than 10 acres of active mining area is open at any given time. The existing CUP would be terminated upon issuance of the new IUP. The San Francisco Township Board recently approved an IUP for Mr. Chard pursuant to their Mineral Extraction Ordinance, reflecting the same operational area. The information submitted to the County for this request is the same information that was presented to the Planning Commission Minutes - 2 -
Township for their public hearing and permit process on February 5, 2015. The Township Ordinance is required to be at least as restrictive as the County Zoning Code, and can be more restrictive. Mielke described the proposed mining activity and stated the possible excavation and hauling of up to 1.3 million cubic yards of material under this IUP. The mining operation will continue to utilize the existing north and south access locations along CSAH 11 once expanded. A recently completed traffic study resulted in a reduction of trips to and from the site based on the hours of operation and a limitation on the number of trucks allowed with the Township s approval. Last October, Land Management staff, the landowner, the applicant, and a Public Works employee met at the site to discuss safety and traffic signage needs. As a result, signage indicating trucks hauling is in place. No further comments have been received from Public Works at this time concerning this request. Carver County is the LGU for storm water management and information submitted for a permit is currently in the review stage. Some modifications will need to be made with the maps concerning the mining area, which will be worked out with the stormwater approval process. A $25,000 surety will be held for erosion control/restoration and will also cover the performance and liability security for mining, restoration and operations for the duration of the project. That money will be released as phases of the project are completed. The San Francisco Township Mineral Extraction Ordinance also requires a required surety for the duration of the project. The DNR reviewed the proposed request and felt that their concerns of stormwater management, erosion BMPs and the protection of the kittentail populations have been adequately addressed. Mielke cited the Code guidelines regarding signage. He read the conditions for consideration if the permit is to be approved. The applicant had no additional information or comments. Larry Schmidt, speaking for San Francisco Township, affirmed the Township has spent many hours reviewing the request and approved it according to their Mining Ordinance. He suggested that the County work with the applicant for the straightening of CSAH 11. Robert Olson, 16745 Halsey Ave, stated his concerns of truck traffic coming from the pit onto CSAH 11 and felt it created unsafe conditions for other vehicles. He asked if this mining site would become a storage location for all of the applicant s excavation equipment and also questioned any Saturday activity at the site. Mielke replied that the application makes no reference to storage of additional excavation equipment at the site. Mr. Chard confirmed that most of their equipment is stored at their location in Scott County. Just addressed the Saturday activity, stating that the existing CUP allowed for work on Saturdays, but the new IUP does not. There is a provision in the Township permit for the applicant to address special situations which might involve work on Saturdays, however, that would be handled by the Township and not the County. Work done by Mr. Hanson as a private landowner would also be addressed by the Township. Planning Commission Minutes - 3 -
Mr. Olson also asked if water would be pumped for dust control in the pit and asked about the source of the water. Mielke stated this concern is addressed in the Township resolution and permit and is a part of their internal haul road standards and conditions. The Township conditions, restrictions and requirement include: the applicant to tar the internal haul road a distance of at least 500 feet from CSAH 11. The applicant is required to comply with dust clean up and control from hauling activities as provided in the Ordinance and as may be required by the County. Mielke reiterated that this activity will be regulated by the Township s permit and requirements. Mr. Fahey asked for Mr. Schmidt s comments, representing the Township, from their February 2015 meeting. Mr. Schmidt reiterated that information was correct as discussed and agreed to at their February meeting and stated in the resolution and permit conditions. Mr. Olson continued and asked what activity, if any, is allowed within the 500 foot setback to the property line. Mielke stated that according to the County guidelines, there is a 50 foot property line setback and a minimum setback of 500 feet to existing houses. He stated that the proposed operational area for mining activity definitely meets the County required setback of 500 feet from any existing house. The Township setback standards are more restrictive and will be addressed and enforced by the Township. Mr. Schmidt confirmed that the Township setbacks are more restrictive than the County s. He did not have the Ordinance requirements at hand, but believed the setback distance to be 1,000 feet from an existing house. The Township minimum setback requirement from a property line is 200 feet. Claudine Solseng, 16330 Carver Highlands Dr, reiterated the traffic safety issue on CSAH 11 and felt the information presented from the traffic study was not indicative of the actual situation. She asked the County to provide a more comprehensive traffic study on that road and also consider the increase in traffic numbers with future growth. She feels it is quite dangerous. She also questioned an earlier reference to two accesses, a north and a south, for the mining operation. Just stated the traffic study identifies the northerly access as a ranch driveway, which specifically states it should be used for passenger cars. He noted that some material had been brought into the pit as a right-turn in, for convenience to get the material along the easterly face of the pit. As that is restored, that practice will be discontinued and the southerly access will be used for the pit activity. Planning Commission Minutes - 4 -
Mielke added that the long-term goal of the mine and the property is to have the southerly access become the only access to the active mining area and the main farmstead as the mining area will cut across the north access location. Before this can happen, excavation will need to take place on the westerly portion of the property. Mielke used a map included in the packet to illustrate and explain that process. Brehanu Cox, 16235 Delarma Dr, expressed additional concern about traffic safety and asked if the County could provide additional patrol or enforcement to the laws, especially in the mornings. He cited unsafe conditions with truck traffic and school buses. He also noted truck noise and odor from fumes as additional annoyances, but cited traffic safety as his number one concern. Jim Merten, 16380 Dutoit Rd, expressed his anger with the noise of banging truck end gates from early morning to early evening. Ken Turnquist, 16335 High Bluff Cir, cited what he felt was a discrepancy in the Township Ordinance concerning the length of tarring for the internal haul road. He offered a personal testimony of an issue with traffic safety. He disputed the statement that there were signs indicating trucks hauling. Tim Culp, from Chard Tiling and Excavating, cited the number of trucks hauling during the traffic study was 45 and the number of trucks allowed under the new IUP and Township permit is 24, which should cut the truck traffic from the pit in half. A motion was made by McNulty and seconded by Burns to conclude the public hearing. All voted aye. Motion carried. The public hearing was concluded at 7:44 p.m. Ische asked why this request is being heard at the County level, since the primary regulatory authority is the township. Just explained that the County Attorney s Office has helped to review and answer that question and determined that the Zoning Code specifically states it is a requirement for this land use and there is no way of circumventing it. Discussion took place on a possible Zoning Code amendment to try and streamline the process. Staff worked to limit the report to include only eight conditions and stressed the Township s authority on the permit. It was also noted that if changes are made with the Township in the ten year timeframe, that the applicant does not have to return to the County for approval. There is a benefit specific to this process with regard to acknowledging the Water Rules and other requirements. Ische assured Mr. Cox that he would contact the County Sheriff for additional patrolling on CSAH 11. He again stated his feeling that this process was redundant in this case because the Township has already held a public hearing and reviewed the request and issued a permit. Planning Commission Minutes - 5 -
Mendez asked that the Water Rules be adhered to and monitored closely. He also asked the County to be sensitive to the traffic safety concerns expressed and make sure there is additional signage noting the truck traffic. He liked the proposal of fewer trucks being allowed to haul because he felt this will also reduce the concern for noise issues. A motion was made by Burns and seconded by Mendez to approve and adopt Resolution #15-05 incorporating the findings of fact and staff recommendations in recommending the Interim Use Permit be approved. All voted aye. Motion carried. Adjournment A motion was made by McNulty and seconded by Burns to adjourn the meeting. All voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 7:52 p.m. Planning Commission Minutes - 6 -