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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/24/2004 Urban Affairs Advisory Minutes 2-24-2004 Page 1 of 4 URBAN AFFAIRS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2004 1 CALL TO ORDER The meeting of the Urban Affairs Committee was called to order by Chair Shirley Doering at 7 00 p.m. Members Present: Barry Berg*, Sandy Breuer, Robin Curran, Shirley Doenng, Shelley Madore, and Sharon Schwartz. Berg arnved at 7 40 p.m. Members Absent: Pam Sohlberg. Staff Present: Susan Bast, Recycling Coordinator; Kathy Bodmer, Assistant Planner; Sharon Hills, City Attorney; Jeff Kehrer, Natural Resources Coordinator Guests present: Ron Moening and Mike Trulsan, Waste Management; and Craig Seim, BFI. 2 APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION Shelley Madore moved, seconded by Sharon Schwartz, to approve the agenda. The motion carned 5-0 3 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 23, 2003 MOTION Sandy Breuer moved, seconded by Sharon Schwartz to approve the minutes of the January 27, 2004, meeting. Sharon asked that her remarks on the third page of the minutes be amended to reflect the fact that she didn't like the way the enforcement aspect of the refuse ordinance was written. The motion carned 5-0 to approve the minutes as amended. 4 DISCUSSION ITEMS TREE REMOVAL ORDINANCE Jeff Kehrer, the City's Natural Resources Coordinator, reported that a property owner cut down ten mature trees in his back yard last fall. Seven of the ten trees were large burr oaks, the smallest was 17" Jeff met with the owner and tried to convince him to save the trees. But, the owner stated that he and his wife wanted a garden and that they wanted to remove the trees in their back yard. The owner applied for and obtained a permit and then removed the trees from his back yard. His neighbor called the City and asked whether the City Ordinances could prevent him from removing the trees. Jeff stated that the ordinance requires that removed trees be replaced according to a formula. The neighbor called the Mayor and asked that the City consider amending its ordinance to better protect trees in the City Shirley Doering asked whether this type of incident was common. Jeff stated no, rt is not common for home owners on wooded lots to remove all of the trees from their yards Jeff stated that he usually processes requests for tree removal when homeowners are constructing swimming pools or house additions. Sharon asked when an owner removes a diseased tree, whether they need to plant replacement http.//www ci.apple-valley.mn.us/Minutes/urban affairs/2004/02-24-04.htm 4/28/2009 Urban Affairs Advisory Minutes 2-24-2004 Page 2 of 4 trees. Jeff said no, the ordinance requires replacement only when healthy trees are removed. Shirley asked whether this was an instance when the neighbors have different values than the rest of the neighborhood. She said rt seems like there's always one neighbor who does things differently from the rest of the neighborhood. Shelley asked whether the neighbor could sue for damages if her view was impacted in some way Sharon Hills stated, while it would be a civil matter that would have to be taken up privately, that it would probably be difficult to prove damages. Robin Curran asked whether a homeowner's association could prohibit tree removal. She noted that many associations restrict whether a person can install a shed or fence on his or her property Sharon Hills stated that homeowner's associations are established through private covenants on the land. Covenants are private agreements that are enforced by the private property owners. The City does not enforce covenants. Shelley asked where the replacement trees would need to be planted. Jeff stated that the owner can plant them wherever he would like on his property Shirley asked City staff whether changes to the ordinance were recommended at this time.'Sharon Hills stated that when the Natural Resources Management Permit (NRMP) ordinance was originally drafted, that the ordinance focused on the regulation of the impacts of new development on natural resources. The ordinance has a provision that requires tree mitigation when trees are removed from private property However, she doesn't believe that the Crty has the authority to further restrict tree removal on private property MOTION Shirley Doering moved, seconded by Shelley Madore to make the following motion. "The Urban Affairs Committee reviewed the Natural Resources Management Ordinance as it relates to tree removal on private property After reviewing the existing code requirements and upon the advice of the City Attorney and City Staff, it appears that no change should be made at this time. While the Committee sympathizes with the frustrations of the neighboring property owners, the Committee believes that this specific case was an isolated incident." Motion carried 5-0 REFUSE COLLECTION ORDINANCE -NEXT PHASE OF STUDY Shirley reported that she and Sharon attended the informal City Council meeting on February 12, 2004 She said that the City Council gave the Committee clear direction on a couple of items. First, the City Council was not interested m pursuing "day-certain" collection. Sharon noted that the Council commented that there is more truck traffic in neighborhoods resulting from Federal Express, UPS and similar businesses. In terms of enforcement, the City Council wanted the Committee to work on how to educate residents about the ordinance. Lastly, the Council asked the Committee to review whether yard waste should be collected from the curb rather than door-side. Shelley stated that she was frustrated that the enforcement issue wasn't better clarified. Robin stated that maybe the point is that the ordinance is on the books, so most people will follow it. Sharon and Barry both commented that they were not comfortable with curbside collection of yard waste. Sharon stated that she was concerned that the 8-week time periods proposed in the spring and the fall might be too confusing for residents. Shirley stated that her hauler offers two options for collection of yard waste -either yard waste collection all season long, or by paying for each bag individually Shirley felt that residents could be educated about when to set the bags at the curb Sharon said that if someone has the year long yard waste collection option, there would be confusion about when bags go at the curb and when they stay at the door She also noted that the paper yard waste bags fall over easily and make more of a mess. Barry http.//www ci.apple-valley.mn.us/Minutes/urban affairs/2004/02-24-04.htm 4/28/2009 Urban Affairs Advisory Minutes 2-24-2004 Page 3 of 4 concurred and said that when bags are set out the night before and then it rains, the bags do not hold up well. He suggested that the Committee recommend to the City Council that the haulers be required to provide residents with reusable containers for yard waste. He also agreed that the provision of 8 weeks in the sprang and 8 weeks in the fall was too confusing. Shelley said that when she keeps her yard waste at the garage, the roof overhang helps to keep her yard waste bags dry Sandy Breuer, on the other hand, said that her garage doesn't have an overhang. She said that if bags break, maybe it's better for them to break at the street. The haulers noted that the bags are difficult to handle and cannot be lifted from the top like a plastic bag. A hauler has to hug the bag around the middle to grab it. Ron Moening explained that Dakota County is the only county in the State that requires either compostable paper bags or reusable containers for yard waste. Plastic bags are prohibited for collection of yard waste in Dakota County Barry said that with the problems of paper bags, why not recommend reusable containers. Several committee members responded that thought this would be infeasible for those times dunng the sprang and the fall when there is a large amount of yard waste that must be disposed. It would require the homeowner to keep several cans on hand for the high peak yard waste collection season. Robin noted that she recently learned that residents can replace their old worn out recycling containers with new containers The Committee suggested that more information be provided to homeowners about this. The Committee next discussed ways of educating residents about the ordinance. The Committee stated that an article in the City Newsletter recapping the survey findings was a good idea. They also liked the idea of placing an insert into the water bill. Barry suggested that haulers could be asked to distribute information to their customers. Shirley responded that she didn't feel rt would be approprtate to require the haulers to do that on behalf of the City Shirley recommended that Staff revise the proposed curbside yard waste provision to eliminate the 8- week language, for further review and discussion at the next meeting. She also asked the Committee Members to come back at the next meeting with specific ideas about ways the City could educate residents about the ordinance. The Committee suggested that some of the following be explored. " Show on Cable TV Station about garbage and recycling " 2-Color brochure mailed to residents in the southeast quadrant of the City " Press releases to the local newspapers. " Information in the new resident packet could be improved immediately The Committee suggested placing a reminder of the door-side requirement on the list of licensed haulers. The Committee next discussed when to implement and how to educate residents about the curb side collection of yard waste. Some suggested that although it is probably too late for sprang collection, that the curb side program could begin m the fall. Others suggested that a change to curb side collection of yard waste should not begin until next year to give the City time to educate the residents. Shirley suggested that at the next meeting the Committee further discuss curbside collection of yard waste and work on a plan for an educational campaign for the garbage placement requirement. 5 OTHER BUSINESS http.//www ci.apple-valley.mn.us/Minutes/urban affairs/2004/02-24-04.htm 4/28/2009 Urban Affairs Advisory Minutes 2-24-2004 Page 4 of 4 None. 6 ADJOURNMENT MOTION Shelley moved, seconded by Sandy to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 9.15 p.m. http.//www ci.apple-valley.mn.us/Minutes/urban affairs/2004/02-24-04.htm 4/28/2009