ADMINISTRATION - Rebecca Haug, Water Resource Manager
Title
SOUTHERN BLAINE WETLAND SANCTUARY RESTORATION PLAN
Background
Staff is recommending approval of a Restoration Plan for the Southern Portion of the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary based on feedback received from the City Council at their December 9, 2019 Workship. Upon approval, the contractor will start work as soon as weather permits. Heavy equipment work is planned to be completed by March 1, 2020 and all tree work is planned to be completed by March 1, 2021, weather permitting.
Updates will be provided throughout the process to neighboring property owners and any other residents who have signed up for notifications through the city’s website.
At the December 9, 2019 City Council workshop, staff presented several plan options for the restoration work for the southern portion of the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary. All options include the preservation of native tree canopy species such as oak, American basswood, and black cherry trees. Since the state grant dollars are based on an acreage amount restored, the options focused on allowing the maximum amount of grant dollars to be used.
The Council discussed the following during the workshop:
• Approval of the acreage ‘swap’ of the strip of land adjacent to Branch 3 and south of 117th Lane NE cul-de-sac and the invasive species removal only areas in exchange for additional work in North Oaks West Park.
• Buffer level of clearing:
o Approve a managed buffer - remove invasive species, buckthorn, dead and diseased trees.
o Approve an unmanaged buffer - no removals.
• Buffer widths:
o Approve NRCB recommendation to leave zero buffer.
o Leave a 50-foot buffer along all treed property lines.
o Leave a 100-foot buffer along all treed property lines.
• Buffer location:
o Apply buffer to only portions of the boundary where homes are within 150 feet to address lot characteristics.
o Apply buffer to entire project.
Based on the discussion, council generally supported the following:
1. Acreage swap
2. Any buffer shall be managed for the removal of all dead/diseased, invasive and non-native vegetation
3. Any buffer shall be 100 foot in width
The council requested additional information on depth of rear yards as an additional reference to the lot characteristics of properties that abut the BWS and to assist in determining the location of any potential buffers.
Staff has created a map showing the distance of homes to the rear property lines of less than 100 feet (shown in red) and 100-150 feet (shown in orange). Any properties not highlighted have greater than 150 feet of rear yard private buffer to the project boundary. This exercise identified three main regions where a buffer could provide additional benefit to the adjacent homes:
A. North of the homes along 112th Circle
B. Two homes at the end of Rodeo Drive.
C. The first home north of 109th on Flanders Court.
Several other homes are less than 150 feet to the access easements or to Park property. In all these instances, the project will only be removing the buckthorn, dead/diseased trees, and woody invasive trees.
Recommendation
Approve the restoration plan for the southern portion of the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary that includes:
• The acreage ‘swap’ of the strip of land adjacent to Branch 3 and south of 117th Lane NE cul-de-sac and the invasive species removal only areas in exchange for additional work in North Oaks West Park.
• Any buffer shall be managed for the removal of all dead/diseased, invasive and non-native vegetation and shall be 100 foot in width
• A buffer shall be provided for Area A - adjacent to the homes along 112th Circle.
The following are suggested alternates should the Council prefer to expand the buffer locations:
Alternate 1
• Additional buffers for Areas B (end of Rodeo Dr.) and C (Flanders Ct/109th).
Alternate 2
• Provide the buffer around the entire project.