7.b ii.1 CouncilMemoLandspreadingOrdinanceHearing 1.17.17
Memorandum
To: Scandia Planning
Commission
Reference: Ordinance Amendment
Designating Zoning Districts for
Land Spreading of Waste
(Septage)
Copies To: Neil Soltis, City
Administrator
Brenda Eklund, City Clerk
Project No.: 16023.000
From: Sherri Buss, RLA AICP,
Planner
Routing:
Date: January 10,2017
Washington County permits contractors to spread waste (septage) on licensed agricultural
properties. Some farmers are interested in this use to fertilize their fields. The County
ordinance that governs this use (Ordinance 114) permits the use on all agricultural properties,
and regulates this use. The City must sign off on the applications that landowners submit to the
County for this use, indicating that the use is consistent with its zoning ordinance.
The Planning Commission discussed the need for an ordinance to specify the zoning districts
where properties could be permitted to spread septage in Scandia. The Commission
recommended that land spreading be permitted in Scandia on agricultural properties in the
Agriculture Core (AG C) and Agriculture Preserves (AP) Districts, but not in the General Rural
(GR) or Village Neighborhood (VN) Districts, where agricultural uses are permitted, but lot sizes
are smaller and spreading septage is more likely to have negative impacts on adjacent parcels.
The Commission noted that Washington County does not permit land spreading in Shoreland
areas, and this information will be added to the City’s Shoreland Mangement Ordinance when
other amendments are considered in the future.
The Commission held a public hearing on the draft ordinance at its meeting on January 3. The
amendment includes the following:
Adds the County definitions for Land Spreading/Land Application and Land
Spreading/Land Application Site to the definitions in the Development Code.
Adds Land Spreading/Land Application of Solid Waste (County-Licensed), Accessory to
an Agriculture Use to the list of accessory uses in the AG C and AG P sections of
Chapter 2 of the Development Code.
Excludes land spreading of septage in the General Rural (GR) and Village
Neighborhood Districts as part of the Agricultural use permitted in those districts.
The Commission received no written or verbal comments on the proposed ordinance, and
recommended that the City Council adopt the ordinance at its January 17 meeting.