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4.a2 PC Resolution 5.3.16 ArcoNavisSolarGardenVarianceCUP docx CITY OF SCANDIA, MINNESOTA PC RESOLUTION NO. 05-03-16-__ APPROVING A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AND VARIANCE FOR A COMMUNITY SOLAR GARDEN LOCATED AT 21205 ST. CROIX TRAIL NORTH; WHEREAS, Argo Navis Community Solar Gardens LLC has made an application for a Conditional Use Permit and Variance to develop a Community Solar Garden to be located at 21205 St. Croix Trail North on 4 parels owned by James and Kathleen Zavoral; and WHEREAS, the property is legally described in Appendix A, attached; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission reviewed the request for a Conditional Use Permit at a duly noticed Public Hearing on May 3, 2016, and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SCANDIA, WASHINGTON COUNTY, MINNESOTA, that it should and hereby does recommend approval of a Conditional Use Permit and Variance to develop a Community Solar Garden at 21205 St. Croix Trail North, based on the following findings: Findings for the Conditional Use Permit 1. The proposed use will not have negative impacts on the health, safety, and general welfare of the occupants of surrounding lands. The proposed use will not produce emissions or pollutants. The applicant must meet City and watershed requirements for stormwater management and erosion and sediment control, and as a result will not impact ground or surface waters. The use will create minimal traffic, and will be required to obtain permits from MnDOT for roadway use. The use will not create noise impacts on surrounding areas. The solar garden is proposed in a location that is well-below the grade level of surrounding properties and TH 95 and 97. The location will provide significant screening of the project site. The conditions for approval of the CUP include requirements to maintain existing berms and vegetation that will screen the solar farm from views from public roadways and nearby homes, and require the applicant to install additional screening included in the project plans. Based on the conditions required for approval and operation of the Community Solar Garden, the proposed use will not impact the health, safety or general welfare of the occupants of surrounding properties. 2. The proposed use will not have negative traffic impacts on adjacent roadways. The site was previously mined and generated significant traffic. The proposed use will create traffic during construction that will be a reduction from the traffic generated by the mining use. The applicant estimates that the site will generate approximately 15-35 trips Resolution No.: 05-03-16-__ Page 2 of 6 per day during construction of the Solar Farm. After construction, the site will generate a few trips each quarter to maintain the facility. The number of trips is within the capacity of TH 95 and 97. The applicant is required to obtain access permits from MnDOT, and abide by the conditions of the permits. The use does not require dedicated parking. 3. The proposed use will have a positive effect on utilities and no impact on school capacities. The proposed use will help local energy utilities and the State of Minnesota to meet goals for the generation of renewable energy, and therefore will have a positive impact on utilities. It will not impact local school capacities. 4. The proposed use will not have a significant impact on property values and will not impact scenic views. The proposed solar array will be screened from views from the St. Croix Scenic Riverway, TH 95 (a State-designated Scenic Byway) and adjacent properties based on its elevation in relation to surrounding grades, by existing berms and vegetation, and by additional vegetative screening. The conditions require the applicant to maintain the existing berming and vegetative screening that screened the mining operation from view from TH 95 and 97, to maintain the existing vegetation that screens the site from views from the St. Croix River and parcels to the north, and to add a screen of deciduous trees between the solar array and properties to the west that is included in the project plans to protect adjacent residential properties from potential glare. The proposed use will not produce noise, emissions or other impacts that would negatively affect property values. 5. The proposed use is consistent with the goals and strategies in the Comprehensive Plan. The proposed use is within the Agriculture Core (AG C) District. The Comprehensive Plan supports long-term agriculture and uses related to agriculture in these districts. The city’s Solar Ordinance permits the proposed use in the AG C District. The Plan also encourages the use of renewable, local and diverse forms of energy to help to meet Minnesota’s climate protection goals. 6. The proposed use meets the dimensional requirements of the Development Code, and with the conditions proposed for approval and approval of the requested Variance, would meet the requirements and performance standards for Community Solar Gardens in the Code. 7. The proposed use will not have negative impacts on groundwater, surface waters or air quality. The proposed use will be required to obtain Watershed District and City permits that will include requirements for managing grading, erosion, and sediment control to protect ground and surface waters. The proposed plan will not impact wetlands or wetland buffer areas. The project will not impact air quality. 8. The proposed use is allowed with a conditional use permit in the AG C District. Findings for the Variance 1. The proposed variance is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of the official control. Resolution No.: 05-03-16-__ Page 3 of 6 Approval of the variance to permit construction of the project in the previously mined area will protect views from surrounding properties and public roadways; construction of the project in a location that met the setback requirements would make it more visible and violate the intent of the ordinance. The 600-foot setback requirement in the Solar Ordinance was adopted primarily to be implement policies in the Comprehensive Plan to protect viewsheds of and within the St. Croix Riverway corridor. It was also adopted to protect wildlife habitat areas from potential visual and physical impacts of solar gardens, such as stormwater and erosion. The viewshed analysis in the Zavoral Mine and Reclamation EIS concluded that no part of the project site is visible from the river, and that the existing bluffs and vegetation block all views of the Site from any location on the river. The applicant’s proposed site plan places the solar garden in a location that is significantly lower than TH 95, TH 97, and surrounding properties. The proposed site plan and conditions for the CUP require that the applicant and owner maintain existing berms and vegetation, and add additional screening to screen views of the array from nearby homes that screen the site from views from public roadways, adjacent properties, and from the St. Croix River. The application includes a “field” type fence, which will permit animal movements through the site. The proposed use will not create noise, stormwater runoff, or other impacts to the proposed SNA or wildlife habitat within the Riverway District. The proposed location of the array at a low position within the site, the required maintenance of existing berms and other screening, the additional screening required, and the proposed fencing, the proposed site plan is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of the Comprehensive Plan and Development Code to protect views of and within the Riverway from structures that may negatively impact scenic views, and is in harmony with the purpose and intent to protect wildlife habitat areas from potential impacts of the proposed use. 2. The property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner under the conditions allowed by official control(s). Community Solar Gardens are permitted, and therefore reasonable, uses in the Agriculture Core (AG C) District. The proposed use is a reasonable use based on the official controls. 3. The practical difficulties are not caused by the landowner, and are unique to the property. The practical difficulties are unique to the property, and include the steep slopes on the site that result from its previous use as a gravel mine. The proposed location maintains the widest possible setback from the Riverway boundary and proposed SNA, while placing the structure outside the steep slope areas where it would be more visible from the public roadway and adjacent properties. 4. The variance would not alter the essential character of the area. The parcel has been used as a gravel mine in recent years and in the past. The proposed use will have less potential impact to the character of the area than the mine operation. The proposed location of the Community Solar Garden below the grade of adjacent parcels, and the conditions Resolution No.: 05-03-16-__ Page 4 of 6 requiring maintenance of existing screening and addition of new screening will preserve the essential character of the surrounding area. 5. The practical difficulties are not caused by economic conditions alone. The practical difficulties are the result of the steep slope areas on the site where the array could be viewed from public roadways and adjacent properties. The practical difficulties are not only economic in nature. 6. The proposed variance will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, or substantially increase the congestion of the public streets, or increase the danger of fire, or endanger the public safety, or substantially diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood. With the required permits, proposed solar garden location on the site, and conditions required for screening, the proposed variance will not impair the supply of light or air to adjacent properties, increase congestion, endanger the public, or substantially diminish or impair property values in the neighborhood. 7. The required variance is the minimum action required to eliminate the practical difficulty. The variance permits construction of the solar array in a location that is setback as far as possible from the Riverway boundary while placing the array in a location where it will be screened from view to meet the Development Code requirements. The proposed variance is the minimum action needed to eliminate the practical difficulty to permit construction of a barn on the parcel. 8. The proposed Community Solar Garden location meets the use’s need for direct sunlight for solar energy systems. FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that the following conditions of approval shall be met: 1. The project shall be in substantial compliance with the plans submitted to the City on April 12, 2016, and shall submit updated plans to the City to address the items identified for review and approval by the Engineer in these conditions before a building permit shall be approved for the project. 2. The Solar Farm shall be in compliance with all applicable local, state and federal regulatory standards, including the current Minnesota Building Code, the National Electric Code, the State Plumbing Code and the Minnesota Energy Code. 3. The right-of-way shall be secured and recorded along the entire western boundary of the property (Parcel ID 1803219330004) that includes approximately 113 feet in width east of the section line. 4. The applicant shall revise the plans to show proposed gravel access roads that are a minimum width of 20 feet to meet public safety requirements. The applicant shall include a proposed typical section of the gravel access road to show that it will support emergency medical vehicles. 5. The solar farm shall be designed, located, and/or screened to prevent reflective glare toward any inhabited buildings on adjacent properties and adjacent street rights of way. Resolution No.: 05-03-16-__ Page 5 of 6 6. The site owner and applicant shall maintain the existing berms and vegetative screens that were created for the mine project on the site after mining and reclamation are complete, to screen the solar project from views from TH 95, TH 97, and homes to the west of the site. 7. The City shall work with Tiller Corporation to amend the Reclamation Plan for the Zavoral Mine and Reclamation project as part of the Annual Operating Permit process to indicate that the berms and screening vegetation on the west side of the mine will remain after reclamation is completed, to amend the seeding mix and maintenance plan if needed, and to show that the plan does not conflict with the proposed Solar Garden use on the site. 8. The applicant shall provide the proposed additional screening shown on the project plans. The screening shall include a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees and shrubs that are native species to the area. Trees and shrubs shall be a minimum 6 feet in height at planting. 9. The owner and applicant shall maintain the existing vegetation between the solar garden and the St. Croix River bluffs to protect the river and bluffs to the east from views of the project. 10. The owner and applicant shall maintain the existing vegetation on the parcel to the north and south of the solar garden to protect views from adjacent parcels and the proposed Crystal Springs SNA. 11. The applicant shall work with the City to identify an appropriate seed mix for the site, and to complete the final vegetation maintenance and management plan. Seeds shall come from a local seed source, seed tags shall state that the mix is noxious weed free and Pure Live Seed Certified. The City shall coordinate the seed mix, maintenance, and management plan with Tiller Corporation and the Reclamation Plan for the Zavoral Mine project. 12. The applicant shall confirm the setback from the Crystal Springs SNA. 13. The applicant shall complete dust control during construction using water only, with no added dust-suppressant. 14. All new lighting and signage at the site shall meet the Development Code lighting requirements. 15. The applicant shall obtain the required Watershed District permit(s). 16. The applicant shall obtain the required Grading/Land Alteration Permit from the City. 17. The applicant shall obtain all necessary permits and approvals from MnDOT for the proposed access at TH 97. 18. The applicant shall address the City Engineer’s comments included in his letter dated April 19, 2016, including:  The applicant shall obtain a Grading/Land Alteration Permit from the City. The applicant shall identify the proposed locations of grading activity on the grading Resolution No.: 05-03-16-__ Page 6 of 6 plan, and shall include an erosion and sediment control plan for construction activities in the application.  All site work shall be in compliance with the rules of the Watershed District. 19. The applicant shall address MnDOT’s comments included in its letter dated _____. 20. The applicant shall comply with the Development Code and Solar Ordinance fencing requirements, and shall obtain an Administrative Permit for the fence if it exceeds 6 feet in height. 21. The applicant shall complete an interconnection agreement with the local utility and submit a copy of the agreements to the City before it issues building and other permits. 22. The applicant shall submit proof to the City that it has obtained and maintains general liability insurance that meets the ordinance requirement. 23. The applicant shall provide the warning signs at the site that are required by the City’s Solar Systems Ordinance. Design, locations and specifications of signs shall conform to the Development Code. 24. The applicant shall complete a Developer Agreement with the City. The Agreement shall include a financial guarantee acceptable to the City to assure compliance with the Decommissioning Plan. 25. Any expansion of the Solar Farm shall require an amended conditional use permit. 26. The applicant shall pay all fees and escrows associated with this application. Adopted by the Scandia Planning Commission this 3rd day of May, 2016. ______________________________ Christine Maefsky, Chair ATTEST: _________________________________ Neil Soltis, Administrator/Clerk