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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-11-23 PACKET 06.1.STAFF REPORT CASE: EAW2015-041 ITEM: 6.1 PUBLIC MEETING DATE: 11/23/15 TENTATIVE COUNCIL REVIEW DATE: 12/16/15 APPLICATION APPLICANT: Hillcrest Development, LLC REQUEST: An Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for development of the Southeast Industrial Park. Complete development of the site could result in the construction of up to 560,000 square feet of industrial space, depending upon the future user. SITE DATA LOCATION: Bordered by Canadian Pacific RR and Hwy 61 to the north, Hamlet Park to the west, and 91st Street to the south ZONING: 1-5, Railroad Access GUIDED LAND USE: Industrial LAND USE OF ADJACENT PROPERTIES: CURRENT GUIDED NORTH: Railroad/Commercial Railroad/Commercial EAST: Industrial Industrial SOUTH: Industrial Industrial WEST: Parks & Open Space Parks & Open Space SIZE: DENSITY: 38.72 acres N/A RECOMMENDATION Find that there is a negative need to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and that the EAW is sufficient to ascertain the negative need to prepare an EIS based on the established findings. G ovee COTTAGE GROVE PLANNING DIVISION ere "We a',,', yer1ty Meet Planning Staff Contact: John M. Burbank, Senior Planner; 651-458-2825; 4burbank at7.cottage-grove.om Application Accepted:. 9/29/15 60 -Day Review Deadline: 11/27/15 City of Cottage Grove Planning Division 9 12800 Ravine Parkway South • Cottage Grove, MN 55016 Planning Staff Report Hillcrest Development Southeast Industrial Park EAW — Case EAW2015-041 November 23, 2015 Proposal Hillcrest Development LLC has submitted a mandatory Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for a proposed development of the Southeast Industrial Park, which will entail the devel- opment of 38.72 acres of land guided for industrial use. The land is generally bordered by the Canadian Pacific Railway and Highway 61 to the north, Hamlet Park to the west, and 91st Street to the south. The site is predominantly non-native grassland with a small amount of woods on its western boundary. Complete development of the site could result in construction of up to 560,000 square feet of industrial space, depending upon the future user. Development Location Map Planning Staff Report Southeast Industrial Park EAW — Case EAW2015-041 November 23, 2015 Page 2 of 4 Southeast Industrial Park FIGURE 5 5 _fi ea mµenarnus I `I I I u, A I I h"fiIR[i4OU1,1 Ya Representative Development Scenario legend Southeast Industrial Park EAW Study Area # Collage(' rove, MN I(. $Ou,m1: M.le�ri ww..�..+vmx..�yst....., w�.�p.....' _,..,.,,..._,....,..,....,..._. �.-,.,...�._�.-,_.�:._..u......................_....... w.....•�'.nnwa.,...«�...,�. Southeast Industrial Park Concept Plan Background State statutes require that industrial developments greater than 450,000 square feet in class two cities within the Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA) are required to prepare an EAW prior to development. The purpose of the mandatory EAW is to determine if the preparation of an Planning Staff Report Southeast Industrial Park EAW— Case EAW2015-041 November 23, 2015 Page 3 of 4 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is necessary. The government unit responsible for envi- ronmental review is usually the unit with the greatest authority over the project as a whole. For this project, the City of Cottage Grove was determined to be the Responsible Governmental Unit (RGU) assigned to the Southeast Industrial Park EAW. Sambatek Associates was hired by the applicant as the consulting firm responsible for preparation and distribution of the EAW. Repre- sentatives from Sambatek worked proactively with the City in completing the required studies an analysis associated with the EAW. Minnesota Statutes (Section 116D.04, Subdivision 2b and 4410.3100, Subpart 1) requires that when an environmental review is being conducted, a project may not proceed and permits authorizing the project may not be issued. The site plan review and platting applications have yet to be filed, and there has been no permitted activity or other activities occurring on the site. The Guide to Minnesota Environmental Review Rules is attached as Exhibit B. The draft Environmental Assessment Worksheet is published with the Environmental Quality Board for a 30 -day public review and comment period. The Southeast Industrial Park EAW doc- ument was published in the EQB Volume 39. No. 23 on November 9, 2015 and distributed to relevant governmental agencies at that time. The link to the draft EAW to be published is included as Exhibit C. The official 30 -day comment period for the Southeast Industrial Park EAW expires on December 9, 2015. After that date, the City of Cottage Grove will review and provide comments on the EAW based on testimony received at the public hearing on November 23. After the official comment period closes, the comments will be collated by category and relevancy by Sambatek. After the compilation of comments, the City will review the comments on December 16, 2015 and make a determination of the requirement of an EIS and then redistribute a response to the com- ments and the final decision to the EQB for publication. An appeal of an EAW or EIS need decision or EIS adequacy must be initiated within 30 days of the RGU decision being challenged (Minnesota Statutes, Section 116D.04, Subdivision 10). ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET PROCESS 30 CALENDAR DAYS EAW PREPARATION RGU Proposer RGU promptly reviews Data submittal RGU RGU completes RGU dlstdbmes EAW RGU determines sobmis EA.1 ( submittal for complete ( notifies ( EAW and to dlstdbutlanllsI ( issues EAW is completed data !completeness; returns to proposer approves It for !press necessary portions to RGU proposer if Incomplete distdbutlon release PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD EIS NEED DECISION f..-.. _---.....-- 4..- ..-..-..-.___ ..-.._.__ ..-- I Noticepubllshed In EOBMondor 130 -day RGU decides If"cled 130 calendar day RGU distributes Notice published In EOR 11 7 to 21 days after receipt of EAW; 11 comment needs EIS, prepares 11 Judicial appeal notice of Morta7 to 71 days 30 -day comment period begins period findings of fad; and period beings decision after receipt of decision! ends responds to comments rondnned � r••r• r• rr rr r r• r• r r••r * Con rm;P depending on RGU. Planning Staff Report Southeast Industrial Park EAW — Case EAW2015-041 November 23, 2015 Page 4 of 4 Planning Considerations The City's consulting engineer reviewed the draft document and provided comments which were incorporated into the final published EAW. Public Hearing Notices The public hearing notice was mailed to 6 properties within 500 feet and published in the South Washington County Bulletin on November 10, 2015. Findings The Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for Southeast Industrial Park was found to be sufficient to ascertain the negative need to prepare an EIS based on the following conclusions: 1. Consistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan. 2. Properly prepared utilizing proper methodologies. 3. Properly prepared utilizing proper and commonly accepted assumptions and rationale. 4. Properly published. 5. Properly noticed. 6. In compliance with required public hearing requirements. 7. Not predicted to cause a negative impact on any of the established criteria of impact measurement. Recommendation That the Planning Commission recommend that the City Council find that there is a negative need to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Southeast Industrial Park Industrial development and associated subdivision, and that the EAW was sufficient to ascertain the negative need to prepare an EIS based on the established findings. Prepared by John M. Burbank, AICP Senior Planner Attachments: Exhibit A = Site Plan Exhibit B = Guide to Minnesota Environmental Review Rules Exhibit C = Southeast Industrial Park EAW Complete —September 29, 2015 Exhibit D = Notice of Publication Southeast Industrial Park FIGURE 2 ...".._..._............._..._............... ._--- ........ _..._........................._,w.__....,..,.,,..,....,..,,,,..�,....a.uFNo,,,.�w,o. .....,,..,.w,,, 6LOO'�'�- Publication Minnesota Environmental Quality Board oZr4Date: November 9, 2015 Next Publication: November 23, 2015 Vol. 39, No. 23 Submittal Deadline: November 16, 2015 Submit to EQB.Monitor(7astate.mn.us The EQB has transitioned to a new electronic notification system called GovDelivery. Add MNEQB(apublic.govdeliverv.com to your address book or safe sender list. Manage your subscription. Check the EQB Calendar for Monitor deadlines and Board meetings. Meeting minutes, agendas and additional notices are also posted on the EQB website. • Environmental Assessment Worksheets • Environmental Assessment Worksheet Need Decisions • Environmental Impact Statement Need Decisions • Final Environmental Impact Statements • Notices Environmental Assessment Worksheets The following EAWs have a comment deadline of December 9, 2015 Project Title: Mirror Lake Improvements Project Description: The City of St. Anthony Village and Rice Creek Watershed District propose to complete a water quality improvement and flood control project in Mirror Lake. The project will provide improved pollutant removals, reduce nutrient transport downstream to Long Lake, and reduce downstream local flooding. RGU: City of St. Anthony Village Contact Person: Jay Hartman Director of Public Works City of St. Anthony Village 3301 Silver Lake Road St. Anthony, MN 55418 612-782-3314 lay. hartman()ci. saint-anthonv.mn. us Project Title: Southeast Industrial Park Project Description: The Southeast Industrial Park is 38.72 acres of Industrial guided land in Cottage Grove, MN. The site bordered by the Canadian Pacific Railway, Highway 61, Hamlet Park, and 92nd Street contains predominantly non-native grassland with a small amount of woods. Construction of 560,000 square feet of Industrial space is anticipated The EAW may be viewed at City Hall or the Park Grove Branch Library, and is available for download on the City's website. Alternatively, you may contact Ben Gozola at 763-746-1650 or bgozola(asambatek.com, and he will provide you with a copy. RGU: City of Cottage Grove Contact Person: John Burbank Senior Planner City of Cottage Grove 12800 Ravine Parkway Cottage Grove, MN 55016 651-458-2825 jburbank(a�cottage-grove.ora Project Title: Minnesota Municipal Power Agency — Shakopee Distributed Generation Facility Project Description: The Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (Proposer) is proposing to build, own, and operate a new electric generating energy station (Project) in the city of Shakopee (City), Minnesota. See Attachments 1 and 2. This new electric generating station is to be known as the Shakopee Distributed Generation (SDG) Facility (SDG Facility). The Proposer, a municipal power agency, provides wholesale electrical generation and transmission service to 12 municipally -owned member utilities. The Project includes installation of five 9.341 megawatt (MW) Wartsila reciprocating natural gas-fired electrical generating units (which consists of both the engines and generators, and is also known as gensets) in a new building, for a total capacity of up to 46.705 megawatts. The SDG Facility will also include air quality controls - post -combustion catalytic controls (selective catalytic reduction and catalytic oxidation). Liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be used as a limited back up. The SDG Facility will interconnect to the City's Dean Lake Substation at a distribution level voltage. A copy of the Notice of Availability and the EAW can be found on the MPGA website at the following address: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/topics/environmental- review/environmental-assessment-worksheets-and-environmental-impact-statements. htm I Comment Period: November 9 -December 9, 2015 RGU: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Contact Person: Nancy Drach Planner Principal Environmental Review Unit -4th Floor Resource Management and Assistance Division Minnesota Pollution Control Agency 520 Lafayette Road North St. Paul, MN 55155-4194 651-757-2317 nancy. drach(a)state. mn. us The Southeast Industrial Park Draft Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) can be accessed at the following link: http://www.cottage-qrove.org/docs/se-indpark-draft-eaw.pdf Please note that this document consists of 896 pages. (1(\Je.dg6 6 Raper+ / DWS e,rs Coo 1111 V l5 City of Cottage Grove Planning Commission Notice of Public Hearing APPLICANT: Hillcrest Development LLC REQUEST: An Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for development of the Southeast Industrial Park, which will entail the development of 38.72 acres of land guided for Industrial use. The land in question is generally bordered by the Canadian Pacific Railway and Highway 61 to the north, Hamlet Park to the west, and 91st Street to the south. The site is predominantly non-native grass- land with a small amount of woods on its western boundary. Complete development of the site could result in construction of up to 560,000 square feet of industrial space, depending upon the future user. The City of Cottage Grove is the designated Responsible Governmental Unit (RGU). The publication date for this project in the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) Monitor will be October 26, 2015, with the formal review and comment deadline date of November 25, 2015. WHEN: Monday, November 23, 2015, starting at 7:00 p.m WHERE: Council Chambers at Cottage Grove City Hall 12800 Ravine Parkway South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on this application in the Council Chambers at Cottage Grove City Hall. The purpose of the hearing is to provide citizens the opportunity to comment on the proposed application. Persons interested in speaking will be heard at this public hearing. If you are unable to attend the hearing but would like to provide input, you are encouraged to submit written comments. Information on this application can be obtained from the Community Development Department at 651-458-2827. The list of affected property owners for this public meeting was derived from official Washington County records. Because of the lag time between occupancy and recordkeeping, a few affected property owners may have been missed. Please feel free to notify your neighbors of this meeting so all may have the opportunity to attend. Dated November 11, 2015.