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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.b. UMore Gravel Mining: Ancillary UsesoA" � EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CITY COUNCIL City Council Worksession Date: June 15, 2010 AGENDA I fEM: UMore Gravel Mining: Ancillary Uses AGENDA SECTION: Discussion PREPARE] BY: Eric Zweber, Senior Planner AGENDA NO. , B ATTACHMENTS: Proposed Ancillary Operation Site Plan, Ancillary Use Photos APPROVED BY: RECOMMENDED ACTION: Discussion Only SUMMARY The University of Minnesota is interested in mining aggregate in the western third of the UMore property. The portion of UMore that is proposed for mining in Rosemount is roughly bounded by Biscayne Avenue to the west, Akron Avenue to the east, County Road 42 to the north, and County Road 46 to the south. The University would like to mine the aggregate for a number of reasons: to provide funds for site clean up and finance development of other portions of the UMore site, and to create a more interesting and attractive topography. The University has selected Dakota Aggregates, LLC, a partnership between Cemstone and Ames Construction, to operate the gravel mining operation at UMore. In February, the City Council reviewed the preliminary gravel plan prepared by Dakota Aggregates and provided comments. Since that time, staff has been discussing the proposed ancillary uses, such as concrete and asphalt plants, with Dakota Aggregates and University staff. The plan submitted indicates approximately 188 acres dedicated to their requested ancillary uses. Due to concerns raised by the staff about off -site impacts and on -site views, the University has suggested they could buffer the ancillary use area with another 33 acres of land, left vacant as a barrier between future development and the mining uses. Staff is concerned about the size of the ancillary use area and the types of uses proposed. Due to how mining operations work, the ancillary uses will be the last area cleaned up after all mining is complete. That means that 180 -220 acres (ancillary uses plus buffer) will remain on the site well after mining and reclamation has occurred within Rosemount. These ancillary uses will also service all mining activity in Empire Township. Ultimately, staff is concerned about the impact of locating the ancillary uses in Rosemount and the affect it will have on timing and staging of future development on the UMore property. Those issues are the topic of this agenda item. DISCUSSION Dakota Aggregates has proposed eight discrete uses on their ancillary operation site plan: aggregate processing, office, recycling yard, asphalt plant, concrete plant, bag plant, maintenance facility, and casting yard. Two of these uses, aggregate processing and offices, would likely be considered as accessory uses since without the gravel mine, there would be no use for the aggregate processing or the office. The other six uses are less similar to accessory uses because they can be found operating separately and on their own. The reason why the University is interested in siting these uses within the mining area is that the individual uses depend upon mining material for their finished product. However, many mines do not have these types of businesses and often they may have a relationship with a mining owner but are not geographically located immediately adjacent to the mining operation. Staff sees three issues that the Council should consider when discussing the proposed ancillary uses associated with the mining: to what degree are these uses accessory and necessary to the operation of the mining activity; can negative off -site impacts of the ancillary uses be mitigated for existing residents and the future residents of the UMore property; and what is the affect of the amount, overall size, and type of ancillary uses on the timing of development of the UMore property within the City of Rosemount. Proposed Ancillary Uses PROPOSED USE RELATION TO DESCRIPTION GRAVEL MINE Aggregate processing is the washing, crushing and screening of the raw aggregate mined from Directly Related; the site into pile of separate, marketable AGGREGATE Expected Accessory aggregate products. Examples of these products PROCESSING Use include sand, class 5, landscape boulders, MnDOT specification concrete aggregate. Typically occurs within the mining pit, although not proposed to in this case. Offices for managers of Dakota Aggregate, meeting rooms for employee training sessions, break or lunch rooms, and bathroom facilities. Directly Related; Offices in most gravel mines are in the form of OFFICE Expected Accessory a construction trailer but due to the size and Use length of time of the gravel mining and ancillary uses, it would be expected that the offices would be larger and housed in permanent buildings with running water. Similar to the aggregate processing in function but the difference is recycled material is trucked in from off site and does not come directly from Indirectly Related; the gravel mine. All of the existing gravel mines RECYCLING YARD Common Accessory in Rosemount recycle concrete and aggregate Use from road projects, but none of them recycle asphalt or shingles. The asphalt plant could take RAP (recycled asphalt product) or recycled shingles to lower the amount of oil needed for a batch of asphalt. Series of silos, oil storage tanks, truck scales, conveyors and aggregate piles that are used to Indirectly Related; manufacture asphalt. Due to the different types ASPHALT PLANT Common Accessory of asphalt batches, six silos in two rows of three Use are anticipated. The proposed plan includes three oil storage tanks of 12,000 barrels each which could store over 1,500,000 gallons of oil 2 on site. Current ordinance requires separate interim use permit for this use. Asphalt plant does not have to be located near mine i.e.: Valley Paying and Pine Bend Paying. A concrete plant looks similar to asphalt plant with silos, truck scales, conveyors and aggregate piles but without the oil storage tanks. The plans include one concrete plant that would Indirectly Related; enclose silos and truck scales to allow winter CONCRETE PLANT Common Accessory Production but there are also plans for a second "summer" Use plant that would not be enclosed. This "summer" plant would likely be stored on site over the winter. Current ordinance allows a concrete plant as accessory to a permitted mine. There are no concrete plants currently in operation in the City. The maintenance facility is a truck and heavy equipment repair shop similar to the shops located at the trucking firms located on the east side of Rosemount. While the maintenance shop would likely work on the trucks and heavy Indirectly Related; equipment from the gravel mine, the MAINTENANCE Uncommon maintenance facility will work more often on FACILITY Accessory Use trucks and equipment from the asphalt plant, concrete plant, and other ancillary uses. Typically, a gravel mine would not have enough equipment to warrant erection of a maintenance facility. Current ordinance standards would typically allow this type of use accessory to a permitted use such as a trucking facility. A bag plant is a manufacturing facility where aggregate, dry pre -mixed cement or mortar, and landscape products are bagged for retail sales similar to the products that you would buy in a Home Depot. Some of the products like playground sand or paver base may come Not Directly Related; directly from the gravel mine, while the pre - BAG PLANT Stand -alone Use in mixed cement or mortar is from material on site Other Communities due to the concrete plant, and other products such as landscape rock are trucked in bulk from off -site. Cemstone currently has a stand -alone bag house in St. Paul that they would like to move here. Current ordinance standards would locate this use in the G -1 General Industrial District. During our previous City Council work session, we talked over some of the impacts from these operations and how their impacts can be mitigated. We discussed setbacks, berming, landscaping, dust control, noise standards, and limiting vehicle routes for extending hours of operation. Since the last work session, staff has had a meeting with Dakota Aggregates and UMore regarding the size, location and intensity of the ancillary facilities. Specifically, staff expressed concerns that the aggregation of these proposed uses in size and number in one single location are unprecedented in the Twin Cities and to our collective knowledge, anywhere. Additionally, staff raised the concern that as proposed the ancillary facilities are located adjacent to the gravel mining pits, on higher ground, consistent with land elevations for future development. This location is much more difficult to mitigate than the typical ancillary uses that are located within the working gravel mine that can use the depth of the gravel mine and its setbacks and landscaped berms as mitigating factors. Dakota Aggregates and UMore have conceded that there is no location with a similar collection of ancillary uses but claimed that there would not be any greater cumulative effects. The EIS will be addressing some of the potential impacts although part of the concern is that it only relates to existing surrounding development and not future development on the University property. Some of the proposed ancillary uses, such as the cement and asphalt plant, have direct relationship with the gravel mine because the aggregate being mined is their primary raw material. Other ancillary uses being proposed, such as the bag plant, casting yard, or maintenance facility, have an additional degree of separation from the gravel mine. The bag plant creates bags of products for retail sale, some are aggregate from the mine, some are dry mixes of cement or mortar from the concrete plant, and some are materials such as landscaping rock which are brought to the facility from other sites. The casting yard is designed to create objects cast from the cement from the concrete plant, not from material directly from the mine. The maintenance facility may work on some of the vehicles from the mine but most of the vehicles they will work on are from the concrete plant, asphalt plant, or vehicles that haul material to and from the bag plant or casting yard. The University has indicated that one of the benefits of having all these uses on -site is that the mined aggregate will be used faster, thereby allowing development to occur sooner. However, 4 The casting yard would be used to store concrete products. There is a relatively small building planned for casting and kilning the concrete products but the majority of the site is outdoor storage. Dakota Aggregates stated the plant would manufacture concrete products including retaining wall blocks and bridge Not Directly Related; sections. Other cast concrete products could be CASTING YARD Stand -alone Use in concrete pipe like those formally produced at Other Communities Hanson's in Apple Valley. The casting yard would be located at this facility because of the concrete plant. Commonly, casting yards are separate industrial uses or cast -in -place similar to the I -35W bridge section where casting occurs on -site. Current ordinance standards would permit this use in the G -1 General Industrial zoning district provided the casting building was at least 10% of the lot area. During our previous City Council work session, we talked over some of the impacts from these operations and how their impacts can be mitigated. We discussed setbacks, berming, landscaping, dust control, noise standards, and limiting vehicle routes for extending hours of operation. Since the last work session, staff has had a meeting with Dakota Aggregates and UMore regarding the size, location and intensity of the ancillary facilities. Specifically, staff expressed concerns that the aggregation of these proposed uses in size and number in one single location are unprecedented in the Twin Cities and to our collective knowledge, anywhere. Additionally, staff raised the concern that as proposed the ancillary facilities are located adjacent to the gravel mining pits, on higher ground, consistent with land elevations for future development. This location is much more difficult to mitigate than the typical ancillary uses that are located within the working gravel mine that can use the depth of the gravel mine and its setbacks and landscaped berms as mitigating factors. Dakota Aggregates and UMore have conceded that there is no location with a similar collection of ancillary uses but claimed that there would not be any greater cumulative effects. The EIS will be addressing some of the potential impacts although part of the concern is that it only relates to existing surrounding development and not future development on the University property. Some of the proposed ancillary uses, such as the cement and asphalt plant, have direct relationship with the gravel mine because the aggregate being mined is their primary raw material. Other ancillary uses being proposed, such as the bag plant, casting yard, or maintenance facility, have an additional degree of separation from the gravel mine. The bag plant creates bags of products for retail sale, some are aggregate from the mine, some are dry mixes of cement or mortar from the concrete plant, and some are materials such as landscaping rock which are brought to the facility from other sites. The casting yard is designed to create objects cast from the cement from the concrete plant, not from material directly from the mine. The maintenance facility may work on some of the vehicles from the mine but most of the vehicles they will work on are from the concrete plant, asphalt plant, or vehicles that haul material to and from the bag plant or casting yard. The University has indicated that one of the benefits of having all these uses on -site is that the mined aggregate will be used faster, thereby allowing development to occur sooner. However, 4 placement of the ancillary uses in Rosemount means that at a minimum all lands dedicated to those uses will be last to develop. That means that development would go around the staged ancillary use area, and would enter into Empire Township before being completed in Rosemount. To address potential off -site impacts to future residents on the UMore property, the idea of a land buffer around the ancillary uses has been suggested by the University. A buffer of several hundred feet around the proposed ancillary uses would further reduce the amount of developable land until the end of mining (projected at 40 years) and could inhibit development within Rosemount on lands not designated for mining. In other words, while approximately 380 acres would remain undeveloped due to the ancillary uses, other residential development will not want to locate too close to those uses, impacting future development opportunities. Currently the City's ordinances for mining are to permit mining as an interim use until such time as development approaches or development is negatively impacted. UMore's buffer suggestion could result in development being delayed or reduced to allow the interim ancillary uses to continue for the mining's entire 40 plus year lifespan. As a reminder, the preliminary gravel mining plan called for gravel mining to finish in Rosemount within 25 years but that the ancillary facilities would remain for an additional 15 years beyond that resulting in the reclaimed gravel mine in Empire being developed before the ancillary uses would end. When discussions about mining initially occurred with the University, the mining (financing) was more looked at as a means to an end, future development of the UMore property. As we continue discussions about site development, the mining has taken on more of a prominent role in the future development of the property. Staff is uncomfortable supporting a use that will hinder the City's ultimate goal, to develop UMore. Generallndustrial — the Land Use Classification ofAncillary Uses The collection of ancillary uses proposed would individually be defined as GI — General Industrial uses under the Zoning Ordinance. The proposed concrete plant, asphalt plant, and bag plant are proposed to be 105, 89, and 85 feet tall respectively. The City Code requires that 1/3 of the height of these facilities need to be screened, which in the case of the cement plant would be 35 feet, but the remaining 70 feet would be visible. Additional impacts will result from the additional truck traffic, dust, noise, and light generated from these uses that will need to mitigated for but cannot be prevented. The concept of adding general industrial uses to the UMore property is inconsistent with previous policy discussions about limiting the General and Heavy Industrial uses to the areas currently zoned and guided for those uses. As the Council has discussed the City has an abundance of industrial land, primarily due to existing land uses in the area. While the ancillary uses proposed are interim, approximately 40 years, it is long enough to have an impact on the development pattern of the surrounding lands. The proposed ancillary facility northwest of Akron Avenue and County Road 46 would result in the creation of a 188 acre general industrial park within the proposed UMore Park development. The facility is roughly 4,500 feet east to west and 2,500 feet north to south. If an additional 200 foot buffer was provided on the north and east side of the ancillary facility to buffer the facility from future development, an additional 33 acres would be undevelopable. The question to the Council is 220 acres of land an acceptable amount of land to prevent from being developed for 40 or more year in addition to the nuisances generated by the uses. In our existing Comprehensive Plan, we buffer general industrial uses from residential uses by having a transition of other land uses such as major transportation corridors or commercial or business park uses. During the 42/52 study, there was public comment expressing concern about designating property residential within 2 miles of the active portion of the Flint Hills refinery. With 5 this ancillary use facility, the future residential UMore neighborhoods will be constructed adjacent (separated only by any open area buffer prevented from being developed) to these general industrial uses. There is no other area in Rosemount where the proximity of general industrial and residential uses are planned. Comparison of Typical Gravel Minim Ancillary Uses and the Proposed UMore Ancillary Uses During the recent zoning ordinance amendments and comprehensive planning process there was a conscious decision to locate high impact industrial uses in the area currently housing those uses. The "eastside" of Rosemount contains numerous businesses which would be undesirable to live near. For that reason the City has designated Heavy and General Industrial uses near Hwy 52 in the north and eastern portions of the City. Staff is uncomfortable supporting the location of what amounts to General Industrial uses in the UMore property. This impacts the future development potential of the area and also impacts the public perception and market attractiveness of the community. RECOMMENDATION When discussions about mining initially occurred with the University, the mining was more looked at as a means to an end; future development of the UMore property. As we continue discussions about site development, the mining has taken on more of a prominent role in the future development of the property. Staff is uncomfortable supporting a use that will hinder the City's ultimate goal, to develop UMore, resulting in potential decade delays and less orderly development. Staff is considering two possible courses of action, either reducing the size of the ancillary facility, most likely removing the less accessory uses proposed, or requiring the ancillary facilities to move south of County Road 46 into Empire Township. Reducing the size of the ancillary facility would allow more land to develop and require Dakota Aggregate to choose what are truly ancillary uses that they want to construct. Moving the ancillary facilities to Empire Township would locate the uses next to the land that would be mined 40 years from now, provide the County Road 46 corridor as a buffer to the facility, and allow the development of Rosemount in an orderly fashion, as mining and reclamation occurs. Staff would like to feedback from the Council about the staffs approach and stated concerns. A Typical Gravel Mining Ancillary Uses UMore Gravel Mining Ancillary Use General Industrial-type Use X X Located within the Gravel Mine Excavation Site X Located Adjacent to the Excavation Site X Located below Surrounding Uses X Located at the same Elevation as the Surrounding Uses X Mobile and Moves with the Mining Phases X Semi - Permanent 40 Years in One Location X Leaves when Mining is Complete X Stay after Mining is Complete in Rosemount X Uses the Same Setbacks and Buffers as the Gravel Mine X Additional Setbacks or Buffers Required X Typically only One or Two Ancillary Uses X Six Proposed Ancillary Uses X During the recent zoning ordinance amendments and comprehensive planning process there was a conscious decision to locate high impact industrial uses in the area currently housing those uses. The "eastside" of Rosemount contains numerous businesses which would be undesirable to live near. For that reason the City has designated Heavy and General Industrial uses near Hwy 52 in the north and eastern portions of the City. Staff is uncomfortable supporting the location of what amounts to General Industrial uses in the UMore property. This impacts the future development potential of the area and also impacts the public perception and market attractiveness of the community. RECOMMENDATION When discussions about mining initially occurred with the University, the mining was more looked at as a means to an end; future development of the UMore property. As we continue discussions about site development, the mining has taken on more of a prominent role in the future development of the property. Staff is uncomfortable supporting a use that will hinder the City's ultimate goal, to develop UMore, resulting in potential decade delays and less orderly development. Staff is considering two possible courses of action, either reducing the size of the ancillary facility, most likely removing the less accessory uses proposed, or requiring the ancillary facilities to move south of County Road 46 into Empire Township. Reducing the size of the ancillary facility would allow more land to develop and require Dakota Aggregate to choose what are truly ancillary uses that they want to construct. Moving the ancillary facilities to Empire Township would locate the uses next to the land that would be mined 40 years from now, provide the County Road 46 corridor as a buffer to the facility, and allow the development of Rosemount in an orderly fashion, as mining and reclamation occurs. Staff would like to feedback from the Council about the staffs approach and stated concerns. 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