B.3.

Shakopee City Council

May 2, 2017

FROM: Bruce Loney, Public Works Director

TO: Mayor and Council Members

Subject:
Approve Valleyfair Expansion Wetland Replacement Plan (Application No. 2017-1)
Policy/Action Requested:
Valleyfair, Inc. has submitted a complete wetland replacement plan application. Staff and a Technical Evaluation Panel
(TEP) has reviewed the application and determined it meets the requirements of the Wetland Conservation Act
(WCA). This replacement plan must be acted upon by the City Council in their role as the Local Government Unit
(LGU) for the WCA of 1991. Attached for Council consideration is Resolution No. 7877, a resolution approving a
Wetland Replacement Plan for the Valleyfair Expansion project.
Recommendation:
Adopt Resolution 7877.
Discussion:
The replacement plan, as proposed by Valleyfair, Inc., would fill approximately 4.52 acres of wetland as part of their
parking lot expansion and road relocation project. The impacted wetlands are proposed to be replaced at a 2:1 ratio for
a total of 9.04 acres of replacement. Replacement is to be provided through a combination of project-specific (on-site)
replacement in addition to the purchase of wetland credits from an approved wetland bank within the same Bank
Service Area.

The application was noticed to the TEP, which consists of a City staff member and representatives from the Soil and
Water Conservation District (SWCD), the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR), and the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District (LMRWD), on March 24, 2017. The TEP,
established by the WCA, provides professional, technical review of wetland issues. The TEP had the opportunity to
review and provide comments to the LGU through April 13, 2017. No comments were received by the TEP.

The wetland replacement plan is being proposed to accommodate an expansion of their parking lot and relocation of a
roadway. The placement of the parking lot and roadway was designed as to minimize the amount of impact to the
existing wetlands. Please see the attached replacement plan application and site plan for reference.
Budget Impact:
None.
ATTACHMENTS:

Resolution 7877
Valleyfair Mitigation Area
Valleyfair Wetland Impacts
Notice of Decision
 Imagery: Scott County 2015

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Barr Footer: ArcGIS 10.4.1, 2016-08-19 14:34 File: I:\Projects\23\70\004\Maps\2016_Mitigation_Area\Figure 3 Proposed Hydrology Monitoring.mxd User: bal

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Figure 3

PROPOSED HYDROLOGY MONITORING

Valleyfair
Shakopee, Minnesota
 Imagery: Scott County 2015

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Figure 2

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WETLAND IMPACTS - EXPANSION AREA
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Shakopee, Minnesota
 Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act
Notice of Decision
Local Government Unit (LGU) Address
Shakopee 500 Gorman Street
Shakopee, MN 55379

1. PROJECT INFORMATION
Applicant Name Project Name Date of Application
Valleyfair, Inc. Valleyfair Expansion Application Number
Mindy Lawrence 02/15/2017 2017-1
Attach site locator map.

Type of Decision:
Wetland Boundary or Type No-Loss Exemption Sequencing
Replacement Plan Banking Plan

Technical Evaluation Panel Findings and Recommendation (if any):

Approve Approve with conditions Deny
Summary (or attach):

2. LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT DECISION

Date of Decision: 5/2/2017

Approved Approved with conditions (include below) Denied

LGU Findings and Conclusions (attach additional sheets as necessary):

Valleyfair, Inc. submitted an application to fill 4.52 acres of wetland as part of their parking lot expansion
and road relocation project. Replacement is proposed at a 2:1 ratio for a total of 9.04 acres of replacement
needed. An initial replacement plan application was submitted in March 2015 and included replacement
via purchase of wetland bank credits only. This revised application incorporates project-specific
replacement in addition to the purchase of wetland credits. In summary, 3.09 credits of Type 3 (Shallow
Marsh) wetland will be purchased via Bank Account No. 1175 to replace for 1.545 acres of impact to
project wetlands. The remaining 2.97 acres of impact will be replaced via the creation of 6.38 acres of
floodplain forest wetland and protection of 4.64 acres of adjacent upland buffer. The project-specific
mitigation credit received will total 5.95 acres, for a total project replacement of 9.04 acres. Monitoring
and maintenance of the site is proposed to continue for 5 to 10 years following construction.

Also, included in this Notice of Decision is the amended wetland delineation. Four wetlands exist within
the proposed mitigation area:

Wetland 1: Open water with adjacent shrub-carr/wet meadow

Wetland 2: Open water ditch with adjacent floodplain forest
Wetland 3: Open water ditch with adjacent shrub-carr and wet meadow

BWSR Forms 7-1-10 Page 1 of 4

Wetland 4: Ditch with adjacent shallow marsh and scrub-shrub complex

The application was noticed to the TEP and comments were allowed until April 13, 2017. No comments
were received.

The City of Shakopee is waiving the financial assurance requirement for this project.

For Replacement Plans using credits from the State Wetland Bank:
Replacement Plan Approval Conditions. In addition to any conditions specified by the LGU, the
approval of a Wetland Replacement Plan is conditional upon the following:
Financial Assurance: For project-specific replacement that is not in-advance, a financial
assurance specified by the LGU must be submitted to the LGU in accordance with MN Rule
8420.0522, Subp. 9 (List amount and type in LGU Findings).
Deed Recording: For project-specific replacement, evidence must be provided to the LGU that
the BWSR Declaration of Restrictions and Covenants and Consent to Replacement Wetland
forms have been filed with the county recorders office in which the replacement wetland is located.
Credit Withdrawal: For replacement consisting of wetland bank credits, confirmation that
BWSR has withdrawn the credits from the state wetland bank as specified in the approved
replacement plan.
Wetlands may not be impacted until all applicable conditions have been met!

LGU Authorized Signature:

Signing and mailing of this completed form to the appropriate recipients in accordance with 8420.0255,
Subp. 5 provides notice that a decision was made by the LGU under the Wetland Conservation Act as
specified above. If additional details on the decision exist, they have been provided to the landowner and
are available from the LGU upon request.
Name Title
Bruce Loney, PE Public Works Director

Signature Date Phone Number and E-mail

952-233-9361
[email protected]

THIS DECISION ONLY APPLIES TO THE MINNESOTA WETLAND CONSERVATION ACT.

Additional approvals or permits from local, state, and federal agencies may be required. Check with all
appropriate authorities before commencing work in or near wetlands.
Applicants proceed at their own risk if work authorized by this decision is started before the time period
for appeal (30 days) has expired. If this decision is reversed or revised under appeal, the applicant may be
responsible for restoring or replacing all wetland impacts.

Bank Account # Bank Service Area County Credits Approved for Withdrawal

1175 9 Scott County (sq. ft. or nearest .01 acre)

3.09 acre
This decision is valid for three years from the date of decision unless a longer period is advised by the
TEP and specified in this notice of decision.

3. APPEAL OF THIS DECISION

Pursuant to MN Rule 8420.0905, any appeal of this decision can only be commenced by mailing a
petition for appeal, including applicable fee, within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the mailing of
this Notice to the following as indicated:

BWSR Forms 7-1-10 Page 2 of 4

Check one:
Appeal of an LGU staff decision. Send Appeal of LGU governing body decision. Send
petition and $ fee (if applicable) to: petition and $500 filing fee to:
City of Prior Lake Executive Director
4646 Dakota Street Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources
Prior Lake, MN 55372 520 Lafayette Road North
St. Paul, MN 55155

BWSR Forms 7-1-10 Page 3 of 4

 4. LIST OF ADDRESSEES

SWCD TEP member: Troy Kuphal

BWSR TEP member: Jed Chesnut
LGU TEP member (if different than LGU Contact): Alison Harwood, WSB & Associates, Inc.
DNR TEP member: Becky Horton, Jennie Skancke
DNR Regional Office (if different than DNR TEP member)
WD or WMO (if applicable): Linda Loomis, Lower MN River Watershed District
Applicant and Landowner (if different): Mindy Lawrence, Valleyfair, Inc.
Members of the public who requested notice: Brian Burgner, Barr Engineering; Jacob Busiahn,
City of Shakopee
Corps of Engineers Project Manager: Ryan Malterud
BWSR Wetland Bank Coordinator (wetland bank plan decisions only)

5. MAILING INFORMATION
!For a list of BWSR TEP representatives: www.bwsr.state.mn.us/aboutbwsr/workareas/WCA_areas.pdf
!For a list of DNR TEP representatives: www.bwsr.state.mn.us/wetlands/wca/DNR_TEP_contacts.pdf
! Department of Natural Resources Regional Offices:
NW Region: NE Region: Central Region: Southern Region:
Reg. Env. Assess. Ecol. Reg. Env. Assess. Ecol. Reg. Env. Assess. Ecol. Reg. Env. Assess. Ecol.
Div. Ecol. Resources Div. Ecol. Resources Div. Ecol. Resources Div. Ecol. Resources
2115 Birchmont Beach Rd. 1201 E. Hwy. 2 1200 Warner Road 261 Hwy. 15 South
NE Grand Rapids, MN 55744 St. Paul, MN 55106 New Ulm, MN 56073
Bemidji, MN 56601
For a map of DNR Administrative Regions, see: http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/aboutdnr/dnr_regions.pdf
!For a list of Corps of Project Managers: www.mvp.usace.army.mil/regulatory/default.asp?pageid=687
or send to:
US Army Corps of Engineers
St. Paul District, ATTN: OP-R
180 Fifth St. East, Suite 700
St. Paul, MN 55101-1678
!For Wetland Bank Plan applications, also send a copy of the application to:
Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources
Wetland Bank Coordinator
520 Lafayette Road North
St. Paul, MN 55155

6. ATTACHMENTS
In addition to the site locator map, list any other attachments:
Council Resolution

BWSR Forms 7-1-10 Page 4 of 4