Jim McGuire wrote: > Did anyone else catch Doug Grow's column today? - > http://www.startribune.com/stories/465/5475508.html > > This just reads like a comedy of errors to me. First, people complained > to the city about a piece of natural prairie. (Apparently it's far too > difficult to actually walk up and read a sign explaining what's going > on). Then the City Inspector gets out his ruler and measures said prairie > grass. This, or course, assumes the Inspector ever actually got that > close. Presumably if he or she did they'd have seen the sign.
RC: I would agree that this is all a "comedy of errors" if weren't for the fact that the city likely destroyed several years of work and thousands of dollars worth of native plants. Is the city going to reimburse the YMCA for the costs of re-establishing the paririe? Not likely. Staff was, after all, only following orders. Maybe it's time for inspections to do the stand-up thing and refuse to enforce the 8" ordinance when it is obvious that the area is a piece of native prairie. And it is NOT difficult to distinguish between prairie plants and overgrown lawn grasses and weeds. I also question the premise that "people complained." This is the typical "don't blame us for screwing up" response that would be expected from inspections. They are well aware of the fact that people are planting native gardens. > Regardless, as Gary Schiff states in Grow's column it's time for > Minneapolis to update ordinances around landscaping. Still, the inability > of a City Inspector to distinguish between an "unkempt property" and a > wildflower garden is disturbing to say the least. RC: Its not like the Mayor, Council, and city staff aren't aware of the conflicts in ordinances. This has been an issue in Seward for a couple years and below is the text of an email I sent to the Mayor and CM Zerby a month ago (btw Zerby responded to my email in less than a week with an apology for how long it took him to respond). Maybe this time the Mayor and Council will do something. They could start by instructing inspectors to re-inspect any property with an outstanding mow order. If they find a majority of the species on the property are on a list of prairie plants (http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/components/3238a.html) they should recind the mow order. Randall Cutting Looking for the prairie through the weeds Seward -----Original Message----- From: Randall G Cutting Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 9:35 AM To: Zerby, Paul G Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Stormwater versus Inspections CM Zerby, (cc. Mayor Rybak) Per the conversation at the SNG board meeting last night here are my quick observations of some of the conflicts between the desire to mitigate stormwater runoff and city codes. Native Plant Heights versus Lawn & "Weed" Heights Ordinance requires that all tall grasses and "weeds" over 8 inches tall must be cut and removed. However, one person's weed patch is another person's rain garden or native plant garden. The Metropolitan Council On-Lot Infiltration BMP recommends many plant species that violate this standard by ten fold (e.g. Switch Grass = 5-6 feet tall, Compass Plant = 7-8 feet). In fact, a quick look at the species listed I don't believe ANY of them are 8 inches tall or less. Pervious Pavers versus Paved Driveways Ordinance requires any area used for driving or parking must be paved with concrete or other similar, approved material, at a depth of 4 inches. Particularly if the property is a duplex or more. However, there are many methods that would reduce the amount of impervious surface of driveways and parking pads. Metropolitan Council BMPs recommend using pervious pavers to aid in infiltration. There are several types of reducing driveway and parking pads. (1) "California" driveways - where the center portion of the driveway is removed and replaced with grass. The only part of a driveway that really needs to be paved is the portion that the car drives on. The space between the tires does not need to be paved. (2) Green Pavers - where a structural component is set into the ground to provide stability for driving while spaces between the structure allows grass to grow. There are multiple types including inset concrete and inset plastic grids. (3) Gravel below and between bricks. Some paving brick products are specifically designed to have gaps that stormwater can infiltrate. I'm not sure if these are specifically prohibited. Swales versus Parking Lot Sidewalks This is the situation at Empire Glass that Scott Vreeland mentioned. If Empire Glass re-paves its driveway it is required to install a sidewalk all the way around it. Because they are not able to reduce the amount of parking available, the sidewalk requirement takes up the space that could be used for swales to capture stormwater. Randall Cutting Co-Chair Seward Neighborhood Group Board REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
