The 4,500 cubic yards of fill that the Whittier Place Townhomes developers proposed bringing in for the final grading of the project would require 450 trips by dual-axle dump trucks.

Wednesday, February 16, 2000

The 4,500 cubic yards of fill that the Whittier Place Townhomes developers proposed bringing in for the final grading of the project would require 450 trips by dual-axle dump trucks. That graphic translation gave the Austin Planning Commission a better idea Tuesday of exactly how much dirt that would add to the Fourth Avenue SE property.

To bring in the fill, the developers had to first request a conditional use permit to allow them to bring in the fill because, according to city code, 1,000 cubic yards is the maximum allowed in a flood fringe area. Their request was tabled after a motion to deny the conditional use permit was defeated by a tie vote between the eight Planning Commission members present. Instead, the commission asked Dave Bell, who was at the meeting representing the Freedom Development Consulting Firm, to return next month with a more detailed plan and with more information about how much fill was removed from the site.

"There was practically a junkyard sitting on the riverbank," Bell told the Planning Commission when members balked at the amount of fill the developers were requesting. "We had Bustad haul away truckloads of railroad ties, tires and other junk."

City Planning and Zoning Administrator Craig Hoium said the Austin Housing and Redevelopment Agency had contracted with Wallace Bustad to haul out the inappropriate fill, which Hoium described as a mixture of "soils, trees, tires and I don’t know what else." In the month before the next Planning Commission meeting, the city planner said he expects to receive documentation on how much fill actually was hauled out, as well as meet with the consulting engineer for the project and Bob Bezek from the regional state Department of Natural Resources office. Bezek oversees floodplain activity in southern Minnesota.

"Maybe 5,000 yards of fill was taken out," Hoium said. "If that was true, then we’d end up with less fill in the floodplain than we had before. That’s why I think it’s important to find out how much fill was hauled out by Wally Bustad."

Planning Commission member Gordie Kuehne led the attack to deny the request, stating after the meeting that it was the second time the developers had been to the commission for a change since the property was platted. Kuehne said he didn’t think Bell was adequately prepared for the meeting.

"After the vote, Mr. Bell came up and started talking about what they wanted to do again," Kuehne said. "It was all new stuff – different from what we’d heard before the vote."

Sue Grove voted against Kuehn’s motion to deny, but she agreed that the information given at Tuesday’s meeting was inadequate.

"I just want more information before we make a decision," Grove said.

Kuehne also pointed out that despite the developers’ stated intention to sod to their property line, odds were good that a significant portion of the fill would end up in the Cedar River should there be significant rainfall next summer because the park area between the Whittier property line and the river was only going to be seeded.

Kuehne wasn’t the only person at the meeting to point out the dangers of filling land in a flood plain area. Dick Brekke, who said the Eagles Club had been denied a similar request years ago, asked commission members to remember the people downstream.

"Each bucket of dirt you dump in affects the people downstream," Brekke said. " … To my way of thinking, it’s like damming the river when you get a flood situation."

Archie Baley, his wife and son also were at the meeting because of the Whittier request. The older couple live directly west of the development, and have had problems with flooding for years. Last year they also had problems with silt washing into their back yard from the construction site. There is a difference of more than 10 feet between the level of Baley’s yard and the Whittier site.

"We’re in kind of a swimming hole back there," Baley told the commission and 15 other audience members.

"It flooded before, but it would be a lot worse now … We would like to move if they’re going to be doing all that," he added, referring to the proposed fill.

A similar request from Hormel Foods Corp. passed unanimously earlier in the meeting; Hormel had requested a conditional use permit to bring in 2,000 cubic yards of fill. The fill would be used to elevate the parking lot at the property at 1101 Main St. North that the company plans to remodel and use for additional office space, its SPAM® Museum and possibly a restaurant-novelty shop. Because technology requirements inside the former Kmart building mean the floor inside will be raised 12 inches, the company wants to bring the parking area up to the same level.

Two other requests by Hormel concerning the property passed Tuesday night. The first concerned a variance from the minimum 20 percent open space requirement. Although the company plans to landscape islands in the parking lot and around the lot, the final amount of green space will only be 11 percent. However, currently the lot has only 4 percent green space. The company also requested permission to put 25-foot aisles – rather than the city’s required 26 feet – in the lot. Hoium explained that by decreasing the aisles made it possible for the company to meet the city’s off-street parking requirements.

In other business, the Austin Planning Commission approved the following:

n A request from Gregg Johnson to rezone the A&W restaurant property. Currently zoned multifamily residential, the property has been a non-conforming use and therefore could not be expanded. Johnson requested a rezoning to business, because he would like to purchase the city-owned parking lot north of his property.

n A request from Teresa Earl for a variance from the city code concerning setback from a residential district. The one-time residential home is zoned business, but is adjacent to a residential district. Earl sought the variance because the current business – Grandma’s Shop – is closing and a tenant would like to open a restaurant at the 1209 Fourth St. property.

n A sign appeal from Hy-Vee Food Stores. The company requested permission to erect a canopy wall sign at its gas station.

n A resolution approving the establishment of Tax Increment Financing District No. 11, which concerns the Cooperative Response Center development.

The Planning Commission meets the third Tuesday of each month.