News

NOTICE OF 5/18/17 PUBLIC HEARING: Minor Plan Amendment to BCWMC’s Watershed Management Plan

The purpose of the public hearing is to answer questions about the proposed minor plan amendment to the BCWMC’s September 2015 Watershed Management Plan and to hear public testimony and comments of member cities regarding the proposed amendment. The proposed minor plan amendment involves revisions to the Capital Improvement Program (CIP):

• Revising Project ML-8 in the City of Golden Valley to from the “Lakeview Park Pond Project” that was slated to improve water quality in Medicine Lake, to a flood damage reduction project in the same subwatershed of Medicine Lake. At their meeting in June 2013, the BCWMC received results of detailed analyses indicating that the Lakeview Park Pond Project was not feasible due to potential impacts on homes adjacent to the park. It was recommended that flooding issues adjacent to the park be resolved before water quality projects move forward. The BCWMC is proposing to convert the original Lakeview Park Pond Project to a flood damage reduction project to facilitate the purchase of flood-prone homes in the area and provide space for a water quality improvement project.

• Adding the Mt. Olivet Stream Restoration Project (ML-20) to the CIP. This project in the City of Plymouth will reduce erosion, total suspended solids, and phosphorous loading to Medicine Lake.

• Adding the Jevne Park Stormwater Pond Project (ML-21) to the CIP. This project in the City of Medicine Lake will increase the capacity of an existing pond and wetlands located in Jevne Park to collect and store stormwater runoff during heavy rainfall to improve the water quality of Medicine Lake.

• Adding the Westwood Lake Water Quality Improvement Project (WST-2) to the CIP. This project in the City of St. Louis Park will be constructed to decrease and improve the quality of stormwater runoff in conjunction with the reconstruction of the Westwood Hills Nature Center building and parking lot.

• Adding the Parkers Lake Drainage Improvement Project (PL-7) to the CIP. This project in the City of Plymouth will reduce erosion, total suspended solids, and phosphorous loading to Parkers Lake.

• Revising and adding to Project BC-2/BC-8, the Sandburg Rd and Louisiana Avenue Water Quality Improvement and Flood Reduction Project to the Medicine Lake Road and Winnetka Avenue Long Term Flood Mitigation Plan Implementation Project (BC-2,3,8,10) in the cities of Golden Valley, Crystal, and New Hope. This new project will address much of the same flooding concerns as the previous project and will implement parts of the recently completed Medicine Lake Road and Winnetka Avenue Long Term Flood Mitigation Plan.

• Removing the Wirth Park Area Water Quality Improvement Project (BC-3) from the CIP. This project in the City of Golden Valley was slated to treat untreated stormwater runoff to reduce phosphorus and sediment pollution. This project was removed from the CIP because much of this area will be treated by practices to be installed by the Metropolitan Council through the construction of the Bottineau Blue Line Light Rail Project.

You can view all proposed changes to Capital Improvement Program (Table 5-3) of the 2015 Watershed Management Plan and view fact sheet on all proposed additions to the CIP.

A levy of an ad valorem property tax by Hennepin County on property within the Bassett Creek Watershed is the proposed method of payment for the costs of the CIP Projects.

BASSETT CREEK WATERSHED MANAGEMENT COMMISSION

Laura Jester, Administrator

Other news