Title
Initiating a study of zoning regulations pertaining to source-separated organics.
Body
WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Saint Paul is committed to making Saint Paul the most livable city in America; and
WHEREAS, providing options for composting source-separated organics enhances livability in Saint Paul and furthers the Comprehensive Plan theme of Environmental Sustainability; and
WHEREAS, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has set a goal for the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of a 9-15% organics recovery rate from municipal solid waste by 2030, as compared to the 2010 rate of 4%; and
WHEREAS, the City is committed to increasing the amount of organic material that is composted outside of landfills and is exploring long-term options for collecting such material; and
WHEREAS, a practical short-term approach to increasing the organics recovery rate in Saint Paul is to utilize existing Ramsey County yard waste sites for source-separated organics collection; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Zoning Code currently forbids yard waste sites from accepting any types of solid waste other than yard waste;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that that the Council of the City of Saint Paul hereby refers the proposed amendments to Leg. Code §§ 60.220 and 65.331 as set forth below to the planning commission for study, and to receive from the commission a report and recommendation on the amendments, and any other zoning code amendments that the commission believes may facilitate the Council's intentions, all in accordance with Minn. Stat. § 462.357, Subd. 4:
Sec. 60.220. S.
Source-separated organics. Food scraps and non-recyclable paper that is separated at the source of its creation for the purpose of composting.
Sec. 65.331. Yard waste site, municipal.
A site owned or leased by a governmental entity and approved by the city, the county and the state pollution control agency for the storage, transfer or composting of yard waste.
Standards and conditions:
(a) Only yard waste and no other types of solid wastesource-separated organicsshall be accepted.
(b) The municipal yard waste site shall be located no closer than three hundred (300) feet from any residentially used property as measured from the edge of the nearest compost pile to the nearest residentially used property.
(c) The municipal yard waste site shall be enclosed by fencing or shall limit vehicular and pedestrian access through the use of berms, trees or other means. In industrial districts, the site may have greenhouses for composting yard waste.
(d) The height of the compost pile shall be limited to no higher than fifteen (15) feet above grade. In residential districts, the size of the municipal yard waste site shall be limited to no more than three thousand (3,000) cubic yards of material per acre.
(e) The site shall be maintained cleanly including the immediate removal of waste materials deposited on or near the site which cannot be composted.
(f) Source-separated organics shall be for collection and transfer only, with no on-site composting of material. All source-separated organics shall be residentially generated and kept within leak-proof, closed containers while on the site, and shall be removed regularly.
AND, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Council requests the Commission's review, report, and recommendation on the proposed text amendments to Leg. Code §§ 60.220 and 65.331 no later than 60 days from the date of reference of this resolution to the commission, as provided under Minn. Stat. § 462.357, Subd. 4.