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07-472Council File # �/�� Green Sheet # 3040144 Presented by RESOLUTION ' � OF SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA WHEREAS, the Legislative Hearing Officer recommends that a request for a(ID #20070000254) Recycling Processing Center license for Schwartzman Company Inc, John Schwartzman, president, doing business as SCI Recycling at 240 Sycamore Street West be approved with the following conditions: 1. This license allows the collection of motor vehicles and scrap metal only. It is understood that the vehicles and scrap metal collected at this location will be shipped to the licensee's facility in Anoka for processing. No disassembling of vehicles or shredding metal is allowed. The removal of vehicles batteries as a fire hazazd precaution is allowed. Batteries must be stored in approved containers and proper3y disposed of in accordance with Ramsey County Waste Handling Rules. The sale of motor vehicle parts is not allowed. 2. The hours of operation shall be limited to 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM and Saturday 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. 3. The number of vehicles awaiting shipment to the processing plant in Anoka shall not exceed thirty (30). Scrap metal accepted at this facility shall only be stored in covered containers and not on the ground. 4. Motor vehicles, scrap metal storage containers and customer/employee pazking shall be located in accordance with the approved site plan on file with the City. All maneuvering associated with loading and unloading of vehicles and off-street parking shall be on site and shall not involve the public right-of-way. 5. The required license, name and phone number of the facil3ty operator and the hours of operation must be prominently displayed. 6. Pursuant to Saint Paul Legislative Code 408.06, the licensee shall maintain xecords on the premises for at least one (1) year of all transactions involving purchases from minors and purchases of all materials, excluding beverage containers and paper products for an amount of two hundred dollazs ($200.00) or more from any person. Records for materials purchases shall be made at the time of the purchase and shall provide an accurate account or description of the materials purchased. Records sha11 be open to inspection at all reasonable times by the inspector or designee or any member of the police department. 7. There shall be no open burning of any material and no fire hazards shall exist on the premises. 8. The licensee shall provide a waste management plan within thirty (30) days of the date this license is issued to the Department of Safety and Inspections. The premises shall be maintained in a clean and orderiy condition free of rats and other vermin and free of standing water. No oil, grease, petroleum products or other harmful, hazardous or noxious liquid shall be allowed to run off the property or absorbed into the ground. 9. The licensee shall monitor the conditions of the public right-of-way to ensure that the street and boulevazd areas aze free of scrap metal or motor vehicle parts. No such material shall rest on or protrude on any public property or be permitted to be blown off the premises. 10. Noise levels shall not exceed the limits set forth in Chapter 293 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code. 11. Weeds and grass on the premises shall be maintained in accordance with Chapter 45 or the Saint Paul O 7-�f7�. Legislative Code. 12. The licensee shall obtain a Hazardous Waste Generators License from the Ramsey County Solid Waste Division prior to commencing operations. The licensee shall comply with Ramsey County's Solid and Hazazdous Waste Ordinance and all other applicable federal and state environmental rules and best management practices associated with the handling and transportation of motor vehicles and scrap metal. U. The licensee shall submit a site plan to this office that meets City of Saint Paul ordinances for paving, on- site tr�c maneuvering, pazking, storage locations, storm water management and landscaping. The licensee shall obtain approval of this plan prior to the issuance of this license and before the business operation may commence. Improvements to the property conditioned as part of site plan approval must be complied within six (6) months of the issuance of this license. (To date a site plan has not been submitted. There will be a conversation after this hearing as to what the City needs to see on that. A site plan review will be expedited with the district council and City staff to make certain that it illustrates compliance with all of the conditions.) 14. This license is subject to review for compliance witY� all conditions herein six (6) months from the date of issuance. Failure to comply with the conditions of the license will result in further enforcement actions pursuant to Saint Paul Legislative Code, Chapter 310. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Saint Paul hereby approves this license application. Benanav Boshom Harris Helgen Lantry Montgomery Thune Yeas Nays ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Absent ✓ ✓ � Q� Requested by Department oi Adopted by Council: Date Adoption Certified by Council Secretary $Y� // //i/lu /�/iif'%St>sz Approved by Ma � D� � d 7 \✓ " - � Form Approved by City Attomey � Approved by Mayor for Submission to Council � � Green Sheet Green Sheet Green Sheet Green Sheet Green Sheet Green Sheet � O 7 co -co�;, Coniact Person & Phone: Marcia Mcertnond 266-8570 Must Be on Council Agenda by (Date) 06-JUN-07 Doc. Type: RESOLUTION E•Document Required: Y Document Contact: Jean Birkholz ContactPhone: 266-8673 29-MAY-07 � Assign Number For Routim� Order Total # of Signature Pages _(Clip All Lowtions for Signature) CoStlRevenue Budgeted: Approving the license application with conditions, per the Legislative Hearing Offieer, for a Recycling Processinig Center License for Schwaxtzman Company Inc, John Schwarizman, president, doing business as SCI Recyciing at 240 Sycamore Street. Planning Commission 1. Has this person/firm ever worked under a contract for this department? CIB Committee Yes No Civil Service Commission 2. Has this personlfirm ever been a city employee? Yes No 3. Does this person/firm possess a skill not normally possessed by any curcent city employee? Yes No Erzplain all yes answers on separate sheet and attach to green sheet Initiating Problem, Issues, Opportunity QNho, What, When, Where, Why): Advantages If Approved: Disadvantages If Approvetl: Disadvanqges lf Not Approved: Transaction: Funding Source: Financial Information: (F�cplain) Green Sheet NO: 3040194 0 ooncil 1 unul De ar�entDirec[or 2 Clerk 6 Clerk 3 4 5 Activity Number. p , ; ���� �..,:�.�,, .. 1> �� � � � May 29, 2007 11:55 AM Page 1 o �-� 7� LICENSE HEARING MINUTES SCI Recycling located at 240 Sycamore Street West Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 1:30 p.m. 330 City Hall, 15 Kellogg Boulevazd West Mazcia Moermond, Legislative Hearing Officer The hearing was called to order at 135 p.m. Staff Present: Larry Zangs and Jeff Hawkins, Department of Safety Inspections (DSI); and Jean Birkholz, Council Research Others Present: Tim Rosengren, Schwartzman Company, Inc; Peter Olson, property owner; Jared Gruett, Peter Olson's business partner; and Kerry Antrim, District Six Planning Council SCI Recycline: Recycling Processing Center license Ms. Moermond stated that this is an informal hearing and today we have a license application for a Class N License which requires neighborhood notification. Other Class N Licenses include: auto repair, auto sales, gambling, liquor, etc.—things that haue an immediate impact on the neighborhood. The City received several letters of objection to the issuance of this license which means that a Legislative Hearing was necessary. There are three (3) possible outcomes to this heazing. Ms. Moermond could: 1) recommend to the City Council that they grant this license without any conditions; 2) recommend to the City Council that they grant this license with agreed upon conditions; or 3) recommend to the City Council that they do not issue this license but instead, take an adverse action on the application which could result in going to an Administrative Law Judge for a hearing. The Administrative Law Judge would make a recommendation and findings that go back to the City Council. Those recommendations and findings would be heard in a public hearing where people would have a chance to comment on them, and the Council could accept or reject in whole or in part what the Judge says; the Council is the decision-maker. At that point, the Council couid force you to accept conditions onto the license which you otherwise would not find acceptable. That decision could be litigated further. Usually, if it goes that faz, it takes from four (4) to six (6) months, and most people choose to hire an attorney. Ms. Moermond would use this option if she thinks that there's no way that this business is warkable at this location or if she thinks that there are conditions that are absolutely necessary to make it workable that the applicant finds unacceptable. Ms. Moermond will begin with a staff report. Staff will be asked to explain their review of the application and will also explain their recommendation. Then, she will ask the applicant to talk about the business plan. Next, she will hear from people who are here in support of the issuance of the license and those with concerns about the issuance of the license. Then, she will talk about how to deal with some of those wncerns. Finally, Ms. Moermond will make a recommendation which wi11 be presented to the City Council. Mr. Larry Zangs reported that tl�e Department of Safety Inspections (DSI} received this application for a Recycling Processing Center license. The nature of the business is that scrap metal will be collected at this location as will automobiles. The scrap metal will be placed into covered containers until a certain amount of it is collected when it will be taken to a facility in Anoka where it will be further processed, shredded, compacted, etc. The automobiles will be collected at this location where the batteries will be removed. The vehicles will be forked-lifted into a contained semi-truck and will be transported to Anoka and processed further. Mr. Zangs met with the District Six Planning Council, Mr. Rosengren and Councilmember Helgen on Apri126, 2007 to work out additional conditions which are befare you today. o�-�� � 1. This license allows the collection of motor vehicles and scrap metal only. It is understood that the vehicles and scrap metal collected at this location wiA be shipped to the licensee's facility in Anoka for processing. No disassembling of vehicles or shredding metal is allowed. T'he removal of vehicles batteries as a fize hazard precaution is allowed. Batteries must be stored in approved containers and properly disposed of in accordance with Ramsey County Waste Handling Rules. The sale of motor vehicle parts is not allowed. 2. The hours of operation shall be lunited to 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM and Saturday 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. 3. The number of vehicles awaiting shipment to the processing plant in Anoka shall not exceed thirty (30). Scrap metal accepted at this facility shall only be stored in covered containers and not on the ground. 4. Motor vehicles, scrap metal storage containers and customer/employee parking shall be located in accordance with the approved site plan on file with the City. All maneuvering associated with loading and unloading of vehicles and off-street parking shall be on site and shall not involve the public right-of- way. 5. The required license, name and phone number of the facility operator and the hours of operation must be prominently displayed. 6. Pursuant to Saint Paul Legislative Code 408.06, the licensee shall maintain records on the premises for at least one (1) year of all transactions involving purchases from minors and purchases of all materials, excluding beverage containers and paper products for an amount of two hundred dollars ($200.00) or more from any person. Records for materials purchases shall be made at the time of the purchase and shall provide an accurate account or description of the materials purchased. Records shall be open to inspection at all reasonable times by the inspector or designee or any member of the police department. 7. There shall be no open burning of any material and no fire hazards sha11 exist on the premises. 8. The licensee shall provide a waste management plan within thirty (30) days of the date this license is issued to the Department of Safety and Inspections. The premises shall be maintained in a clean and orderly condition free of rats and other vermin and free of standing water. No oil, grease, petroleum products or other hannful, hazardous or noxious liquid shall be allowed to run off the property or absorbed into the ground. 9. The licensee shali monitor the conditions of the public right-of-way to ensure that the street and boulevard areas are free of scrap metal or motor vehicle parts. No such material shall rest on or protrude on any public property or be permitted to be blown off the premises. 10. Noise levels shall not exceed the limits set forth in Chapter 293 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code. 11. Weeds and grass on the premises shall be maintained in accordance with Chapter 45 or the Saint Paul Legislative Code. 12. The licensee shall obtain a Hazazdous Waste Generators License from the Ramsey County Solid Waste Division prior to commencing operations. The licensee shall comply with Ramsey County's 2 o �-���, Solid and Hazardous Waste Ordinance and all other applicable federal and state environmental rules and best management practices associated with the handling and transportation of motor vehicles and scrap metal. 13. The licensee shall submit a site plan to this office that meets City of Saint Paul ordinances for paving, on-site traffic maneuvering, pazking, storage locations, storm water management and landscaping. The licensee shall obtain approval of this plan prior to the issuance of this license and before the business operation may commence. Improvements to the property conditioned as part of site plan approval must be complied within six (6) months of the issuance of this license. (To date a site plan has not been submitted. There will be a conversation after this hearing as to what the City needs to see on that. A site plan review will be expedited with the district council and City staff to make certain that it illustrates compliance with all of the conditions.) 14. This license is subject to review for compliance with ali conditions herein six (6) months from the date of issuance. Failure to comply with the conditions of the license will result in further enforcement actions pursuant to Saint Paul Legislative Code, Chapter 310. Mr. Zangs stated that the Department of Safety Inspections recommends approval with conditions. Conditions #1, #2, #3, #4, #13 and #14 were added as a result of the meeting held on Apri126, 2007. Ms. Moermond asked about a previous license holder at this site. Mr. Zangs replied that there was a salvage dealer previously at this site. He was draining vehicle fluids, crushing vehicles and shipping the vehicles to his facility in Wisconsin. He wasn't doing things properly. Eventually, he went out of business and needed to clean-up the site. The current license holder was for used auto parts. Ms. Moermond asked if Schwartzman Company Inc. owned the land. Mr. Rosengren responded that Schwartzman will own the land. Mr. Rosengren continued to talk about the business. He stated that Schwartzman Company Inc. is over 100 years old. They own Mason City Iron and Metal in Mason City, Iowa and Rochester Recycling in Rochester, Minnesota, as well as their main facility in Anoka, Minnesota. The Anoka facility is their main place where they process from. They have been looking at Saint Paul for a number of years as a source to get more material. They have a state-of-the-art recycling facility in Anoka where they have a shredder and other some pretty high tech equipment to extract metal. They currently have arrangements with Great Western Recyciing, Alter and American to use some of their property to service their customers who are in Saint Paul. They want to own their own site in Saint Paul because these partners are also their competitors. This site on Sycamore will fit and be perfect for Schwartzman. It wili be more of a transfer station. At this time, Schwartzman is unclear as to whether they will raze the old warehouse on the property and build a new one or refurbish the old one. They buy non-ferrous metals: pop cans, copper, brass, etc. In addition, they will buy old lawn mowers, sheet iron, old chairs and car bodies, eta They will have a crane there to load 80-120 yard containers with the scrap metal. The warehouse will be used to secure the non-ferrous metals and to have a pellet scale and cash register. Mr. Rosengren explained that they have started an organization called the Metro Area Recyclers. The larger azea recyciing organizations (Great Western, American Iron, etc.) have gotten together to develop a strategy for circumventing copper theft. They talce a copy of everyone's driver's license with the exception to pop cans. They also get together every month to talk about "suspect material." They discuss the things that they've noticed, the customers that they've seen, etc. The purpose for starting this was so that legislation didn't impose things on them that were unrealistic, as far as tag and hold 3 o �-���. laws. They aze maintaining records for everything with the exception of pop cans. The "suspect material" that they don't buy includes: manhole covers, railroad ties, brand new copper tubing, beer kegs, etc. Ms. Moermond asked if they buy material from scrappers, people who collect old washing machines, etc. in their backyazd, or if they have any proactive information about that sort of thing. Mr. Rosengren replied that they don't buy appliances, specifically, from anyone other than a certified appliance recycler. Their policy at SCI is not to buy appliances or to certify the seller to be able to sell the appliance to them. The guy who collects in a backyard would have a very difficult time selling old appliances to SCI. Ms. Kerry Antrim, District Six Planning Council, gave testimony. Ms. Antrim stated that the District Six Land Use Task Force met on Mazch 27, 2007 and recommended that this license be denied. Their regular District Six Planning Council meeting was held in April 2007 and at that meeting, it was recommended that a smaller group get together and work with the license applicant, Councilmember Helgen and Clty staff to work on some negotiated license conditions (April 26, 2007). Ms. Antrim stated that the neighborhood would really like something different on this site; however, they do acknowledge that this is an allowable use. Regarding Condition #1, District Six would like the entire language in Chapter 408.05 L'acense Regulation. They are also concerned about maneuvering inside the site. They also would like Capital Regional Watershed to be working on the storm water management plan. Also, they would like the number of cars allowed to be limited to twenty (20) but are willing to maintain thirty (30). Mr. Pete Olson, current property owner, addressed the hearing. He stated that he purchased the property from Lad's Auto Crushing, who seemed to have tarnished the neighborhood for any and everybody who wants to get involved. The property is zoned as I-2 Heavy Industrial. There's a salvage yazd on both sides of the properiy. Lad's Auto Crushing was shut down by Ramsey County Pollurion Control. When Mr. Olson purchased it, it had not been an operational facility for a little over a year. When he bought it, he worked with City staff, Paul Gelbman, and people from the MPCA. He owned Rapid Recovery and used the site as a towing and impound company. They moved that facility over to Acker Street. They were using both properties for quite some time. Eventually, they were able to acquire more property on Acker Street. They opened their own salvage yard about 1'/z years ago on the Sycamore site. Currently, they can buy cars off the street and can hold 100 cars on the property. They can dismantle cars, sell engines, transmissions, alternators, etc. They had that business with the property for sale. No one wanted to buy the facility because they thought that it was too small. Everyone seems to have brought up what a horrible job Lad's Auto Crushing did in operating there. No one person on District Six Planning Council or anyone else has even commented about the good that they have done since they bought the property. They had been licensed to stack cars four (4) high; now, the district is asking SCI to be limited to only 30 cazs. A storm water run-off system is in place right now and it has all been paid for. And, the lot is limited as to how much can be paved because of the storm water run-off system. IYs a gravel lot; the only clear, beautiful gravel lot on all of Sycamore. SecuriTy systems aze in place with cameras. There's already a scale in the ground. He feels that District Six should welcome Schwartzman Company with open arms because half of Rice Street is boarded-up, for lease, for rent or foreclosed. He went on to talk about how badly the District Six Planning Council treated Schwartzman and him. He said that no one from that council has ever called him to talk about his property but they aze making decisions about his property. Ms. Moermond responded that the District Six Planning Council was making decisions that aren't final decision but are decisions on what to recommend to the City Council. Ms. Moermond stated that she � C� 7 --� 7,Z, Vince Reiter, who owns the lot just west of the site, emailed complaining about the way Lad ran the facility, He discusses also what he thinks may be a problem with the Pollution Control Agency. A letter from United Products Corporation articulates some concerns going back to the Lad ownership. An email from Mr. Pete Olson asks to be kept in the loop on this. Ms. Moermond asked Mr. Zangs about the licenses currently in place at this site. Mr. Zangs responded that there aze licenses for Second Hand Dealer—Motor Vehicle Parts and Salvage Dealer. Mr. Zangs added that the City tries to craft conditions that aze clear; they aze not meant to be punitive but intended to be vezy cleaz so that the operator understands what the City is approving and so there's some understanding as to what an inspector is expected to see. There needs to be some observable objec6ves or observable items so that there's some clarity as to expectations. Mr. Jeff Hawkins, zoning specialist, commented that this has long been a salvage azea. In 2004, Rapid Recovery came to LIEP with the idea of the impound lot and salvage dealership. They juxnped through all the hoops that the City put before them. However, everything evolves and the City is usually playing catch-up. The conditions placed on a license are all enforceable by ordinance and what an inspector will be looking for. Note: There have been no complaints on this facility since 2004. Ms. Moermond asked about the Storm Water Management Plan and whether it usually is part of the site plan review process. Whe n a site plan comes in, does staff consult with the watershed district. Mr. Zangs commented that under normal circumstances with a site plan review of a parcel thaY s more an acre, watershed districts would be notified. This site's azea is less than one (1) acre. Mr. Rosengren asked if the watershed district had the authority to say "it's not good enough; we're denying the license?" He added that they can comment all they want; he's going to abide by the rules of the State of Minnesota. He writes a storm water plan for every one of Schwartzman's facilities; iYs their corparate policy. Ms. Moermond responded that one guy or the watershed district does not have authority to deny the license. The storm water plan is part of a regular site plan review. Mr. Hawkins added that the site plan review is a City function and the watershed district would be able to recommend/endorse only; their recommendation could not technically stop the project. Ms. Moermond asked staff what would be looked at regazding this site. Mr. Zangs responded that the site hass a mixture of some hard surface—asphalt, some soft surface. The concern on a site like this may be some elevation and drainage issues. They would take a look at the site and decide what happens to the storm water. Ms. Moermond referred to condition #13 The licensee shali submit a site plan to this office that meets City of Saint Paul ordinances for paving, on-site traffic maneuvering, pazking, storage locations, storm water management and landscaping. The licensee shali obtain approval of this plan prior to the issuance of this license and before the business operation may commence. Improvements to the property conditioned as part of site plan approval must be complied within six (6) months of the issuance of this license. and asked staff if their information regazding storm water management wduld be advisory at that point, or mandatory, or did staff want the City Attorney to opine on that. Mr. Zangs replied that they may need an attorney's opinion on that at some point. He went on to say that part of thought process behind the site plan review is to be able to sit down and talk with the applicant and come up with some ideas about how they might approach this. Regarding sites under haif an acre, the City's storm water management requirements would kick-in if the site were paved; then iYs a rate control event. The discussion at the site plan review process should answer the question, "How do we mitigate for storm water on this site in v7-��� a way that minimizes iliicit dischazges to the storm sewer, etc." Some results of the review might be mandatory; some advisory. The hope is to find compromise. Mr. Rosengren stated that he is quite confident that City staff and he can come to terms on handling the site plan review issues through best management practices. Ms. Moermond asked about Schwartzman's purchase agreement. Mr. Rosengren responded that the purchase agreement is conditional upon receiving this license. Once SCI Recycling opens, they will be required to comply with certain things in thirty (30) days. During that time, he will be writing up the best management practices regazding storm water. Mr. Hawkins added that as part of the site plan review, City staff would be reviewing storm water management on the site and their best management practices, but the Capitol City Watershed District does not have the authority to make or break this deal. Mr. Rosengren commented that he would have no problem at all dealing with Mr. Zangs or Mr. Hawkins. Ms. Moermond took a ten (10) minutes break for staff to discuss the conditions. When the hearing reconvened, Ms. Moermond noted that the conditions will stand as read; District Six Council's recommendations / language are not needed. All of their concerns are already covered. She asked Mr. Rosengren if he was comfortable receiving the watershed district's comments knowing that they're not in a decision-making role in this. Mr. Rosengren replied that he was. Ms. Moermond recommended approval with the agreed upon conditions. The hearing was adjourned at 3:27 p.m. /jab