Floodplain Permit Committee Meeting

FLOODPLAIN PERMIT COMMITTEE MEETING 201 West Gray, Building A, Conference Room D Tuesday, September 7, 2021 3:30 p.m. Minutes PRESENT: Scott Sturtz, City Engineer Lora Hoggatt, Planning Services Manager Ken Danner, Subdivision Development Manager Bill Scanlon, Citizen Member Sherri Stansel, Citizen Member OTHERS PRESENT: Todd McLellan, Development Engineer Amy Shepard, Staff Preston Caldwell, SMC Bret Cabbiness, Garver Toni Bragg, The McKinney Partnership The meeting was called to order by Mr. Scott Sturtz at 3:30 p.m. Item No. 1, Approval of Minutes: Five members of the committee were present, and Amy Shepard called roll. Mr. Shawn O’Leary and Ms. Jane Hudson were absent. Mr. Sturtz called for a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting of August 16, 2021. Ms. Sherri Stansel motioned to approve the minutes with two (2) spelling corrections. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bill Scanlon. The minutes were approved 5-0, with corrections. Item No. 2, Floodplain Permit Application No. 641: Mr. Sturtz said this application is for an 8 inch sanitary sewer crossing of the Upper Dave Blue Creek floodplain for the proposed Summit Valley Addition Section 3 development. Mr. Todd McLellan gave the staff report for Floodplain Permit Application No. 641. Mr. McLellan said the Applicant is Summit Valley Development, LLC, the Contractor is Central Contracting Services, and the Engineer is SMC Consulting Engineers P.C. Mr. McLellan said Mr. Preston Floodplain Permit Committee Meeting September 7, 2021 Page 2 Caldwell of SMC Consulting Engineers is in attendance to represent the Applicant. Mr. McLellan said this application is located in the Upper Dave Blue Creek floodplain for the proposed Summit Valley Addition Section 3 development. Mr. McLellan reviewed photos and aerial maps of the site location and the location of floodplain impact. Mr. McLellan said the proposed Summit Valley Addition Section 3 development will require new public utilities to be constructed including water line, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer. Mr. McLellan said approximately 2,650 feet of 8 inch sanitary sewer main will be required to serve the development and a section of the proposed sanitary sewer main will cross the Dave Blue Creek floodplain to connect to the existing sanitary sewer main. Mr. McLellan said the sanitary sewer crossing will be open cut and will be encased with 40 feet of steel pipe for added protection, the crossing will be backfilled to original grade, and any excess spoils will be removed from the floodplain. Mr. McLellan reviewed the applicable ordinances for Floodplain Application No. 641 and verified all ordinance requirements have been met. Mr. McLellan said staff recommended approval of Floodplain Permit Application No. 641. Mr. Sturtz asked if the Engineer, Mr. Caldwell would like to add anything to the presentation. Mr. Caldwell had no additional comments to add. Mr. Sturtz asked if there were any questions from the committee. Mr. Bill Scanlon asked if there was anything unusal about the pipe or installation requested in Floodplain Application No. 641. Mr. Scanlon asked in reference to the pressure testing presented in the staff report. Mr. McLellan said this is completed to ensure compliance with Floodplain Ordinance Section 4(b)(12), that states all new and replacement sanitary sewage systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the system and discharge from the systems into flood waters. Mr. McLellan said and that pipe joints have gaskets making the system watertight, and the entire system is leak tested prior to going into Floodplain Permit Committee Meeting September 7, 2021 Page 3 service. Mr. Scanlon asked if pressure testing was completed periodically to monitor for issues. Mr. Sturtz said since this pipe is a gravity main it will not be under pressure and would be inspected as part of the City of Norman Utilities Department routine maintenance operations. Mr. Ken Danner added that additional protection would be provided by the proposed casing installed on the pipe. Mr. Danner recommended approval of Floodplain Permit Application No. 641. Mr. Scanlon seconded the motion. The committee voted to approve the application 5-0. Item No. 3, Floodplain Permit Application No. 643: Mr. Sturtz said this application is for a solar farm project at the Norman Water Treatment Plant located at 3000 East Robinson Street, which is in the Rock Creek floodplain. Mr. Sturtz said the Applicant, City of Norman Utilities Department has requested postponement until the October 4, 2021 Floodplain Permit Committee meeting. Mr. McLellan said the Utilities Department is working with their design team to address some concerns about the final installed height of the solar panels to ensure compliance to the two (2) foot freeboard requirement. Mr. Ken Danner recommended postponement of Floodplain Permit Application No. 643. Mr. Scanlon seconded the motion. The committee voted to postpone the application 5-0. Item No. 4, Floodplain Permit Application No. 644: Mr. Sturtz said application is for a solar farm project at the Norman Water Reclamation Facility located at 3500 Jenkins Avenue. The project will be located at the confluence of the Bishop Creek/Canadian River floodplains. Mr. Sturtz said the Applicant, City of Norman Utilities Department has requested postponement until the October 4, 2021 Floodplain Permit Committee meeting. Mr. Sturtz said although this is in a different location the Applicant is requesting postponement for the same reason related to achieving the elevation requirements. Floodplain Permit Committee Meeting September 7, 2021 Page 4 Mr. Ken Danner recommended postponement of Floodplain Permit Application No. 643. Mr. Scanlon seconded the motion. The committee voted to postpone the application 5-0. Item No. 4, Floodplain Permit Application No. 642: Mr. O’Leary said this application is for the construction of a soccer complex with multiple playing fields on the property located on the south side of Indian Hills Road approximately ¼ mile east of 72nd Ave NW, which is in the 10 Mile Flat Creek floodplain. Mr. Todd McLellan gave the staff report for Floodplain Permit Application No. 642. Mr. McLellan said the Applicant is Sporting Oklahoma, Inc. and the Engineer is Bret Cabbiness with Garver, LLC. Mr. McLellan said Mr. Toni Bragg with The McKinney Partnership is the project architect. Mr. McLellan said Mr. Cabbiness and Mr. Bragg are in attendance to represent the Applicant. Mr. McLellan reviewed photos and aerial map of the location and proximity to the city limits. Mr. McLellan said the property consists of approximately 74 acres and is currently going through the Norman Rural Certificate of Survey process to be subdivided into north and south tracts that will be 22 and 52 acres, respectively. Mr. McLellan said this Floodplain Permit application is for the entire 52 acre (south) tract, which will be developed into a soccer complex located entirely in the 10 Mile Flat Creek floodplain. Mr. McLellan said the complex will be constructed in multiple phases over several years and will include multiple playing fields, an indoor soccer complex building, a small office building with restrooms, offices, and concessions as well as one other restroom building. Mr. McLellan said in addition, a parking lot will also be constructed along with 2 drives with 24 inch corrugated metal pipes installed at the intersection with Indian Hills Road. Mr. McLellan said retention ponds and an internal underground system will be constructed for drainage and Floodplain Permit Committee Meeting September 7, 2021 Page 5 irrigation. Mr. McLellan said a private septic system and water well will also be constructed as part of this project. Mr. McLellan said it is anticipated that the first phase will consist of the construction of three (3) outdoor fields, the retention ponds, a portion of the parking lot, and the drives. Mr. McLellan said the initial grading of the site, excluding the retention ponds, will result in 225 cubic yards of material being removed from the site. Mr. McLellan said the underground detention will be installed in the parking lot areas to accommodate the proposed permeable pavement. Mr. McLellan said the two (2) ponds shown on the site plan are retention ponds that will double as compensatory storage, underground detention outfall, and internal irrigation ponds. Mr. McLellan said the exact size of each pond is generally 550 feet x 130 feet with an average depth of 5 feet. Mr. McLellan said since the anticipated depth of ground water is at 4 feet below the surface, the volume of these ponds for compensatory storage purposes is calculated at a depth of 4 feet with an overall average footprint of 65,000 square feet or 1.5 acres per pond. Mr. McLellan said the volume is approximately 9,630 cubic yards for each pond (a total of 19,260 for both ponds). Mr. McLellan reviewed the total fill amounts (in cubic yards) needed to elevate the buildings a minimum of 2 feet above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) in future phases. Mr. McLellan said the total fill required is 14,292 cubic yards: 12,500 for the Indoor Soccer Facility, 1,375 for Concession and Offices, and 417 for the South Restroom. Mr. McLellan reviewed the applicable ordinances for Floodplain Application No. 642 and verified all ordinance requirements have been met. Mr. McLellan said staff recommended approval of Floodplain Permit Application No. 642 with the condition that an as built survey be provided of the of the retention ponds for compensatory storage capacity and an Elevation Certificate be submitted for all three (3) buildings at completion of construction prior to Floodplain Permit Committee Meeting September 7, 2021 Page 6 issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for each structure. Mr. Bret Cabbiness added that this project will be completed in phases and care was taken to ensure the first phase addressed compensatory storage and drainage improvements. Mr. Cabbiness said the parking lot will provide underground storage for detention and plans will be provided when the remaining construction plans are submitted for approval. Mr. Sturtz asked how the underground detention areas will discharge. Mr. Cabbiness said the water will be used as irrigation for the fields. Mr. Danner asked if the project would include a perimeter fence. Mr. Bragg said there have been discussions regarding a fence and they are familiar with the requirements. Mr. Cabbiness said the Applicant is interested in installation of a five foot, vinyl chain link fence. Mr. Danner asked if they would like to add the fence to the application. Mr. McLellan recommended that the fence be added to the application. Mr. Sturtz asked if there would be gates at the entrance. Mr. Cabbiness said he anticipated at some point there may be interest in installing an entrance gate. Mr. Danner clarified the timeframe for a Floodplain Permit is two (2) years. Mr. Cabbiness said since this is a phased plan, if the Applicant needs more time they will return to the Floodplain Permit Committee before expiration to ensure compliance. Mr. Scanlon asked about the usability of the complex due to flooding. Mr. Cabbiness said this project would be a great use of the floodplain, grading this site to assist drainage and a great opportunity to use green infrastructure. Mr. Sturtz said the model of using floodplain area for soccer fields has been used in other places. Mr. Scanlon asked if this project will be impacted by the Norman Forward project to expand the current Norman soccer complex. Mr. Cabbiness said the location will facilitate Norman and all of the South Oklahoma City area. Mr. Ken Danner recommended approval of Floodplain Permit Application No. 642 including cyclone fencing and gate with the conditions that an as built survey be provided of the retention ponds for compensatory storage Floodplain Permit Committee Meeting September 7, 2021 Page 7 capacity and an Elevation Certificate be submitted for all three (3) buildings at completion of construction prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for each structure. Ms. Stansel seconded the motion. The committee voted to approve the application 5-0. Item No. 6, Miscellaneous Discussion: a) Mr. Sturtz said the meeting on September 20, 2021 has been cancelled due to lack of quorum. b) Mr. Sturtz said the deadline for the October 4, 2021 meeting is September 15, 2021. Item No. 7, Adjournment: Mr. Sturtz called for a motion to adjourn. Mr. Danner motioned to adjourn and was seconded by Mr. Scanlon. The motion was approved 5-0. Meeting adjourned at 4:01 p.m.