Posted: 9/21/05
By Anne Thom
The Stacy City Council heard from representatives of the Sunrise Prairie Town Homes last week regarding the cityís requirement of four inches of topsoil beneath sod.
The developers had not yet put sod in therefore City Engineer Chuck Schwartz and Mayor Michael Carlson had easily observed the material. A sample had been taken as the material didnít appear to be topsoil.
Schwartz said that the material is the ìtopsoilî that exists in Stacy. The developers told the council the material is exactly what they had stripped off of the land and then set aside to move it back onto the landscape. The developers also said they had run an independent soil test. Their contention was that they were rightly working with what the land offered. Carlson addressed the developers saying, ìyouíre talking to people who live here and know what grows.î
Schwartz said it was a performance issue. The development is required to be landscaped including ground cover. Groundcover will not grow unless the conditions are right. The city doesnít want that to become an issue when it should be a relatively simple matter to handle - move the topsoil as required in order to facilitate the growth of appropriate ground cover.
Councilman John Daher noted that the development agreement says ìtopsoilî and not specifically ìblack dirt.î He said, "Unless you define it more, they took the topsoil that was there.î Carlson said he has lived next to this particular field for 10 years and that it has always been sand. He is sure of that as it continues to blow into his house. Carlson said for that reason he was against using it as topsoil.
The developers said the association would make sure that if the present sandy material was reused, the property would be thoroughly irrigated following the laying of sod.
Daher asked if the city had anything that defines what topsoil is? City Clerk Sharon Payne said no, and Schwartz concurred.
It was decided that the developers will be allowed to reuse the material they stripped off, topsoil or not, they will insure that the town home association bylaws call for a two year guarantee on the sod that is put in and that the lawn will be irrigated, fertilized and weed control will be used.
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