Cedar Rapids City Council to vote on topsoil rule after a year of debate

CEDAR RAPIDS - After more than a year of discussion, Cedar Rapids staff, local developers and a City Council development subcommittee are backing a final draft of a topsoil ordinance aimed at improving soil and water quality, stormwater runoff and lawn aesthetics.

Now the question is whether the Erosion and Sediment Control for Construction Sites ordinance has the support of the Cedar Rapids City Council.

'It is going to make a difference in a lot of ways,” said Scott Olson, a Cedar Rapids City Council member and chairman of the development committee. 'It has taken longer than I hoped, but we are getting close.”

The proposed ordinance, part of the city's stormwater pollution prevention plan, gets a public hearing and likely a first vote when the City Council meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 101 First St. SE.

The ordinance would codify requirements for how much soil - at minimum 4 inches - and the condition of the ground builders leave behind when they finish a construction project. The 4 inches is down from previous proposal to of up to 8 inches.

The developers would have nine different acceptable methods to meet the requirement, such as tilling, using compost and bringing in topsoil. The ordinance allows 3 inches of topsoil and an inch of sod to meet the standard, as suggested by developers.

The developer would need to note to the city the method used to meet the requirement, and would need it verified by a third party of their choosing, Olson said.

The city at its own expense would conduct testing to see if the rules are having the desired impact, Olson said. The testing is not intended for enforcement, but if through the testing city officials discover developers aren't complying, the city could revisit the ordinance to give it 'more teeth,” Olson added.

City leaders hope the policy leads to better management of stormwater during flash flooding, filters toxins out of the water supply, and improves lawn health, which has struggled from compacted clay subsurface in newer developments all around Cedar Rapids, according to city officials.

Cedar Rapids decided to address soil quality after state rules changed to allow developers to meet topsoil requirements only 'if feasible,” and soon many developers were not meeting the requirements, Olson said.

The city's ordinance has been discussed and revised for several months. Developers resisted initially saying the ordinance could increase home prices by thousand of dollars, but the city produced samples from around the city showing a high proportion of compacted soil. The city softened the language such that the rules should initiate improvements but it's easier on the developers. The committee agreed on a version in July, but the sides still had disagreements over the interpretation and definitions, prompting revisions of the ordinance as recently as last month.

The final version is going to the City Council with a committee recommendation the ordinance be passed. If approved, the ordinance would be effective for any new developments started after Jan. 1. Developments that had been through preliminary platting already would be exempt.

'The last couple months we've been working on a compromise we think will work for the city and the developers,” Olson said.