Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 03/16/2020

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b. Employment Districts (E-1, E-2, and E-3). The minimum number of plantings required shall be determined based on crown or canopy cover. To fulfill the planting requirements, a combination of trees and shrubs shall meet or exceed the minimum required canopy cover square footage. The minimum canopy cover required shall be as follows: 1. Determine ratio of impervious area (including stormwater ponds) to entire site. 2. Multiply the impervious area/site area ratio by the square footage of the pervious area to calculate the required canopy cover square footage for the project area. 3. The following formula shall be utilized to determine the average canopy cover of a species: [(Minimum + Maximum Spread) - 4]2 x x (0.65 for preferred species or 0.50 for acceptable species, as identified in the Ramsey Tree Book). c. Minimum size of plantings. Required trees and shrubs shall meet or exceed the following size standards: Plant Type Size Deciduous Tree 2.5 inch caliper Coniferous Tree 6 feet in height Ornamental/Understory Tree 1.5 inch caliper Deciduous Shrub 2 feet in height Coniferous Shrub 2 feet in height or width, based on growth characteristics d. Road frontage plantings. For every 35 feet of public road frontage, one overstory tree shall be planted adjacent to the road right-of-way on private property. These plantings are credited toward the minimum planting requirements. e. Parking lot landscaping. All parking lots are required to provide internal overstory tree plantings in an effort to shade parking surfaces and provide visual relief. The planting schedule is established to provide an acceptable number of plantings that may be planted in regular symmetrical patterns or irregular clusters or groupings. Plantings are required at the at the following minimum schedule: 1. 1 tree per every ten parking spaces. 2. Every overstory tree planting shall be provided with a planting area of at least 162 square feet. 3. Acceptable ground cover materials include sod, mulch, and other natural ground cover. Landscaping rock and plastic underlayment is prohibited. f. Bufferyards. Bufferyards help to achieve screening between differing uses with varied intensities and impacts that are not always complementary when adjacent to one another. When a bufferyard is required, the yard space and planting requirements are not to be reduced for other purposes such as future parking and driveways, building expansions, or other activities that are not in keeping with the purposes of buffering and screening.