Agenda - Planning Commission - 02/04/2021

Home

space to plant those additional trees but would prefer to provide adequate spacing to allow the trees to grow. Chairperson Bauer referenced the comment made during presentation that the homes would have three or four car garages and asked if that was meant to address the number of bedrooms. Mr. Metzer stated that the homes would be a mix of three and four bedroom homes, noting that the basements would be unfinished and therefore an additional bedroom could be added. He confirmed that his previous statement was correct, the smaller lots would have three car garages while the larger lots would have four car garages. Commissioner VanScoy asked the species of tree that would be planted along the buffer area. Mr. Metzer review the mix of overstory, ornamental and evergreen trees that would be planted. He confirmed that a combination of the different types of trees would be planted to create the buffer. He stated that four of the six adjacent lots to the east have a significant number of trees in their yard, which also adds to the buffer. He stated that they would plan to plant more evergreen trees to buffer the two lots that do not have a lot of trees in their yards. Councilmember Musgrove stated that as the trees are planted and grow, if there are trees that fail, would those be required to be replaced by the developer. Senior Planner McGuire Brigl stated that the standard Development Agreement includes a two year guarantee on all trees. She stated that agreement calculates a one third die off rate. Councilmember Musgrove stated that planting, failing and requiring the applicant to replant and fail again could setup a cycle that does not provide a successful barrier. Leslie Clark, 15150 Kangaroo Street, stated that her property is one of those referred to as one without trees. She stated that she would like to see as many trees planted as possible. She recognized that Lennar has just taken on this project but throughout the history of the site itself the residents have done a lot of compromising as to what could be developed on that parcel. She stated that she wants a buffer that provides a clear delineation between the properties. City Planner Anderson commented that when landscaping is used as the tool for density transitioning there is a fine line in regard to survivability of trees. He stated that in the beginning the trees planted are small and even a fairly dense planting at the onset will not provide a tremendous visual barrier between the two neighborhoods. He agreed that 15 to 20 years down the road as the trees start to reach maturity there may be some overcrowding and some that dominate more than others. He commented that you do have to plant trees tighter in the beginning in order to provide that buffer. He stated that there is a 35 foot wide corridor and the trees can be staggered. He believed that there are ways to accomplish the goal with the recognition that some th trees may be lost in the long-term due to overcrowding. He provided an example of the 4 Addition of Brookfield where trees were planted as density transitioning and 15 years later there Planning Commission/ January 7, 2021 Page 4 of 20