Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 06/28/2021

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Environmental Policy Board (EPB) 5. 4. Meeting Date: 06/28/2021 By: Chloe McGuire Brigl, Community Development Information Title: Review Tree Preservation Plan Request for Trott Brook North Purpose/Background: The purpose of this case is to review a request from the Excelsior Group (the "Applicant") on the project generally known as "Trott Brook North" which is the area between Variolite St and Nowthen Blvd NW, north of Trott Brook. The Applicant has requested a deviation from the City's standard tree preservation plan. Notification: No notification required. Observations/Alternatives: Summary of Proposed Development Plan • Number of Lots: 270 • Developable Acreages: 124 Acres • Zoning: R-1 MUSA (Single Family Homes) • 80 Foot Wide Lots • Comprehensive Plan: Low Density Residential • Net Density: 2.2 Units/Acre • Dedicated Park Area: 13.4 Acres Summary of Request The Applicant is requesting a deviation from the City Code to not count all trees onsite. They are proposing to: • Count all scattered and natural trees onsite, except those within floodplain that cannot be removed (meets Code requirements) • Use a sampling technique to count all the of the planted trees in the tree farm area of the project (deviation from Code requirements). Sampling Technique The City has not approved deviations from the Tree Preservation requirements before; however, this is a unique situation because the tree farm is a planted area, with a linear/grid pattern of trees. The Applicant does not disagree that these trees should be counted towards the tree preservation requirements; however, the land has significantly more trees than a "natural" area, which increases costs during the tree inventory phase. The Applicant has proposed to use a mathematical approach to this planted area, measuring certain trees in each grid section and then extrapolating the number of trees based on tree spread throughout each grid section. If the EPB is open to this request, City Staff will bring to the City Council for formal deviation from Code requirements. Examples of Deviations (Provided by Applicant) • The Royal Golf Club at Lake Elmo utilized a combination method that incorporated the plots in the larger wooded areas and complete counts of the scattered trees. • The St. Joseph Pines Afton tree survey utilized full counts in wooded areas within the footprint of the plan and plots in unaffected areas. This approach allowed us to determine the percent tree removal and if