Agenda - Planning Commission - 08/26/2021

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5.04: Review Tree Preservation Plan Request for Trott Brook North City Planner Anderson presented the staff report. He stated that the purpose of the case is to review a request from the Excelsior Group on the project generally known as Trott Brook North which is the area between Variolite Street and Nowthen Boulevard NW, north of Trott Brook. The application has requested a deviation from the City's standard tree preservation plan. Board Member Little asked for input as to what would be considered a negative in allowing this plan to move forward. City Planner Anderson commented that on the surface the concern would be whether the standards are being applied consistently and fairly. He stated that the tree inventory is based on inches rather than total trees and therefore there could be a deviation, although perhaps not significantly. He explained that there will be a lot of plantings with this large development along with areas of tree preservation. He noted that the applicant has stated that there would be more time and cost to provide a review in inches. He asked if the Board feels that this method would provide a fairly accurate depiction of what exists and what would need to be replaced. Board Member Little commented that he has experience working with trees and he believes that this method would provide accurate information. He stated that in his opinion he believes that this would be an accurate method but agreed the question would be whether the City wants to deviate from policy. Board Member Hiatt recognized that this was a planted area and therefore the type and size should be similar for the trees as they were planted at the same time. He stated that if this method is going to be allowed it should be noted that this was a planted area and not naturally occurring, in order to prevent precedent from being set. Board Member Little stated that if this method is approved, he would agree to specify that was allowed because it was an artificially planted area. Board Member Hiatt asked how staff feels about this method. City Planner Anderson commented that he agrees it would give a fair representation of what is out there. He agreed that it would be critical to mention that this was allowed because it is unique in that it was a planted area in order to avoid setting precedent. He stated that the hardest challenge would be determining reforestation requirements if the removal threshold is exceeded. Board Member Fetterley commented that this would be an exception to the normal process, and she would be hesitant although this seems like a fair method proposed. She asked if the Board wants to allow another reason for exceptions. She asked if there are other areas similar to this in Ramsey. Board Member Valentine commented that this would seem to be a situation that points out a need for the City to have a process to systematically address variances. He stated that perhaps the developer would need to follow a variance request to request this approach for evaluating the site.