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of written in "stone." Chairperson McDilda stated that he had his thoughts on that, having seen <br />developers make the call. Board Member Max stated that some certified arborists are reliable; <br />but, when they are paid by an engineering firm, they may support their client. He stated that they <br />may favor the person who is paying their salaries. <br /> <br />Chairperson McDilda stated that this ties into Section 9.24.04 Subd 3, one of the things that <br />could be easily changed would be to make modifications to state that any noxious or any other <br />types of deciduous trees do not have to be included. <br /> <br />Environmental Specialist Bacon recalled a prior discussion to find a way to purposely remove <br />them, but it could include hazard trees or trees that are invasive. Board Member Max stated that <br />the developer is actually getting credit for getting rid of the "crap". Environmental Specialist <br />Bacon stated that an oak of a small diameter would have a better chance of standing in a wind <br />storm if you make a fence around older oaks. He stated that regeneration was an important <br />discussion point at a prior meeting. Environmental Specialist Bacon stated that during the <br />discussion, the point of a City survey of the trees in Ramsey was indicated as helping us define <br />what goals might be for choosing a significant species. The elms are nearly gone, so it was <br />entertained to including elm plantings as a plus. <br /> <br />Chairperson McDilda stated that it was a good idea to take this ordinance by ordinance approach. <br />He stated that potential clear cutting may be a concern. <br /> <br />Board Member Max stated that from his experience working in Minneapolis, they have about <br />200,000 boulevard trees on their streets. He explained that Minneapolis has a terrible bias for <br />young and large trees because they are still losing big trees and don't have many big trees <br />anymore. He stated this could have an opposite effect if you have a bias to older trees. He stated <br />that the ideal is to get a balance of species diversity as well as age diversity. <br /> <br />City Council Liaison Strommen concurred, adding if it wasn't for regeneration, the recent storm <br />may have caused her to lose more than just one big tree. Environmental Specialist Bacon stated <br />that a lot of people mow their lawns and it contributes to the loss of regeneration. City Council <br />Liaison Strommen stated that should be simplified by Staff, but felt it was necessary to have <br />something in the ordinance to capture regeneration. <br /> <br />Board Member Bentz asked if some of the mapping for the wetland ordinance could help with <br />the significant tree ordinance. Zoning & Recycling Coordinator Anderson stated that the <br />MLCCS is being utilized. Environmental Specialist Bacon stated that it is a cover type where <br />impervious surface is one of the central criteria. So it is intended for water shedding cover types, <br />wetland cover type, upland grass, and irregular polygons. He stated that the Anoka County <br />Conservation District, the DNR, and Ramsey adopted it to use with the greenways. He stated <br />that it is a GIS layer that is available but it is not species specific, it is more general. <br /> <br />Chairperson McDilda stated that it is too general to use for these purposes. Board Member <br />Bentz asked if a large chunk of land was being platted, and not touching part of it, do you have to <br />count all those trees also or can you say just leave that. Zoning & Recycling Coordinator <br />Anderson stated that the way it is now, it needs to be inventoried. <br /> <br />Environmental Policy Board / October 3, 2005 <br /> Page 7 of 16 <br /> <br /> <br />