Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 01/13/2025

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5. 1. Environmental Policy Board (EPB) Meeting Date: 01/13/2025 Primary Strategic Plan Initiative: Promote economic growth and development. Information Title: Consider the Natural Resources Aspects of a Preliminary Plat for Riverstone South 6th Addition (Project No. 24-127); Case of Development Consulting Services, LLC Purpose/Background: The City has received an application from Development Consulting Services, LLC (the "Applicant") for a Preliminary Plat for Riverstone South 6th Addition, a proposed single family residential development to be located on Outlot C, Riverstone South (the "Subject Property"). The Subject Property is located south of Riverdale Drive, between 148th Avenue and Pearson Street. Revised plans have been received, but have yet to be fully reviewed. The attached plan sheets with Staffs comments represent what was reviewed at the time of the writing of this case. It is possible that additional comments will be added before the review is complete. Time Frame/Observations/Alternatives: Project Overview The Applicant is proposing a residential development of fourteen (14) single family residential lots that will be accessed by the extension of 147th Avenue to the west and north. There will also be an outlot abutting Riverdale Drive that will be owned and maintained by the Riverstone South Home Owners Association. The extension of 147th Avenue terminates in a cul-de-sac rather than connecting to Riverdale Drive, due to spacing concerns (from 148th Avenue and Pearson Street), the fact that Riverdale Drive is an MSA road (designed to carry higher volumes of traffic than a standard local road and oftentimes have a higher speed limit than a standard local road), and that the intersection, if the roads connected, would be on a curve along Riverdale Drive. All lots will be served by municipal water and sanitary sewer. Subject Property Information The Subject Property is approximately 6.16 acres in size. It is zoned RI-B and is guided as Low Density Residential in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The RI-B district requires a minimum lot size of 6,500 square feet and a minimum lot width of sixty-five (65) feet. Additionally, each lot is required to have a minimum of forty-five (45) feet of frontage along a public road. Surrounding parcels to the west are zoned RI-B and P (Parks and Open Space), the land south of the Subject Property is zoned as P (Parks and Open Space), and the parcels to the east are zoned RI-C. The land north of Riverdale Drive is zoned B-2 (Community Business District). The Subject Property also falls within the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA), and thus, it must comply with those standards as well. Natural Resources Summary The City's Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) does identify a low -quality native plant community in the southern part of the Subject Property. There is also an Altered/Non-Native plant community found in the central portion of the Subject Property. Per the Minnesota Land Cover Classification System (MLCCS), the Subject Property is categorized as upland forest (southern part of property), dry grassland (central portion of property), and planted or cultivated vegetation (northern part of property). Much of the upland forest area will be protected (discussed more under Tree Inventory and Preservation), with the bulk of the disturbance occurring outside the native plant community. There are no wetlands or floodplain on the Subject Property. As previously noted, the Subject Property is within the MRRCA, which has additional standards. However, the Subject Property is in the 'Separated from River' district (it is not actually on the banks of the river), which, for the