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Variance Request Narrative: Tree Inventory Methodology <br />Date: 03/05/2026 <br />To: City Engineering & Planning Department <br />From: SERENITY AT RIVERS EDGE – Development team <br />Project Site: 34-32-25-14-0029 <br />Re: Variance Request – City Code Section 106-910 (Tree Inventory Methodology) <br />1. Request for Variance <br />In accordance with City Code Section 106-220, I am formally requesting a variance from the <br />standard tree inventory methodology, which typically requires the individual tagging and <br />surveying of every "significant tree." Instead, I am proposing a Representative Area Summary <br />and Canopy Map to be prepared by Kameron Kytonen,Certified Arborist,#MN-4237A, as an <br />alternative methodology for this specific site. <br />2. Statement of Practical Difficulty <br />Per City Code, a variance may be granted when a landowner faces "practical difficulties" unique <br />to the property. The following site-specific conditions demonstrate why a tree-by-tree inventory <br />is unfeasible and unnecessary for this project: <br /> Unique Biological Monoculture: A preliminary site assessment by a certified tree <br />specialist has identified that the tree canopy on this site consists of 85-90% Eastern Red <br />Cedar. Unlike a typical mixed-hardwood lot, this site is a near-monoculture. Tagging <br />every individual cedar (averaging 8" to 15" DBH) would yield redundant data that does <br />not provide additional value to the City’s preservation goals beyond what a density-based <br />summary provides. <br /> Physical Site Constraints (Safety & Accessibility): The specific growth habit of the <br />Eastern Red Cedar on this property presents a physical barrier to the standard inventory <br />method. These trees possess a high density of sharp, dead lower branches that extend to <br />the ground, making the trunks physically inaccessible for a surveyor to reach and affix <br />tags without extensive clearing of live and dead vegetation. This physical constraint is <br />unique to the biological density of this specific lot. <br /> Environmental Sensitivity: Applying a "one-size-fits-all" tagging requirement to the <br />dense cedar grove on the upland portion of the site would require significant disruption of <br />the understory just to access the trunks, which is counter-intuitive to the City’s goal of <br />vegetation preservation. <br />3. Proposed Alternative Methodology