Agenda - Planning Commission - 06/05/2003

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Preliminary Plat Review: Town Center Gardens May 30, 2003 Page 3 of 4 Please contact Mark Boos, Parks/Utilities Supervisor at (763) 286-0833 with any questions you have with trails. Open Space: City Ordinances require that at least 40% of the development consist of open space. Qualifying areas include grassed lawns, landscaped areas, gardens, natural areas, landscape rock, mulch, wetlands, and ponding areas. At least 10% of the open space must be shown as an easily identifiable common area for the use of the surrounding.residents. The preliminary plat appears to show at least 40% of open space. Based on staff review, it appears that about I acre of identifiable open space will be needed. The development shows an area that is approximately 1.5 acres in size (Lot 7, Block 4 which is' located on the northern edge of the development site). In addition, the plat shows a ½ acre'area to be reserved as open space (Lot 8, Block 1 in the southeast corner of the development site). Lot 7, Block 4 appears to meet the open space requirement. Please provide impervious surface calculations so staff can confirm their analysis. Stormwater Management Fee: The City has enacted a stormwater management fee of $375.00 per unit that will be due prior to the City releasing the plat for recording. Tree Preservation Plan: A tree survey was submitted along with the landscaping plans. The survey indicates that there are roughly 120 existing trees on the site. However, after visiting the site, it was clear there was a large area of the land covered by young elms andother vegetation that was not noted on the plan. The survey also shows that ail existing trees are being'r~6ved to facilitate this development. The tree survey shows that there are several Hackberry trees that could be considered sig-nificant. There is a clump of Hackberry trees, ranging from 8" to 19" in diameter, that appear to be in an area that may allow for them to be preserved (#'s 6793, 6794, 6795, 6796, and 6799 on the tree survey). Furthermore, at the northwestern corner of the proposed development there are several large Cottonwood trees, some Red Cedars, and possibly a couple other species of.trees that do not appear to interfere with the construction, yet they are noted as being removed. Every effort should be made to preserve any trees that feasibly can be saved. One other area that may present some options to preserve some existing trees would be in the southeastern'corner of the proposed development, in and around the proposed green space. The City needs to receive a tree preservation plan that shows the species, size, and location of any and all trees to be saved. The City has drafted a tree preservation ordinance that is being introduced on June 5, 2003 to the Planning Commission. In this ordinance, it is. stated that "All multi-family residential developments shall retain forty percent (40%) of the inches of tree DBH existing on the lot after subdivision". Furthermore, it states, "If trees in excess of sixty percent (60%) are removed from the plat due to construction, they shall be replaced on a basis consistent with the tree cover requirements as outlined in the applicable multi-family residential zoning district'.!. There has also been discussion regarding a new c .a~.opy cover formula that will be used to calculate tree cover requirements for developments. While these items have not been adopted, they should receive some consideration due to the amount of trees being removed, as well as the large shortage of ornamental trees being planted. 305