11-20-07 PTRC - Laserfiche WebLink

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priorities and goals of the city should be regarding tree preservation. At this meeting Council Members and Commissioners provided comments and direction to staff on this issue. Staff is now in the process of gathering additional information and beginning to draft optional code language for further review. Staff is consulting with the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee in order to provide an update on the process and to gather additional input. Due to the complexity of preparing tree preservation regulations, this process will likely be ongoing and will require additional meetings. Tree Preservation The potential impact of a tree preservation ordinance is great. It can be written to regulate only the most extreme and largest redevelopments,but it also has the potential to shape every redevelopment within the city. The benefits of a well written tree preservation ordinance can also be great. It has the potential to preserve open space,protect woodland areas, encourage responsible land redevelopment, and protect the beauty of the natural landscape of a community. However, a poorly written or misguided tree preservation ordinance can be cumbersome, difficult to enforce, and unintentionally overwhelming for even small projects. If not crafted to meet the goals of the City, the tree preservation could increase the complexity of many projects without producing a clear and beneficial outcome. The ordinance can also add cost to projects for the City review and for property owners. The following discussion addresses both the economic and physical constraints of construction on wooded lots as well as the benefits of established trees in our community. Goals Determining the goals and scope is an important part of developing this ordinance. It will flavor the outcome of the regulations. For example, if the goal is tree preservation over tree replacement, then an outcome might be a regulation that requires new development to impact as few trees as possible during planning and construction. However, this regulation can affect the location, size, scope, and economics of a project. The city might put in place incentives to encourage tree preservation and help with the cost of development, such as height bonuses and setback reductions for significant trees saved,or reduced landscaping requirements in return for preserved trees. The goals discussed at the October 22, 2007 Joint Work Session are as follows: • Preserve existing significant trees during development • Reduce significant tree loss during development • Preserve significant trees during construction City of Arden Hills PTRC Meeting for November 20, 2007 lWhdocs]lARWHdataWlanninglPlanning CasesC00710X--OXX Tree Presenation OrdinanceU12007-PTRC Report-Ti ee Presen ation.doc Page 2 of 6