03-12-18-R - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

City of Arden Hills City Council Meeting for March12, 2018 P:\Planning\Planning Cases\2017\PC 17-029 - 3685 New Brighton Road Preliminary and Final Plat and Easement Vacation\Memos_Reports_17-029 Page 7 of 13 site is heavily wooded and does not provide many areas where replacement trees could be planted. The City may require that the 30.9 caliper inches of additional trees be planted off-site, or a fee in lieu of the off-site plantings may be collected. The fee amount is set as the cost of materials and installation, plus 10 percent. The draft Development Agreement currently includes a provision that a fee in lieu of the plantings be paid before the issuance of development permits. The applicant submitted a letter requesting that all Cottonwood trees on the site not be counted as significant trees because they are a nuisance tree (Attachment H). Seven Cottonwood trees are proposed to be removed on Lot 1. If Cottonwood trees were removed from the Tree Preservation Plan, the required replacement tree amount would be 140 caliper inches and there would be no tree replacement deficiency. The Zoning Code includes the following definition for a significant tree: A tree that is important to the site and the neighborhood character, that is structurally sound and healthy, and that meets at least one of the following standards: • A deciduous hardwood tree that is at least ten (10) caliper inches, including but not limited to, ironwood, catalpa, oak, hard maple, walnut, hickory, birch, black cherry, hackberry, locust and basswood. • A deciduous softwood tree that is at least twelve (12) caliper inches, including but not limited to, cottonwood, poplars/aspen, box elder, willow, silver maple and elm. • A coniferous evergreen tree having foliage on the outermost portion of the branches year- round and which is at least fifteen (15) feet or more in height. • A group of deciduous trees that are at least eight (8) caliper inches or coniferous trees that are at least fifteen (15) feet in height, that provide a buffer or screening along an adjacent public street or between differing land uses. Cottonwood trees that are at least 12 caliper inches in size and are structurally sound and healthy are defined as significant trees under the Zoning Code. Staff would recommend that the Cottonwood trees on the site continue to be counted as significant trees. Traffic and Public Safety For new developments and subdivisions, the City may require that a traffic impact study be completed to ensure that additional traffic resulting from a project will not place an undue strain on the local street network. The proposed subdivision would result in two new single-family residential dwellings on Thom Drive and staff determined that a traffic impact study was not warranted in this case. Staff has reviewed the proposed driveway locations on Thom Drive and does not have concerns at this time regarding their placement. The Zoning Code requires a minimum distance of 20 feet between a driveway on Thom Drive and the intersection with New Brighton Road. The first driveway on Thom Drive is approximately 20 feet from the New Brighton Road intersection. A