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<br /> <br /> <br />Page 1 of 1 <br /> AGENDA ITEM – 1A <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />DATE: July 16, 2018 <br /> <br />TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers <br /> Dave Perrault, City Administrator <br /> <br />FROM: Matthew Bachler, City Planner <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Vegetation Removal and Clear Cutting Regulations <br /> <br />Budgeted Amount: Actual Amount: Funding Source: <br /> N/A N/A N/A <br /> <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />The City Council has requested that the City review its existing regulations on vegetation <br />removal and clear cutting, and discuss whether the regulations need to be updated to be more <br />effective. The City Attorney has provided two memos that provide examples of clear cutting <br />ordinances from other cities and possible options for regulating vegetation removal (see <br />attached). The City Attorney will be in attendance at the Work Session to respond to questions. <br /> <br />The City Code defines “clear cutting” as “the complete removal of trees or shrubs in a <br />contiguous patch, strip, row, or block.” Section 1325.05, Subd. 1 (Landscaping Design <br />Standards) prohibits clear cutting on all parcels in the City. Section 1330 includes additional <br />restrictions on tree and vegetation removal within the Shore Impact Zone and on steep slopes in <br />the Shoreland Management District. <br /> <br />To mitigate the impacts of the removal of significant trees, the City has adopted a Tree <br />Preservation Ordinance (Section 1325.055). A Tree Preservation Plan is required as part of an <br />application for new building construction, expansion of an existing building or hard surface by <br />10 percent or more, projects that requires a Grading and Erosion Control Permit, and for a plat or <br />minor subdivision. The Tree Preservation Ordinance does not prohibit the removal of significant <br />trees, but it does give the City authority to work with a property owner to designate certain trees <br />for preservation and to require replacement tree plantings. <br /> <br />Attachments <br /> <br />A. Memo from City Attorney regarding Clear Cutting Ordinances, July 5, 2018 <br />B. Memo from City Attorney regarding Options for Regulating Vegetation Removal, July 5, 2018