11-03-21-Planning Commission - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 4 of 9 E. Minimum Caliper Inches – Flexibility Granted Tree mitigation was not required as the current site had no trees deemed significant per City Code. The Zoning Code requires that a minimum number of caliper inches of trees be provided based on the gross square footage of the building on the property. A single story building in excess of thirty (30) feet in height shall be considered a two-story building for the purposes of determining gross square footage. The proposed building would be considered a two-stories, and includes 499,552 gross square feet. This requires a minimum of 1,561 caliper inches or 624 two (2) caliper trees. Flexibility was granted from this requirement as part of the previous approvals for the building construction. It was noted that the proposed site is limited to where trees can be planted onsite due the wetlands and overhead power lines. The Applicant was approved for the planting of 310 caliper inches or 110 trees. As part of this Site Plan Review for the parking lot expansion, the Applicant has included an additional planting of eight (8) trees. F. Tree Selection – Meets Requirements The proposed updated landscape plan includes a variety of tree species, including maples, oaks and evergreens, ranging in size from two and half (2.5) to six (6) caliper inches. This is consistent with ordinance requirements. The Applicant is proposing to plant six (6) to twelve (12) foot tall evergreens. G. Landscaped Area and Perennials and Shrubberies – Flexibility Granted Zoning Code requires 35 percent of the site to be landscaped or 339,674 square feet. The landscaping plan shows that the total landscaped area provided on the site is 652,668 square feet. The Zoning Code requires a minimum of 10 percent of the total landscaped area to be covered with perennials and/or shrubbery. The total landscaped area on the site is 652,668 square feet, resulting in the need for a minimum of 65,266 square feet of perennial and shrubbery cover. The Applicant has been approved for 2,888 square feet of perennial and shrub planting beds. In addition, the Applicant was approved for the use of over 170,000 square feet of Mesic Prairie seed mix onsite. Mesic Prairie is a prairie plant community dominated by native grasses such as big bluestem, switchgrasses and including abundant wildflowers. The updated landscaping plan shows the perimeter of the proposed parking lot expansion would still be planted with the Mesic Prairie seed mix. However, the updated plan includes an additional 108 shrubs and 151 perennials planted within the parking islands. The types of plantings are a variety of species consistent with the previously approved landscape plan. Gateway Boulevard