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<br />green heron, black crowned night heron, cooper's hawk, owl, black lined
<br />snake, muskrat, painted turtle, and numerous other mammals, birds and
<br />insects. In addition, there are many species of birds (bald eagle, cedar
<br />waxwing, yellow rumped warbler, etc.) that stop along these ponds as they
<br />are migrating. I am aiso very concerned about the negative impact a single
<br />135' glass building might have on these migrating birds.
<br />
<br />Page 14, Protecting Blanding Turtles
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<br />Blanding Turtles do reside in the area. I photographed a Blanding Turtle
<br />(shown below) in my back yard in early June 1998, which was seen
<br />approximateiy 200 feet from Guidanl's property. I did not report the
<br />sighting. The turtle was heading North near the western edge of the pond
<br />which is located just across the walking path and to the North of Wetland I.
<br />Since the turtle was heading North, it is very likely that this turtle made
<br />it's home on Guidant's property (Wetland I). I have contacted the DNR
<br />(sharron. nelson @dnr.state.mn.us <mailto:sharron.nelson@dnr.state.mn.us> )
<br />this month to report the sighting. Other neighbors have told me that they
<br />have seen Blanding Turtles in the area as well. Perhaps a professional
<br />survey is needed to determine how many Blanding Turtles reside in the area.
<br />
<br />Page 54, Visual Impacts
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<br />"the addition of multistory buildings to the area is not visually
<br />inconsistent with other development in the area".
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<br />I believe lhis statement to be grossly incorrect. Guidant's proposed
<br />buildings are very inconsistent with other buildings in the area, especially
<br />with regard to building height and type of parking structures.
<br />
<br />Most of the proposed building heights exceed the maximum allowable building
<br />heights for 1-1 zoned properties. The maximum height allowed in this zone
<br />is 35 feet. Guidanl's proposal exceeds fhese guidelines for 6 out of 8 new
<br />buildings (135', 75', 75', 62', 60', 60', 30', 30'), and 5 out of 7 new
<br />parking ramps (50', 40', 40', 40', 40', 30', 30'). The proposed building
<br />heights are much taller than any other buildings in the area and will make
<br />it next to impossible to screen, especially in the fall and winter after the
<br />ieaves have fallen. In addition, I am not aware of any of her parking ramp
<br />structures in the City of Arden Hills, so adding 7 parking structures alone
<br />is inconsistent with other developments in the area,
<br />
<br />On a related note, the elevation map (Concept PUD Site Section) is
<br />misleading, as the building heights are taken from the East, where the
<br />eievation is higher to begin with. These elevations do not take into
<br />consideration the heights of fhe levels that are underground. Those of us
<br />who live to the West are at a much lower elevation and so get the more
<br />realistic view of seeing full height structures, including many underground
<br />levels which are visible from our direction, plus the added perceived height l
<br />due to our lower elevation. Elevations should be drawn from all 4 sides of
<br />the campus to get a true picture of visual impacts on neighboring communites
<br />and businesses, and not just on the most favorable elevation (from the I
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