20230927 Environmental Board Packet Combined

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The farm seeks to provide families with great wholesome memories. The farm will likely offer complimentary items such as coffee/hot chocolate and cookies. The farm may have the following free features: small playground structure or hay bales for kids to play on while their parents are checking out, and props for family photos such as benches, stand-in boards, antique tractor or truck. Families may be able to bring their dogs with and there would be signage requiring dogs to be on a leash at all times. Parking will be available at the farm and no street parking on Ash street will be allowed, and we may use a reservation system if necessary to limit the number of customers during the busiest times. Initially reservations will likely not be needed, as it will take time for customers build their traditions around the farm, though reservations is an available tool that other Christmas tree farms utilize to help even out the customer flow. To help provide privacy screening to the nearest neighbors, the farm in 2022 and 2023 planted approximately 250 quick growing arborvitae and white pines along the south border as well as immediately east of the entrance. The neighbor to the east wishes to have privacy screening on the north side of the driveway, and so additional trees will be planted there in future years, as well as to the south. The neighbor does not want a screen to the east, and so trees won’t be planted there again unless the neighbor chooses otherwise. Once the Arborvitae and White Pines are large enough to provide an adequate screen, the remaining buckthorn to the south will be removed. It is common for families to want to get their professional family photos taken at Christmas tree farms, and so professional photographers may be allowed during the offseason to have photos taken of their clients. Community and Environmental Stewardship We believe in giving back to the great community we are located in and commit to donate at least 5% of pre-tax sales receipts to Centennial School Parent Teacher Associations serving Lino Lakes and to the Centennial Community Food Shelf, as well as to offer a number of free trees annually to those in need. The farm may have an option for customers to donate to a specific charity during their check out process and plans to have a collection bin for Toys for Tots and may offer a discount on a tree or a free ornament for people that participate. The farm would be open to providing free educational tours during the year to Centennial school groups and community organizations (e.g. boy/girl scouts) from the nearby area as way to help educate children on environmental stewardship and tree farming. This would be limited to schools in the immediate area and a handful of days a year. The Minnesota Christmas Tree Association, of which Steve is a board member and Treasurer, annually participates in a Trees for Troops program that organizes a donation of Christmas trees to military families in the US and stationed abroad and the Trees for Troops has delivered 293,000 trees since 2005. Our farm plans to participate in this program once our trees are tall enough.