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• Met Council notes that page 10 of the EAW indicates the presence of burr oak trees on the site but that the tree survey (Exhibit J) indicates only white an read oaks on the site. City response: white oak. The City's Environmental Specialist notes that a Burr oak is a type of • Met Council also notes that the City's tree ordinance does not require tree mitigation or replacement and thus is of little use to the community. Met Council goes on to recommend that the City incorporate protection and reforestation components in the ordinance. Met Council staff feels the project applicant could do much more to remediate the loss of trees from the site. City response: Tree replacement on development sites is part of a larger effort to address tree preservation, open space, and landscaping, including the planting and management of native species. The City has recognized the need to address these elements. The project proposer has submitted a tree replacement plan. The City finds the submitted plan satisfactory given that the site has for years been planned for intense retail development. • Met Council states that its concerns about the proposed development impacts on the `-- Regional Park include: 1. The potential to degrade water quality do to a large amount of hard surface proposed in the development that will prevent a significant amount local infiltration. (28.7 acres of hard surface of the 40.15 acres site total) 2. The large amount of hard surface will likely elevate the temperature of the storm water runoff temperatures due to the sun heating the extensive roofs and parking lots of the development. This increase in runoff water temperature could negatively impact the park wetlands and the corresponding bird and wildlife populations. City response: The site currently is undeveloped land which includes wetland, wooded areas, and grassland. Any development that includes impervious surface will, by definition, reduce infiltration. As noted above in the response to the MPCA, the project applicant has attempted to incorporate infiltration basins into the drainage design of the project. The Rice Creek Watershed District is the local surface water planning authority. The RCWD standards includes using infiltration when possible. The project will require a permit from RCWD. Increased runoff volume from development is a watershed -wide issue. Impacts are not limited to this project. It is unlikely that the volume of runoff from the site will impact the vast acreage of lakes and wetland systems in the 2600 acre park reserve. Nor can the impacts of runoff from this project be considered to be significant, given the immense area that makes Responses to Comments On Lino Lakes Marketplace EAW page 7 of 11