#16 - Highpointe Crossing Preliminary Plat and OP PUD

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June 26, 2024 Highpointe Crossing Memorandum 2 - Provide a landscape plan sheet showing proposed trees across the full site with keyed areas for each of the zoomed in plan areas for legibility - Planting plans do not meet the required minimum percentage of evergreens. A minimum of 25% of plantings must be evergreen per code. Applicant appears to have the space to plant additional evergreen trees around the site perimeter, which would contribute to resolving the adjacent neighbors’ concerns about viewsheds and bring the development closer to meeting the OP PUD landscaping requirements. Understanding that the intent of this site is primarily to reflect a prairie landscape, if additional evergreens are proposed where they contribute to buffering and the minimum requirement is not yet met, we will consider waiving the remainder required.  The proposed Techny Upright Arborvitae shown in the main entrance planting plan may be counted toward this requirement but does not appear to be reflected in the tree schedule. - Please provide calculations on the planting plans listing total disturbed area and total linear feet of street so that landscaping requirements can be confirmed. - The narrative indicates that the proposer requests the following landscape-related variances: 1. 50’ street tree spacing vs 30’ o Assuming roughly 6500 linear feet of roadway based on the narrative (please confirm), 217 street trees are required, but only 130 are proposed. o Street trees may be planted in clusters to achieve the requirement rather than individually, which may be an option to increase tree quantities in some areas. While it makes sense to grant a variance beneath the power lines where trees are not allowed to be planted and in areas where minimum utility offsets cannot be achieved, 30’ spacing is otherwise not unreasonable. Please see how many street trees can reasonably be planted along the proposed roadways beginning with a 30’ spacing and adjusting to ensure required utility offsets. 2. 5 trees / lot rather than 10 o The currently proposed 450 trees do not meet even the minimum landscape requirements of a typical development, which would be required include 353 trees (at 5 trees/acre disturbed with 70.72 acres disturbed) in addition to the required street trees. Given that this is an open space PUD and flexibility is already being requested for street trees, additional tree plantings are warranted. The applicant’s efforts to restore native prairie and pollinator habitat are valuable; however, even native savannas have up to 25 trees per acre, and there is plenty of space on site for additional tree planting without compromising the open, rolling prairie aesthetic. Please adjust the plan to add in additional trees, especially along the site boundaries, and see what makes reasonable sense without shading out the intended native seeding. Any tree plantings within the seeded prairie should be fire tolerant to withstand prescribed burns.