#09 - Oak Land Middle School Minor Subdvision & CUP

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3 subdivision will provide necessary public right of way, clean up lot lines and legal descriptions, and allow the School site to meet applicable requirements for impervious surface. Tree Preservation. Limited tree removals are proposed on the site primarily to allow required public sewer connection, and to allow installation of storm sewer south of the building. There are 2994 significant inches indicated by the Applicant to be currently on site. The allowable removal at 30% is 898 inches. As proposed, the School District will only remove 402 inches, not triggering a need for mitigation. The City’s Landscape Architect has required a revision to the calculation in order to remove Siberian Elm, Box Elder, and Eastern Cottonwood trees from the table as they are not considered significant. Revisions are also required to details provided the plans. The Applicant will be required to revise and resubmit accordingly. Shoreland Standards. Together, the two parcels comprising the Oak Land Middle School site abut Rose Lake which is classified as a natural environment lake by the City’s Shoreland Ordinance. The City’s ordinance permits this use in the shoreland overlay and establishes several performance standards for existing and future development. First, the site is subject to a 15% impervious surface maximum. The site will meet that standard with the new expansion bringing total lot coverage to 14.03% within the shoreland area. The School District’s proposed improvements will also stay outside of the 150’ setback from Rose Lake and will result in modification of no riparian vegetation. Landscaping. The City’s Landscape Architect has reviewed the planting plan for conformance with the City’s ordinance. The Applicant will need to recalculate the total number of trees that are required for the site. It is anticipated that additional trees will be required, and plantings in parking areas or along the southern lot line (as discussed in the section below) would satisfy overall tree planting requirements. Other details will be required to plans revised and resubmitted by the Applicant. Buffering and Screening. A variance is requested to City Code Section 105.12.970 (f)(2) which requires a 150-foot buffer. While the school building meets the building setback requirement, it will necessitate a variance of 100 feet to the buffering standard. The building is limited in the areas where it can be expanded with a parking area on the North and East side, and a track facility to the west. Variance criteria are suggested in a following section of this report. This property abuts one existing single family residential property to the north and several larger parcels to the west and south that are undeveloped but guided for residential development by the Comprehensive Plan. Most tree removals proposed on this parcel are coming from the southern lot where the lot will be graded, and storm sewer installed. The City Engineer has required this area remain clear of new tree plantings which could cause maintenance problems if planted in the storm sewer easement. Additional vegetative screening could be required in the future with new development if there is concern. Building Design. Elevations submitted with the site plans indicate two different treatments for the building. The exterior of all new classroom areas would be constructed with the same materials currently on the principal structure; however, the two-story gymnasium area would be constructed with precast concrete panels and surfaced with exposed aggregate. The building materials and façade elevations proposed are consistent with the City’s design standards manual and are therefore found acceptable.