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• Planning Commission Report Silver Lake Commons Development Review Planning Case No. 487-97 • '� June 18, 1997 • Page 4 • If flowering crabapple trees are to be used, the species should not be either sparkler or radiant which are susceptible to disease. (The proposed species on the revised plan is Spring Snow Crabapple.) • Pin oaks should be changed to red oak or bicolor oak. • Regal elm(on revised plan) should be changed to Hackberry. Staff has a number of concerns with the plantings proposed on the site, which are described below. We will have a diagram at the meeting to illustrate how we feel the plan needs to be revised. • Arborvitae edge along Highway 10 was intended to screen the view of the parking lot from the highway, but it is not very well anchored along the frontage. (Its position appears to be random and not well-related to the building frontage.) Staff suggests that a grove of trees be planted between the two existing apartment buildings on either side of the walkway to get the same effect. Plantings of spruce and crabapple should then be planted on either end of the Highway 10 frontage and on either side of the driveway, to create"brackets" for that frontage and identity for the project. • The lilacs along the south half of the Highway 10 frontage were intended as screening, but staff is concerned that they will grow so high, they will apppear to create a walled "compound" look to the development. We would suggest lower growing, dense shrubs that Ili would provide an edge, keep children off the highway, but also beautify the site. The two blue spruce in the center would be moved, and additional trees added in groupings at either end of the frontage. We will be asking the City Forester for some suggestions on types of shrubs which will do well in this confined space. • There needs to be some type of fencing along the Highway 10 edge where it abuts the existing apartment buildings. We have been talking with the applicant about the overall Highway 10 design theme, and that we expect it to include a bike path and fencing. We have also talked with MnDOT about entering into a license agreement to allow use of some of the highway right-of-way. They appear receptive. We are trying to avoid the situation where we require fencing from the applicant and then later have the City install fencing as part of the Highway 10 design theme. Staff continues to be concerned, however, that fencing is needed along this stretch because of the number of children in the existing apartments and the frequent occasions when children are observed playing in the front lawn area with no separation from Highway 10. • The wood fence along the back property line needs to be extended further toward Eastwood to screen the four parking spaces next to the 4-unit building. • The arborvitae edge along the chain link fence needs to be anchored on either end with crabapple trees, or a combination of crabapple and spruce. The City Forester has said that • the species proposed is suitable for creating a hedge effect and for providing screening.