City Council - 08/16/2016 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM
TUESDAY,AUGUST 16, 2016 CITY CENTER
5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS
6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER
CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher
Wickstrom, Kathy Nelson and Ron Case
CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief James DeMann, Fire Chief George
Esbensen, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah,
Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City
Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters
Workshop - Heritage Room H
I. TREES
Bourne and Klima presented proposed updates to tree policies based on Council discussion at
the May 24 workshop. Getschow referred to a handout with five scenarios for discussion.
Scenario Current Process
Residential Homeowner improvements to private Tree removal is exempt from replacement
property(i.e. fence,garden,play court)
Residential General tree removal(undesirable Must follow tree replacement. Enforced on a
species,location,etc.) complaint basis which can be difficult to
determine replacement needed.
Commercial Vacant,undeveloped sites that are unable Staff works with developer to include as many
to realistically meet the tree replacement trees as feasible and increase size of trees
requirements at the time of development planted. A variance or waiver is requested for
(Franlo/Prairie Center Drive site;EP amount not met.
Senior Living);
Commercial Developments with large landscape and Staff works with management company to
replacement requirements that are not maintain trees required for screening;meet
maintainable in long term(Hennepin code requirements or removal amounts; and
Village); relocate tree replacements to more appropriate
locations
Commercial Developments that install the exact Replaced on a one-to-one basis'
amount of caliper inches required. As
trees mature the caliper inches provided
on site increases beyond the amount
required by the approval. When a
required tree is removed for
maintenance,it is subject to replacement
requiring caliper inches beyond the
amount required by the development
approvals.
City Council Workshop Minutes
August 16, 2016
Page 2
Bourne said current City policies contain discrepancies on how tree replacement is handled
for private properties. According to current City Code,removal of four 12-14" pines would
require replacement with 21 trees. Getschow asked the Council Members if they are
comfortable with this policy. Council Member Aho said he believes private property is
private property, and the City should not interfere with property owners' rights.
Council Member Nelson said she agrees up to a point. She said provisions have to be made
for lakefront properties or steep slopes with potential erosion control issues. Lotthammer said
they City has aggressive restoration requirements in environmentally sensitive areas. Nelson
said rules need to be very clear and residents need to be educated about what is and is not
allowed. Council Member Case said he agrees the rules need to be clear but he fears there
will be clear cutting in anticipation of future residential development. He said undeveloped
land is in a different category.
Mayor Tyra-Lukens said trees that were planted as part of a landscape plan are of concern.
Bourne said trees that are part of a developers agreement are guaranteed for a year.
Case said once a tree grows very large, it should not have to be replaced by many smaller
trees. Case said replacing a tree with a tree, instead of by caliper inch is more feasible.
Nelson said there should be room for getting rid of trees for a purpose. Mayor Tyra-Lukens
said she does not think the City's policy should be so punitive.
Klima said that some sites that are zoned commercial but have been vacant for a long time
contain trees from border to border, making it difficult for potential developers to meet the
City's tree replacement requirements. Mayor Tyra-Lukens asked if there is a way to
discourage clear cutting so that at least some trees can be saved. Klima said staff works with
developers to save trees of significance though a negotiation process. Case said maybe the
133 percent replacement requirement does not make sense in a fully developed city. He
suggested collecting fees from developers who remove trees beyond what is allowed and
using those dollars to plant trees in the City's parks.
Case would like to see commercial owners held to the terms of their developers/landscape
agreements.
Nelson asked if staff has created a policy for"heritage trees." She said the policy should be
crafted so it does not include too many trees,but healthy trees of significance should be
retained. Getschow asked if the Council wants the policy to protect specific trees of certain
sizes regardless of whether they are on residential or commercial property. Tyra-Lukens said
the size of a tree being designated as a heritage tree would depend of the type of tree. Case
said care needs to be taken as some older trees that seem healthy can be ant-infested or
diseased without appearing so.
II. SUSTAINABLE EP
Brian Ross of Great Plains Institute gave a presentation on Sustainable EP. Ross said he is
assisting the City in developing overarching post-20-40-15 sustainability initiatives and
City Council Workshop Minutes
August 16, 2016
Page 3
creating a sustainability chapter for the Comp Plan update. Ross said several areas of
sustainability have been identified as priorities for the community. Those are:
• Clean energy and energy efficiency
• Groundwater protection and water conservation
• Solid waste reduction and management
• Enhancement of pollinator habitat
The plan for Sustainable EP initiatives involves three steps:
• Identifying existing conditions (benchmarks and inventory)
• Agreeing on desired conditions (targets and goals)
• Developing strategies to move toward desired conditions
Ross provided examples of possible action steps for each area of focus.
Clean Energy and Efficiency— Increase participation in utility energy efficiency programs
and energy financing programs (GESP, PACE); work with utilities and other entities to
create new programs; work to increase participation in renewable energy programs; remove
barriers to investment in local energy resources.
Groundwater Protection and Management—Increase participation in conservation programs;
create new programs that address peak water use; evaluate new rate designs that create value
propositions for conservation investment; develop rainwater harvesting pilots at city facilities
and local institutions; develop water budget process for new development.
Solid Waste Reduction and Management—Investigate the structural market barriers to
greater recycling and waste reduction participation by Eden Prairie businesses.
Enhance Natural Habitat for Pollinators —Assess large-scale opportunities for pollinator
habitat creation; identify underdeveloped or difficult to develop sites and establish acreage
goal to increase habitat on public properties.
Nelson suggested creating pollinator sites on outlot parcels the City owns. Lotthammer said
he and Matt Bourne have been identifying other City sites, such as well houses, amenable to
pollinator friendly plantings. Butcher Wickstrom said these might be good projects for
volunteers to work on. Audience member Ashley Young said she is a member of the
Conservation Commission. She said increasing pollinator areas is a focus of the commission
and she is certain its members would be happy to help with these types of projects. Nelson
asked if packets of wildflower seeds could be used as a giveaway at the Citywide Open
House in October.
Getschow asked for Council input on the four proposed areas of focus for Sustainable EP.
Tyra-Lukens said she agrees with these areas of focus. Aho encouraged gathering and
maintaining as many metrics as possible. He said some areas are more subjective than others,
but he would like to see attainable goals set.
Tyra-Lukens asked if Hennepin County is looking at adding more sites for organics
collection. Ross said he believes the County is looking at adding sites.
City Council Workshop Minutes
August 16, 2016
Page 4
Open Podium - Council Chamber
II. OPEN PODIUM
III. ADJOURNMENT