SR 05:203 - Laserfiche WebLink

Adjust the location of the proposed trees to ensure adequate spacing from the existing trees; · Add vegetated bioswales as recommended in the "Grading and Drainage" section above; and · Round the comers of the new parking lot planter islands. The final landscape plan would be subject to final review and approval by the Planning Director. Tree Removal The applicant has retained the existing trees where feasible. No specific mitigation has been indicated for the removal of the 37 trees. However, larger 24-inch box-size trees are proposed for the 37 new trees that would be planted in the parking lot, which staff feels would provide mitigation for the loss of the larger trees. Staff would normally request a higher replacement ratio (e.g., 6:1 ratio) or larger (36-inch or 48-inch box sized) trees be planted to mitigate the removal of trees, particularly heritage-sized trees. In this case, however, staff does not believe that there is adequate space to plant more trees (unless parking spaces are removed) and that the planter areas are not wide enough to accommodate the larger trees. Therefore, staff finds the tree mitigation to be acceptable. Staff recognizes that the Planning Commission has attempted to discourage heritage tree loss in new developments by adding an extra requirement to contribute some measure of the value of such lost trees to the Urban Forestry Fund. Staff has supported this as an extra way to encourage retention of the City's larger trees in cases where the tree removal has been largely discretionary on the part of a builder. In the present situation, however, staff does not believe such a contribution is warranted as the tree removal is needed to seamlessly integrate the proposed parking lot into the existing parking lots of the adjacent developments. Furthermore, except for one small oak tree planted in 2001 with the construction of the 6220 Stoneridge Mall Road building in the Pleasanton Corporate Commons complex, the trees to be removed are ornamental species that were installed with the construction of the restaurant or the 6220 Stoneridge Mall Road building. V. PUBLIC NOTICE Notice of the proposed use was mailed to the surrounding property owners and tenants within 1,000 feet of the subject property. At the writing of this report, staff has not received any comments from these property owners/tenants. The Mills Corporation, owner of Stoneridge Mall, has the authority through private CC&R's to review and approve all new development and modifications to existing development on this site. The Mills Corporation informed staff that it has no objection to the proposed project. Page - 6