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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/22/2007 MINUTES OF THE JOINT MEETING BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD BEAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA TUESDAY, MAY 22,2007 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Olson called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Communitv Desian Review Board Board member John Demko Vice-Chairperson Matt Ledvina Chairperson Linda Olson Board member Ananth Shankar Board member Matt Wise Staff Present: Present Present Present Present Present Shann Finwall, Planner Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary Environmental and Natural Resource Commission Commissioner James Beardsley Commissioner Margaret Behrens Commissioner Carol Lynne Commissioner Tom Moibi Commissioner Carol Mason Sherrill Commissioner Ginny Yingling Present Present Present Present Present Absent Staff Present for Gladstone Streetscapina and Savanna Update: Chuck Ahl, Public Works Director Virainia Gavnor, Open Space Coordinator Presenters: Ron Leaf, SEH Tom Harrinaton, Landscape Architect with Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Ms. Finwall said there is a revised agenda for the joint meeting between the Community Design Review Board and the Environmental and Natural Resource Commission. Board member Ledvina moved to approve the revised agenda. Chairperson Olson seconded. Ayes - Demko. Ledvina, Olson, Shankar, Wise Community Design Review Board Minutes 05-22-2007 The motion passed. 2 IV. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. V. STAFF PRESENTATION Gladstone Streetscaping and Savanna Update Chuck Ahl gave the introductions. Ron Leaf, Engineer with SEH gave the presentation on the Gladstone Savanna Environmental Issues. Virginia Gaynor, Open Space Coordinator, gave the presentation on the Gladstone Savanna Improvements. Tom Harrington, Landscape Architect with Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc., gave a presentation on the Gladstone Streetscape Study Chuck Ahl opened up the discussion for comments. Commissioner Lynne said there is a park downtown St. Paul by Waco uta and Seventh Street that is very open. They incorporated some of the colors from the buildings into the park using arbors, brick and low lying fences. She likes the idea of going back to the 1800's to 1900's. She thinks the plan looks stark between the buildings and the savanna. Maybe artwork could be added along the residential area. Artwork could be something historical or arbors that could pull things together by using different materials. Commissioner Beardsley said he thinks the streetscaping should incorporate all three themes. He said you can't just have either eco-village, historical, or landscaping. You need to integrate all of these things into the plan. This is such a critical and historical area to the city. By blending these things together it would set precedence for the rest of the development. He said he knows this is difficult from a landscape perspective but it needs to be done for the whole plan to work. Board member Ledvina said he would agree with that. Sustainable techniques should be used and focused on for design option A. Opportunities for historic highlights are obvious as things develop. The residents said they like the trails and recreational features in the city and these are the things that really add to the quality of life in Maplewood. Commissioner Behrens said she saw a slide of testing sites that showed soil samples were taken from the Savanna. She asked iflhere are soil sample results from the MPCA available? Mr. Ahl said the MPCA supplied the grant for the soil sampling and they are putting the plan together. Maplewood did some preliminary tests and those results are available on the city website or people can get copies from the Public Works Department. Community Design Review Board 3 Minutes 05-22-2007 Mr. Ahl said the soil testing indicated that there is higher contamination on the site, which means action needs to be taken, now the MPCA is doing the next round of testing. Commissioner Behrens asked if the remediation is going to affect any of the plans whether it's a historical or eco-friendly plan? Mr. Ahl said at this point in time the city doesn't think so at the levels of lead and arsenic and other things found on the site aren't good but aren't a hazard unless you are digging in it. The city doesn't want to leave the soils that way. The city may have to haul a few truck loads of the contaminated material and dispose of it. In most cases the city thinks we can take uncontaminated material and cover the contaminated soil with three or four feet and we shouldn't have any problems with plantings. This used to be a railroad yard and railroads are flat. We would like a few hills in the area to add some character to the site. In some cases we will have eight foot high hills and other areas we will have flat areas but it shouldn't inhibit the city from doing improvements here. Board member Demko asked where the city was at with the funding for the Gladstone project and if that will determine which theme the city steers towards. Mr. Ahl said the city is still working on that with the developer. The city council still has to decide the levels of the funding. At this point in time the city is trying to develop options. Part of the master plan had some dedicated sources of funding. The developer will have to meet the city's tree ordinance. A lot of trees are being removed from the site and those trees will have to be replaced according to the city's new tree ordinance. The city has identified a budget and the city council will have to determine a range they want the city to spend. Staff will provide a lower-priced project, a mid-priced project and a higher-priced project and that will be a decision the city council will make for the Gladstone area. Commissioner Mason Sherrill asked if there had been a tree survey done on the whole site for heritage trees? Ms. Gaynor said the city did a site analysis on the savanna regarding the vegetation and most of the trees along Frost Avenue are cottonwood trees. There are 2 large oak trees in the corner and the designers are well aware of those trees. As staff, we have called out what we want to see preserved on the site such as the large oaks and the little oak nursery underneath the big oaks. The developer recently submitted a tree plan to the city and the city is reviewing the tree plan. Commissioner Mason Sherrill said regarding the trash receptacles, the Environmental and Natural Resources Commission has been very involved in recycling. One thing we noted was that the parks have trash receptacles and no recycling receptacles. She said she is pretty sure the commission would want to see some recycling receptacles on the paths for the Gladstone area. Board member Wise said he saw green roofs mentioned during the power point presentation and he asked if the presenters had any details regarding developments using green roofs? Community Design Review Board 4 Minutes 05-22-2007 Mr. Ahl said the idea of using green roofs has only been put out there as a possibility and is one theme with the eco-village concept. Currently it's just an idea that the city is going to promote as we go through the process. The first step in the Gladstone development is the senior housing proposal on Lake Phalen called The Shores to be located on the old St. Paul Tourist Cabin Site. Board member Wise said he liked the idea of having a common theme along Frost Avenue. In the area by Wakefield Lake you see a lot of historical nature with 1940's houses and as you transition westward towards the development he thinks it would be important to integrate that into the area. Commissioner Mason Sherrill said regarding the tree issue, experience tells us that developers usually come in and wipe out all the trees because it's easier than working around the trees. Hopefully the city's tree ordinance will protect some of the trees in the Gladstone redevelopment area but she is curious how much consideration will be taken for the trees in this area. It seems like when development occurs people forget about the benefits of having trees near buildings which helps with heating and cooling of the buildings and the social/ psychological impact of trees and she is concerned about the development process and how trees will be incorporated into this development. Mr. Ahl said the city is at the early stage. When we bring up eco-village and green roofs, those are guiding principles for this development. With the city's new tree ordinance it sets a precedent letting developers know that if you remove large trees from the site the new tree ordinance will hit the developer hard financially. Chairperson Olson said she had the privilege of serving on the Gladstone Redevelopment Committee and she wanted to share some ideas that impressed her during the meetings. She said she would like to see two tree species added to the tree list. One is the swamp white oak and the second is the autumn blaze maple. She thinks those particular tree species would really enhance the area. The eco-village, historical, and landscaping themes need to be incorporated into the Gladstone plan. She would like to see more of a historical flavor used with the use of the street lights. The railroad theme kept coming up at the redevelopment meetings and one individual said they were sick of hearing about the railroad theme. She thinks the railroad theme is important for the history of this neighborhood. She said they also discussed having a gazebo or pavers in the area of the old round house. It would be nice to reflect trains in the signage. Another idea was to put a fountain at the deep well location which she understood could be expensive. She said she noticed the mayor was in the audience and the idea of having a fundraiser came up at a recent meeting to incorporate selling Gladstone pavers with people's names on them as an option for enhancing the area, which would be a great idea. Lighting along the savanna is important but because of the dark sky policy the lights shouldn't be tall, overpowering lights. She would like to see two lighting styles used. She would like to see the lights have more of a historical theme rather than a slim, modern, anodized aluminum light fixture along Frost Avenue and then have shorter, friendlier light fixtures for pedestrian lighting along the paths. She said she also liked the idea of using recycled materials for outdoor furnishings for things like benches, trash receptacles, etc. Commissioner Beardsley said regarding the lighting, it would be a great way to introduce some modern technology for the lighting to use some solar-powered lights rather than running electric to the area which would reflect the eco-village concept. Community Design Review Board 5 Minutes 05-22-2007 Commissioner Beardsley said with this intense building of housing and commercial buildings there will be runoff concerns and the idea of developing cisterns to catch rainwater off the buildings would be great if the city can't go with green roofs. At least the city could catch the rainwater in some form and use it to water the landscaping, the savanna and the area. Mr. Ahl thanked the board and the commission for their time and comments. The next step is to put the comments and ideas together and then talk to other committees and the city council and we will back with more information. Commissioner Beardsley thanked Chairperson Olson and the board for the joint meeting. Chairperson Olson thanked Commissioner Beardsley and the commission for joining the meeting and she was glad everyone could attend. The CDRB took a short recess from 7:08 to 7:15 p.m. to clear the city council chambers out and for the Environmental and Natural Resource Commission to move to the Maplewood Room to continue their meeting. VI. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the CDRB minutes for May 8, 2007. Chairperson Olson had changes to the minutes on page 19, in the third and fifth paragraphs. In the third paragraph, delete the last sentence on the fourth line because that is a repeated statement. In the fifth paragraph, first sentence, after the word apparently, insert the words approved bv citv staff and delete the words grandfathered in. In the last sentence, ninth line, it should read the electronic billboard for Clear Channel was installed with a clear disregard for the existina city ordinance and they micreprecented themcelvec; that'c what the difference ic flere- without citv staff approval. Board member Shankar moved approval of the minutes of May 8, 2007, as amended. Board member Ledvina seconded. Ayes --- Ledvina, Olson, Shankar, Wise Abstention- Demko The motion passed. VII. DESIGN REVIEW a. Woodlands Townhouses - Sophia Avenue, east of McMenemy Ms. Finwall said Ms. Lisa Lillestrand, representing Integra Homes, is asking the city to approve the building elevations for a 28-unit town house development called the Woodlands. This project will have 14 detached townhomes and seven twinhomes. This development is on an 8.2-acre site on the east side of McMenemy Street, north of Kingston Avenue and south of the Saint Paul Hmong Alliance Church. A homeowners' association would own and maintain the common areas. Community Design Review Board 6 Minutes 05-22-2007 The project plans show that each building would have horizontal-lap vinyl siding, shake siding for accent areas, aluminum soffits and fascia and stone veneer on the fronts. In addition, each unit would have a two-car garage. To proceed with this project, Ms. Lillestrand is requesting that the city approve the building elevations for the single dwellings and for the twin homes. The proposed buildings should be attractive and should fit in with the design of the existing homes in the area. They would have an exterior of horizontal vinyl siding (earth tone, green or grey in color) with a stone veneer on the fronts and the roofs would have asphalt shingles. In addition there would be a mix of 1 %- story and walk-out units and each unit would have white soffits and accent boards and an attached two-car garage. Staff doesn't have any major concerns about the proposed building elevations since this development will be on cul-de-sacs and would be somewhat isolated. In fact, only the buyers of the town houses would be able to see the fronts of most of the new buildings. The builder is proposing a mix of three front elevations for these units. Having this mix of front elevations will provide more variety within the development. However, as staff noted earlier, none of the proposed plans have side-loaded garages. If some of the units would have side- loaded garages that would help create a variety of looks for the units from the streets. The proposed twinhome buildings would have a style and a mix of materials that are very similar to the proposed single dwellings. As such, they also should be attractive and should fit in with the design of the existing and proposed homes in the area. They also would have an exterior of horizontal vinyl siding (earth tone, green or grey in color) with a stone veneer on the fronts and the roofs would have asphalt shingles. In addition, there would be a mix of 1 % -story and walkout units and each unit would have white soffits and accent boards and an attached two-car garage. Staff does not have any major concerns about the proposed building elevations since this development will be on cul-de-sacs and would be somewhat isolated. In fact, only the buyers of the town houses would be able to see the fronts of most of the new buildings. The community design review board noted in 2001 concerns about "snout-designed" homes. These dwellings have garages as the dominating street-side feature. The proposed town homes have this design. The community design review board may want to have the developer change the proposed designs or add features to the buildings to lessen the impact of the garages. This could include additional landscaping in front of the dwelling parts of the buildings, adding covered front porches, using side-loaded garages, enhancing the design of the garage doors or adding decorative light fixtures next to the garages and entrance doors. Board member Ledvina asked if the number of units had changed since the last review of this proposal in 2005? Ms. Finwall said no. Chairperson Olson asked if the footprint of the buildings changed to accommodate the side loaded garages? Ms. Finwall said she was not the staff person that wrote this report but it didn't appear the buildings were shifted, but the applicant can answer that question. Community Design Review Board 7 Minutes 05-22-2007 Chairperson Olson asked the applicant to address the board. Ms. Lisa Lillestrand, Integra Homes, 12721 Overlook Road, Dayton, addressed the board. The footprint of the site has not changed. They redrew the plans to fit the existing footprint that was approved in 2005. She said only a few of the lots have side loaded garages. Ms. Finwall said the preliminary plat shows 11 of the 28 units have side loaded garage units. Chairperson Olson asked the applicant if she brought any building samples to show the board? Ms. Lillestrand brought the building material samples to the board to review. Board member Ledvina asked if the applicant would choose which buildings would be a certain color or would you allow the people buying these units to choose the color? Ms. Lillestrand said she will give the potential buyers the option. She will do the architectural review of each building but she doesn't want to see a gray unit next to a gray unit. The buyers can be creative when deciding which shakes and shutters they want but the color palette has to work out too. If she made all the decisions, the buyers could go elsewhere and they could lose the sale, so she wants to give them some options. For instance if someone chooses a gray house she would like to see them use the burgundy or the slate blue shutters and shakes to match. It's to her best interest to make the development look nice or the units won't sell. She knows from the last time she came before the board in 2005 that the board said the City of Maplewood would like to see a little more variety in color used in developments. Board member Ledvina asked why there weren't any building plans showing the side loaded garage units? Ms. Lillestrand said the reason was because blue prints cost so much money and they plan to begin building the units from the street and into the development. The side loaded garage units cost the most to build and they didn't have the funds to get blue prints. The last time the board reviewed the plans in 2005 those plans were from another project they were building at that time and those plans were available. Chairperson Olson said units 21 and 22 are side loaded garage units. Board member Ledvina said units 6,7, and 8 are also side loaded garage units. Ms. Lillestrand said the side loaded garage units are towards the pond those have to remain that way. Board member Shankar said on page 18 and 19 of the staff report it shows the right and left side elevations of the single family units. He thinks those side elevations could use some embellishing and the window heights don't line up. Ms. Lillestrand said she would ask the board to review the interior plan because sometimes the interior plan dictates where the windows can be set in order to meet the building code. Community Design Review Board 8 Minutes 05-22-2007 Board member Shankar said he was referring to the tops of the windows not lining up and he wondered if the larger windows could be at the same height as the two smaller box windows. There are too many different sized windows on the side elevations and he thinks it looks strange that the windows don't line up along the top. Ms. Lillestrand said on the single family units with the right side elevation on page 18, it shows the windows closest to the entrance which is a foyer window, then the two sets of windows in the middle are both bedroom windows and have to be so far off the ground to meet the building code. The windows closest to the deck are above the tub, and the window closest to the ground is a bedroom window and has to meet egress building code requirements. It will be difficult to make the windows all the same height. She said she could possibly change some window sizes or add window shutters to the middle windows. Board member Shankar asked if the top of the windows could at least line up? Ms. Lillestrand said it's possible, but at the price point they are at in Maplewood it might be difficult to do. If they have to do that they would have to do that for all the units and may have to buy taller windows which could price them out of the current market. Board member Shankar asked if there was an alternate way to dress up the windows? Ms. Lillestrand offered to add shutters on the side elevations. Chairperson Olson said she likes that idea. That may be enough to dress the right side of the single family elevation up more. On the left side elevation, she asked what you would do? Ms. Lillestrand said on the left side elevation of the single-family home she would add shutters to the big window in the center and the right hand side elevation she would add shutters to the middle bedroom windows. Board member Shankar said he thought that would be an improvement to that side of the building. He asked if they would be opposed to extending the cultured stone around the side of the building elevations? Ms. Lillestrand said if they had to extend the cultured stone around to the side elevations that the market would price them out of the market because of the additional expense. She said it is a tough market in this area of Maplewood. These units would be priced at $325,000 for the maximum and realtors have told Integra Homes these units should be priced around $280,000. The area is really nice and it's in their best interest to make the units look their best. Integra Homes has been building homes since 1972 and most of Integra's experience has come from upper bracket homes and they plan to bring their building experience into this price point. She said just didn't think she could extend 120 square feet of cultured stone onto the side elevations because of the expense. Chairperson Olson said these units are fairly close in proximity and the windows in the units will look out at their neighbors. She realizes there are a limited number of things to do to the building exteriors but she said she believes shutters will make a world of difference on the side elevations. Community Design Review Board 9 Minutes 05-22-2007 Ms. Lillestrand said she spent two days driving around and looking at other townhome projects in this price range and she saw town home units dressed up with shakes, shutters and dowels at the roofline which add architectural elements to the units. Board member Shankar asked the applicant if they could have two colors of vinyl siding on the side of the building elevations? Ms. Lillestrand said if they did use two different colors of vinyl siding on the side elevations that would limit their market. She said you typically see two different colors of vinyl siding in rental housing or in commercial projects but not in units "for sale". A majority of these units will be walk-out units and with a walk out unit you would have one color of siding at four feet in height and then about two feet of the second color of vinyl siding because of the elevation difference. Chairperson Olson asked where the utility meters would be placed? Ms. Lillestrand said the electrical box would be placed on the sides at the 3-foot setback and for the gas meter it would be at a 7-foot setback from the front and in a year or two the shrubbery would grow to cover the meters. Chairperson Olson asked if there would be roof vents and extrusions extending out the front? Ms. Lillestrand said the vents would run out the back side of the house because we don't want pipes extending out the front. Board member Demko said he noticed fireplace bumpouts shown on the left side elevation for the single family homes but he didn't see that shown on the plans. Ms. Lillestrand said the fireplace bumpout will match the roofline of the house. That may change if the customer wants a double-sided fireplace that would be built between the great room and the master bedroom; then a fireplace bumpout wouldn't be on the building exterior. Board member Shankar said the garage doors show a glass window along the top of the garage door and the three garage door panels underneath the windows show vertical lines on them, he asked what the vertical lines are? Ms. Lillestrand said the garage door is a craftsman-style garage door called a barn door. It's an upgrade from the standard garage door and is a shake style barn door, and is a maintenance free steel vinyl coated door and the color will probably be white to match the soffits and fascia as shown in the photos. Using white gives the front of the units more depth because the shakes and siding will be colored, and the garage door, fascia and soffits will be white. Board member Demko said on page 12 of the preliminary plat there is a circular area off of Edgemont Lane that looks like a cul-de-sac. He asked what that was on the plan because it looks like a round-a-bout or cul-de-sac? Board member Wise said he was at the site this past weekend and that is a turnaround. Chairperson Olson asked if it was solid asphalt and if it had a catch basin in it? Community Design Review Board 10 Minutes 05-22-2007 Board member Wise said it does not have a catch basin in it. Ms. Lillestrand said Integra homes has one just like this at their White Bear Lake location and if they aren't laid out just right, large utility trucks, garbage trucks, and the city snow plow doesn't have enough room to turn around, so it's better not to have a catch basin in the center. Board member Ledvina said when he went out to the site he thought the improvements turned out wonderful. He said he really liked the boulder walls, the plantings and the landscaping and he said he thought the applicant has done a wonderful job with this site. He said he had concerns in 2005 when the board originally looked at this proposal. There have been tremendous improvements to this site and a great deal of grading was done on this site, which is unfortunate, but in order to build this and make it a nice development this had to be done. Ms. Lillestrand thanked the board. A lot of time has gone into this plan and we are anxious to get started on this project. She said they wish the market was a little bit better. Board member Ledvina said on page 6, in item j., he wondered if any changes needed to be made for that condition for the side loaded garages? Ms. Finwall said since the board didn't see building elevations for the side loaded garage units those plans should be submitted to the city before the city issues the building permit. That would be up to the CDRB whether they want city staff to approve those or if the board wants to see those elevations. Ms. Lillestrand said because of the overages on the project that came in higher than they anticipated Integra Homes just doesn't have the finances to be investing in blueprints for units they aren't going to be building right now. The side loaded garage units are the most expensive units. Integra Homes plans to build the units from the street and into the site. Board member Ledvina moved to approve the building elevations date-stamped May 10, 2007, for the Woodlands of Maplewood town houses on the east side of McMenemy Street, north of Kingston Avenue. The city bases this approval on the findings required by the code. The developer or contractor shall do the following: (Changes or additions are in bold). 1. Repeat this review in two years if the city has not issued a building permit for this project. 2. Complete the following before the city issues a building permit: a. Have the city engineer approve final construction and engineering plans. These plans shall include: streets, grading, utility, drainage, erosion control, tree, sidewalk and driveway plans. The plans shall meet the following conditions and shall also meet all the conditions and changes noted in Erin Laberee's memo dated September 2, 2005. (1) The erosion control plan shall be consistent with city code. (2) Submit to staff revised plans that show as many of the private driveways as possible at 28 feet wide to allow parking on one side. Community Design Review Board Minutes 05-22-2007 11 (3) The grading plan shall: (a) Include building, floor elevation and contour information for each home site. The lot lines on this plan shall follow the approved preliminary plat. (b) Include contour information for the land that the construction will disturb. (c) Show sedimentation basins or ponds as may be required by the watershed board or by the city engineer. (d) Show all proposed slopes steeper than 3:1 on the proposed construction plans. The city engineer shall approve the plans, specifications and management practices for any slopes steeper than 3:1. This shall include covering these slopes with wood-fiber blankets and seeding them with a "no mow" vegetation rather than using sod or grass. (e) Show all retaining walls on the plans. Any retaining walls more than four feet tall require a building permit from the city. (f) Show the proposed street and driveway grades as allowed by the city engineer. (g) Show the drainage areas, and the developer's engineer shall provide the city engineer with the drainage calculations. The drainage design shall accommodate the run-off from the surrounding areas. (h) Show details about the proposed pond fencing including the materials, gate, height and color. (4) The tree plan shall: (a) Be approved by the city engineer. (b) Include an inventory of all existing large trees on the site and shall show where the developer will remove, transplant, save or replace large trees. (c) Show the size, species and location of the transplanted and replacement trees. The new coniferous trees shall be at least eight feet tall and shall be a mix of Black Hills spruce and Austrian pine. (d) Be consistent with the approved grading and landscape plans and shall show no tree removal beyond the approved grading and tree limits. Community Design Review Board Minutes 05-22-2007 12 (e) Show additional tree planting for screening along the south and west property lines of the site. (5) The street, driveway and utility plans shall show: (a) A water service to each lot and unit. (b) The repair and restoration of McMenemy Street and Kingston Avenue (including curbing, street, and boulevard) after the contractor removes the existing driveways, connects to the public utilities and builds the new streets, sidewalks, trails and driveways. (c) The street and the driveways with coniferous concrete curb and gutter except where the city engineer decides that it is not needed. (d) The developer contractor posting the streets and driveways with "no parking" signs to meet city standards. (e) The public streets and private driveways labeled on all plans. (f) The common area labeled as Outlot B on all plans. (g) Areas for proof of parking off the streets wherever possible. (6) The design of the ponding areas and any rainwater garden(s) shall be subject to the approval of the city engineer. The developer shall be responsible for getting any needed off-site utility, grading or drainage easements and for recording all necessary easements. b. Submit a certificate of survey for all new construction and have each building staked by a registered land surveyor. c. Submit a revised landscape plan to staff for approval that incorporates the following details: (1) All lawn areas shall be sodded. The city engineer shall determine the vegetation within the ponding area. (2) The addition of eight-foot-tall trees and/or fencing for screening along the west and south sides of the site. (3) The developer shall install landscaping in the ponding areas to break the appearance of the deep hole and to promote infiltration. Such landscaping shall be approved by the city engineer and shall be shown on the project landscape plans. (4) Showing in-ground irrigation for all landscape areas (code requirement). Community Design Review Board Minutes 05-22-2007 13 (5) The plantings proposed around the front of the units shown on the landscape plan date-stamped February 1, 2005, shall remain on the plan. (6) A concrete walk from the driveway to the door of each unit. (7) The manicured or mowed areas from the natural areas. This shall include planting (instead of sodding) the disturbed areas around the ponding area with native grasses and native flowering plants. The native grasses and flowering plants shall be those needing little or no maintenance and shall extend at least four feet from the ordinary high water mark (OHWM) of the pond. This is to reduce maintenance costs and to reduce the temptation of mowers to encroach into the gardens. Specifically, the developer shall have the natural areas seeded with an upland mixture and lowland mixtures as appropriate. (8) In addition to the above, the contractor shall sod all front, side and rear yard areas (except for mulched and edged planting beds and the area within the ponding area). (9) The contractor shall restore the McMenemy Street and Kingston Avenue boulevards with sod. (10) The adding more evergreen trees (Black Hills spruce or Austrian pines) along the west and south property lines of the site. These trees are to be at least eight feet tall, and the contractor shall plant these trees in staggered rows to provide screening for the houses to the south and west. (11) Shows the in-ground lawn-irrigation system, including the location of the sprinkler heads. (12) Shall be approved by the city engineer before site grading and shall be consistent with the approved grading and landscaping plans. (13) Shows in detail the landscape or ground treatment for the areas between the driveways of the double dwellings. d. Show that Ramsey County has recorded the final plat for this development. e. Get the necessary approvals and permits from the watershed districts. f. Submit a site lighting plan for city approval. This plan shall show the installation of at least seven street lights and how the lighting on the buildings would add to the site lighting. This plan also shall show details about the proposed light fixtures to ensure they are a design that hides the bulb and lens from view to avoid nuisances. The light fixtures must have concealed lenses and bulbs to properly shield glare from the adjacent street right-of-ways and from adjacent residential properties. Community Design Review Board Minutes 05-22-2007 14 g. Have the Saint Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS) approve the proposed utility plans. h. The developer or builder will pay the city Park Availability Charges (PAC fees) at the time of the building permit for each housing unit. i. Submit the homeowners' association bylaws and rules to the city for approval by the city staff. These are to assure that there will be one responsible party for the care and maintenance of the common areas, outlots, the private utilities, trails, sidewalks, signs, landscaping and retaining walls. j. The builder or contractor shall submit to city staff for final approval revised building plans and elevations. These shall show or include (but are not limited to) the colors of all materials, side loaded garages on some of the units, which are consistent with the 2005 elevations which showed cultured stone wainscot on the front of the side-loaded garage. In addition, the applicant should submit revised side elevations for the single-family and twin homes which incorporate shutters on varying windows. The city must approve these revised plans before the city will issue a building permit. k. Provide the city with a letter of credit or cash escrow for all required exterior improvements. The amount shall be 150 percent of the cost of the work. 3. Complete the following before occupying each building: a. Replace property irons that are removed because of this construction. b. Restore and sod damaged boulevards and sod all turf areas. c. Complete all landscaping and turf irrigation for that building and its rainwater garden(s). d. Install the required concrete curb and gutter. e. Install a reflectorized stop sign at the exits onto McMenemy Street and addresses on each building for each unit. In addition, the applicant shall install "no parking" signs within the site, as required by staff. f. Install and maintain all required trees and landscaping (including the plantings around each unit and around the pond) and an in-ground sprinkler system for all landscaped areas (code requirement). g. Install on-site lighting for security and visibility that follows the approved site lighting plan. All exterior lighting shall follow the approved lighting plan that shows the light spread and fixture design. The light fixtures must have concealed lenses and bulbs to properly shield glare from the adjacent street right-of-ways and the nearby homes and residential properties. Community Design Review Board Minutes 05-22-2007 15 h. Install a six-foot-high solid screening fencing or additional trees along the west and south property lines of the site where the vegetation does not adequately screen the town houses from the existing dwelling. These additional materials are to ensure there is at least a six-foot-tall, 80 percent opaque screen on these sides of the site. The location, design and materials of the fence or the additional landscaping shall be subject to city staff approval. i. The developer or contractor shall: (1) Complete all grading for the site drainage, complete all public improvements and meet all city requirements. (2) Place temporary orange safety fencing and signs at the grading limits. (3) Remove any debris or junk from the site. 4. If any required work is not done, the city may allow temporary occupancy if: a. The city determines that the work is not essential to the public health, safety or welfare. b. The above-required letter of credit or cash escrow is held by the city for all required exterior improvements. The owner or contractor shall complete any unfinished landscaping by June 1 of the next year if the building is occupied in the fall or winter, or within six weeks of occupancy if the building is occupied in the spring or summer. 5. All work shall follow the approved plans. Staff may approve minor changes. 6. Provide a sign and landscape plan for the entrance and island at McMenemy Street for city staff approval. The monument sign shall be no more than six feet tall and shall have materials that are consistent with and architecturally compatible with the buildings within the development. The landscaping shall be compatible with the extreme conditions of the location and the materials shall need little or no maintenance. 7. Building elevations are not approved with this design review. All final building elevations must be approved by the community design review board. Chairperson Olson seconded. Ayes - Demko, Ledvina, Olson, Shankar, Wise The motion passed. Chairperson Olson thanked Ms. Lillestrand for bringing the building material samples. VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS No visitors present. Community Design Review Board Minutes 05-22-2007 16 IX. BOARD PRESENTATIONS None. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Ms. Finwall said she planned to introduce our new planning intern but she noticed that he must have left after the joint meeting with the Environmental and Natural Resources Commission. His name is Michael Johnson; he is the new planning intern at the City of Maplewood and he is graduating from Iowa State with an undergraduate degree in planning. XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.