---

The Chisago City Council met July 25, tackled a busy agenda, and approved the preliminary plat for a new Highway 8 development.  Acting Mayor Marie Rivers convened the meeting in the absence of Bob Gustafson. Council member Jeremy Dresel attended the first part of the meeting remotely before bowing out early due to a scheduling conflict. At Dresel’s request, items requiring his participation were moved up on the agenda, bringing forward discussion of a new commercial/residential development on Highway 8. 

With Dresel  online, the council approved a preliminary plat for development of nine acres on the north side of Highway 8 between Fisk Tire and OReilly’s Auto Parts, two commercial lots and one residential use property. The future development reportedly will include a new Dollar Store and “a pizza place.” 

Abdo Development proposes a new east-west street running through the property from Gateway Avenue to Sportsmen Drive. Project Engineer Frank Brodeen described the proposed street as an urban residential roadway with sidewalk on both the north and south sides.

Before approving the preliminary plat, however, council members were asked to approve a request to waive a required tree survey.  

Realtor Chris DuBose, on behalf of the developers, said that because almost every square inch of the commercial lots will be developed, counting and tagging every tree seemed pointless. He asked that the tree survey be waived for the commercial portion of the plat and deferred to a later date for the residential portion.

“The developer will likely sell the residential portion of the property to someone interested in platting it for residential development at a later date,” DuBose told the council. “No trees in the residential portion will be disturbed until a tree survey is conducted,” he assured them.

The requested variance posed a dilemma for the council. Following the July 6 public hearing on the issue, the Chisago City Planning Commission had voted to deny  waiving the tree survey. City staff also had recommended denial saying a tree survey is required for all preliminary plats with only three exceptions, none of which applied in this case.

DuBose, a former two-term mayor of Chisago City, said, “It’s kind of ironic. When I was sitting on the council I was fully supportive of the tree surveys, but that was in residential developments. I have since found that when you pave around large trees (in commercial developments), they die anyway. When I drove over here, I looked at the McDonald’s strip mall, and there is not a single tree remaining that was there before that development was built.”

Council member Craig Meyer, liaison to the planning commission, said, “At the planning commission public hearing, I felt that we should do the tree survey. Then I drove over and looked at (the site) and wondered if maybe we should revisit that ordinance. 

“I’m ok with approving the request for the variance waiving the tree survey because of the situation,” Meyer concluded.

Council member Nikki Battles then asked Administrator John Pechman to restate the purpose of the tree survey. Pechman explained that the survey calls for identifying any desirable trees that should be retained. Trees over four inches in diameter are given a number and tagged as healthy to poor. 

Pechman added that tree surveys had been initiated when large development areas were coming into the city. “We were looking at situations where we should possibly avoid part of an area altogether —a stand of oak trees, or a wildlife corridor.” In this case, however, property surrounding the plat is already largely developed.

Meyer’s motion to eliminate the tree survey on the commercial portion of the plat, and to delay it on the residential portion, passed, as did a motion to approve the preliminary plat.  

Council members Meyer, Dresel and Battles voted aye. Acting Mayor Rivers, who owned property in the area to be developed, did not participate in the discussion and abstained.     The preliminary plat involves no additional variances. Seventy percent impervious surface is permitted in the commercial portion of the development. The developer will pay usual water and sewer access fees, and be responsible for park and trail fees of $64,575 based on an assessed valuation of $922,500.

    

    

    

    

---