Commission approves city police station, skate‑park and other landscape plans; recommends retail storefront changes to BZAP

The Tree and Public Garden Commission voted to approve multiple landscape applications for city projects and to forward a retail storefront application with conditions to the Board of Zoning and Planning.

Commissioners unanimously approved the police station landscape plan after a staff presentation described removal of overgrown junipers, new foundation plantings (hydrangeas and boxwoods), concrete bollards for vehicular protection, columnar aspen and autumn blaze maples in the alley, and an “evergreen garden” intended as a demonstration planting. The plan was approved as submitted.

The commission also approved a landscape plan tied to a new skate park and pedestrian bridge in Schneider Park. The project will remove 22 trees to accommodate construction but proposes 23 new trees plus massings of erosion‑tolerant shrubs and evergreen screening. Commissioners and staff discussed placement, canopy tradeoffs and opportunities for additional canopy elsewhere in the park.

For a retail storefront application (Wardrobe Therapy / Café Istanbul area), the commission recommended approval to bZAP with conditions: remove Japanese anemone and coral bells plantings and substitute annuals, and include explicit tree and root‑zone protection details for nearby redbuds and street trees. The commission also approved one other in‑house city landscape plan presented by staff.

Reviewers emphasized maintenance‑friendly, hardy species for public spaces and asked applicants to add tree‑protection verbiage where construction or new walkways intersect with retained trees. The approvals were made by motion and voice vote.