Planning commission backs Polk property floodplain alteration and tree-variance recommendation to council

The Minnetonka Planning Commission on July 24 voted to recommend that the City Council approve a floodplain alteration permit and a variance to the city’s tree protection ordinance for property owner Chase Polk at 3440 Larchwood Drive.

Staff had recommended approval of the floodplain alteration but recommended denying the tree-variance request. City planning staff reported the proposal would raise and regrade areas of the lot to meet floodplain setbacks and meet the city’s floodplain standards, while also noting the proposal would remove slightly more high-priority tree resource than the tree ordinance allows.

City planning staff member Bria Raines told commissioners the proposal included filling and excavation to achieve “no net fill” compensation for floodplain alteration and that the property’s proposed new house footprint would be about 4,200 square feet (rough footprint) and approximately 4,750 square feet gross floor area — roughly twice the size of the existing home. Raines said the project proposes about 65 cubic yards of floodplain alteration and removes one more high-priority tree than the ordinance allows; the parcel originally had 29 regulated trees, 15 classified as significant and 14 as high priority.