Minnetonka council approves floodplain alteration and grants tree-removal variance for 3440 Larchwood Drive with replanting condition

Minnetonka — The City Council voted 5–2 on Aug. 11 to approve a floodplain alteration permit and a tree‑removal variance for a proposed new home at 3440 Larchwood Drive, granting the developer permission to shift floodplain storage on the site and to remove one more high‑priority tree than city rules normally allow. The motion included a condition requiring the applicant to plant replacement trees at twice the caliper of any lost tree, at the city’s discretion.

The decision followed a lengthy staff presentation and public hearing in which planning staff said they supported the site’s floodplain alteration but opposed the requested tree‑removal variance. “The variance is not based on a circumstance unique to the property,” planning manager Susan Thomas told the council, saying the request arose from the owner’s chosen building footprint and design rather than an unavoidable site constraint. Thomas said staff’s recommended resolution approved the floodplain alteration permit but denied the tree‑removal variance.

Why the council considered the request

City staff described the property as tightly constrained by wetlands, floodplain and setback requirements. The existing home—built in the 1980s—has a roughly 2,200‑square‑foot footprint; the proposed replacement would have a footprint of about 4,000 square feet…