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Council tables Old Village Gardens planting plan, asks for more business engagement and tree analysis
Summary
The council tabled a proposal to replace plantings in Old Village's five downtown planting beds after staff presented a simplified, salt‑tolerant palette; council asked for more outreach to Connect Lake Elmo and downtown businesses and requested a follow-up survey to assess soil volume and feasibility of trees.
Lake Elmo City Council members voted to table the proposed Old Village Gardens planting and installation plan and asked staff to pursue additional outreach with downtown businesses and the volunteer group Connect Lake Elmo before moving forward.
City landscape staff (Sarah) presented a planting plan that removed trees from the initial concept because existing planting beds were small (about 250 square feet) and likely lacked sufficient soil volume for healthy tree growth. Sarah said the recommended palette focuses on hardy, salt‑tolerant species and noted, "Nothing shown here grows to more than 2, 2 and a half feet tall." She described species proposed for corridor uniformity and low maintenance, including sea green juniper, sideoats grama, Russian sage and autumn joy sedum.
Council members expressed support for the concept but questioned the absence of trees and asked whether smaller caliper trees or additional soil volume could be provided. The council discussed costs and logistics of adding structural soils under sidewalks and the need for utility locates and a detailed street survey before tree installation.
Councilmember Holtz raised the maintenance question and asked whether the city should contract out ongoing plant maintenance; staff said city crews are limited and professional maintenance could be included in the contract. Several council members emphasized the value of further community engagement with Connect Lake Elmo and downtown businesses; council gave staff direction to include business and volunteer input and to conduct a streetscape survey to identify sites where trees might be feasible.
A motion to table the item to allow more work on tree feasibility and community engagement passed. Council additionally motioned and supported language to include outreach to downtown businesses and to favor the Persian blue catmint option if the community prefers it.
