Planning commission approves Hoshizaki expansion landscape plan with condition to plant additional trees on slope

The Planning Commission approved the landscape plan for Hoshizaki's expansion at 618 South Highway 74 on Oct. 14, subject to a condition to coordinate additional on-site canopy plantings on a steep rear slope.

Staff reported the expansion’s impervious area (expansion area only) as 228,939 square feet and calculated a landscape requirement of 687 caliper inches of canopy trees and 458 caliper inches of understory trees for that expansion. The applicant proposed planting 417 caliper inches of canopy and 344 caliper inches of understory trees on-site and requested use of the tree-fund option to make up the remaining requirement.

During discussion the applicant’s designer (Warren, All South Lawnscapes) said the plan increases screening near the golf-cart path and adds a mix of evergreen plantings for year-round screening. Commissioner Liotta expressed concern about a large exposed slope where more planting was removed than in earlier approvals and suggested planting smaller container trees (one-gallon/one-inch whips) on the slope and counting a portion of those plantings against the canopy-caliper deficit to encourage reforestation and slope stabilization. Staff and the applicant agreed to work out a plan to plant some of the missing canopy caliper inches on the slope and pay the remainder into the tree fund.

The commission approved the plan by voice vote with a condition that staff coordinate with the applicant to determine the number of additional overstory/canopy caliper inches that can be reasonably planted on the slope; the remainder will be satisfied by payment into the tree fund.