HomeMy WebLinkAboutComments Miscellaneous 4/13/2011
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L1MBIRD Andrew
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Jeff Sakacsi [JeffS@schirmersatre.com]
Wednesday, April 13, 2011 11 :50 AM
L1MBIRD Andrew
Carol Schirmer
Cabela's Final Inspection Response.
Hi Andy,
I am writing concerning the Final Staff Inspection (dated 4/6/2011) for Cabela's. Staff comments are in plain type and our
responses are in italics for clarity.
4. Some of the landscaping islands closest to the store building have been aversely impacted by temporary
construction fencing, requiring repair or replacement of the damagedlmissing plants and mulch beds.
Damaged areas to the planting beds will be repaired upon removal of temporary fencing.
5, The approved plans do not show some existing features or recent alterations that have been made on the
site. These include the existing SUB electrical transformer just outside the southwest corner of the. Cabela's store; and
the removal of pine trees and shrubs adjacent to the new loading dock and replacement with two
ornamental pear trees. Because the dockside planting appears to be incomplete, staff does not have a context for what
the finished product should look like.
The existing SUB electrical transformer was inadvertently left off the approved plans. The planting design
has been adjusted to accommodate the transformer as a result. We can show these adjustments in the
final planting plan that we will be providing you for your records. In the approved plans we intended to
preserve the (2) pine trees at the northeast corner of the Cabela's store but unfortunately were unable to
preserve them due to construction. As noted above, we have replaced the (2) pine trees with (2)
ornamental pear trees so as to fit the space better. Currently the remainder of the planting bed is left
unfinished. In order to finish the area we propose to add lawn to that area as we feel that would provide
the best continuity of design. Furthermore, we feel that the planting of shrubs in that area will provide a
possible safety concern by creating a hidden location.
6. Staff observed some locations within the parking lot landscaping where a couple of plants were missing or
omitted. More often, however, staff noted that while the plantings conformed to the approved landscaping plans
(at least in terms of plant quantities) the as-constructed islands have gaps and irregularities in the plant
coverage. Staff is of the opinion that many of these gaps will remain even as the plants mature. This situation
was not apparent during review of the landscaping plans, but was quite noticeable during the field visit. It
appears the planting irregularities are more pronounced in the northwest corner of the parking lot near the
Interstate 5 pedestrian bridge, and less so closer to the Cabela's store. To address the situation, staff highly
recommends adding some plants at strategic locations to "round out" the parking lot islands of
redistributing existing plants to provide more uniform c!"verage.
It is recognized that there are some missing plants at various points of the site, but specifically more so
towards the northwest area of the site. Some of these plants have been noted in a punch list / field report
that was prepared for the contractors. We expect those missing plants to be replaced. We also plan to
add plants in the area on the north side of the Cabela's store near the bump out that was noted by staff in
the photos as having a significant gap in the plantings. It should be noted however that we have
intentionally left spacing with no planting to be installed near all parking spaces. This was noted in the
details of the Planting Plan. Our reasoning for doing this that plants planted in the areas parking spaces
tend to be stepped on by shoppers entering and exiting their cars and as a result the plants either die or
. perform poorly. We feel we have met the code for number of plants in all the parking lot planting islands.
It should also be noted that at this earty time the plants are quite small, but that the species we have
selected (Rockrose, Mexican Orange, Viburnum, Hameln Grass) will grow considerably in a short amount
of time.
7. The parking lot island at the extreme northern edge of the project area (south of the ring road stop bar) is
shown as being landscaped with shrubs and groundcover plants on the site plan. However, staff observes that this island
has not been re-Iandscaped and contains turf grass.
During construction, excavation on this area was begun in order to prepare the area for planting. After
preliminary excavation it was determined that further site work in the area would severely jeopardize the ~(4) existing
1 . Date i''teceived:-'I.,6 (}ol/
Planner: AL
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Sweet Gum trees due to their surtacetel root systems that !e been contained by the curbs. We
made the decision to keep the lawn in the area and not plant the proposed shrubs in order to preserve the trees which we
felt was of greater importance.
8. Just prior to the site visit, staff received an updated planting plan for the landscaping islands.under the
PPE transmission lines that had the trees removed. During the site visit, staff did not observe the
replacement plantings in most of the affected areas.
The plantings wiff be installed as per the updated planting plan.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns and if our responses are acceptable to city staff.
Thank you,
Jeff
Jeff Sakacsi
Schirmer Satre Group
Planners, landscape Architects and Environmental Specialists
375 West 4th Avenue, Suite 201, Eugene, Oregon 97401
(541) 686-4540 . Fax (541) 686-4577 . www.schirmersatre.com
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Date, !""~ceived: r~~
Planner; AL