Capital Hill PUD Page 28 of 67 <br />Planned Unit Development Application - Tentative Stage - Written Statement <br />March 3, 2017 Revised:June 19, 2017 <br />view looking west, as the trees currently west of the development site were not there either. <br />Consequently, the highest elevations on this property have the least amount of vegetation and <br />are dominated by 6 dwelling units, a cultivated vineyard, open areas, and lawn. <br />The existing housing to the south and west has been in existence for long enough that the <br />existing trees on those properties screen much of the view from the development site to the <br />west. By extension, the views from the west onto the development site will be very limited as <br />well. <br />There will be minimal tree removal on the highest elevations and what will be removed for <br />construction of proposed homes will not create additional visibility into the site from the valley <br />floor. <br />In this manner, the proposed development clusters the homes around the existing and <br />proposed transportation system and occupies the shallowest slopes as is practical, disturbs the <br />least amount of vegetation, and has the least visual impact. <br />2. To encourage preservation as open space those areas characterized by: <br />a. Intermediate and steep slopes <br />b. Higher elevations <br />c. Significant amounts of vegetation <br />d. Significant visual impact. <br />Open space preservation is proposed for the steepest slopes with significant trees and other <br />vegetation and provides a continual buffer where the highest visual impact would occur. The <br />higher visual impact will be into the site from the east and only by users of the Ribbon Trail. <br />This is not an unexpected occurrence. The land that the Ribbon Trail borders was zoned as <br />low density residential long before the Ribbon trail existed (opened March 2010). <br />As previously stated, the higher elevations west of the development site have the advantage of <br />having a significant forest of existing trees that have matured over time and screen the view <br />into the highest elevations almost completely. To the north is the 80+ acres of Hendricks Park, <br />which also provides significant screening with its mature trees. <br />Therefore the topography of the area, coupled with the preservation area, provides an <br />excellent visual buffer between the proposed development and off site users. <br />This is a still shot from the animation that was submitted with this application. <br />This is a view walking north on the Ribbon Trail. Off to the left and high up on the slope is a <br />small white sign that marks the eastern property boundary of the development site. Some of <br />the proposed houses are barely visible through the trees. <br />Schirmer Satre Group • 375 West 4 m Avenue, Suite 201, Eugene, OR 97401 • (541) 686-4540 <br />