“Eventhoughthesubjectpropertylineisfairlyclose(theCommitteemeasuresabout50 <br />feet,whichistooclose)totheRibbonTrail,theapplicanthaschosentorelyonthe <br />flexibilityofthePUDprocessandtoarrangeanddesignlotsinsuchawaythatthis <br />importantcommunityresourceisvisuallyprotectedandbufferedfromasmuchas <br />feasible.”(Emphasisadded.) <br />TheCommitteeagainrepliesthat,wereconservationforemostamongtheApplicant’sandhis <br />Consultant’sconcerns,thelotlinesforthesteepareasabuttingtheCitypropertyandtheRibbon <br />Trailwouldbesetbackfartherthantheyare.Additionally,theApplicationwouldaddressthe <br />all-importantquestionofthebulk&heightofpotentialhomesintheproposedproject,especially <br />thosebackingtowardtheRibbonTrail.However,theApplicationhas“swepttheseissuesunder <br />therug”asthoughtheyareunimportant. <br />TheCommitteerestatesitsconcernaboutthepossibleheightofhomesbackingtowardthe <br />RibbonTrail.Giventhesteepnessofthe13lotsontheeasternsideoftheprojectandthehigh <br />percentageoflotcoverageachievable,structurescouldbe40feettallandonly10feetapart(side <br />yardsetbackisonly5feet)andstillbewithincode.Homeswouldmostcertainlybeseenfrom <br />theRibbonTrailandwouldloomoveranddominatethehillside. <br />Further,theApplicantdidnot“choose”torelyonthePUDprocess;theApplicantandhis <br />Consultanthadnochoice.Seeaboveregarding EC9.4310Applicability wheretheApplication <br />states,“Thesiteiszoned/PD.Therefore,the/PDoverlayzoneappliesandthedevelopment <br />mustcomply withthePlannedUnitDevelopmentcriteriacontainedinEC9.8300–EC9.8335.” <br />(Emphasisadded.) <br />The8/22/17ApplicationonPage60of67states: <br />“Moreover,thedevelopmentrequestsflexibilityregardinglotcoveragestandardsto <br />ensuretheCity’shousingandinfillstrategiesareappropriatelyintegratedintothesite <br />design.Thisdecisionisalsobasedonfeedbackfromneighborsandcitystaff.” <br />TheCommitteerefersthereadertoprevioussectionswithinthisResponseDocumentwherewe <br />havecompletelydebunkedthishypothesis. <br />TheApplicationcontinues: <br />“Finally,therequestedflexibilityforlotfrontageisbasedonanumberofconcernsfrom <br />neighborsandCitystaff.Ifeachlotwasarrangedinsuchawayastohavefrontageon <br />CapitalDriveandCupolaDrive,manyunitsandvaluablenaturalareawouldbelost.” <br />(Emphasisadded.) <br />TheCommitteereiteratesitspositionthatmoreacceptablefrontageperlotcouldbeachievedif <br />fewerlotswereproposed.Discretionarytreesandvegetationin“valuablenaturalareas”within <br />lotlinesarealreadycompletelyatriskofremoval.Creatingfewerlots(bytheApplication’s <br />ownstandard)wouldimprovepreservationresults.ThefollowingisquotedfromPage12of67 <br />ofthe8/22/17Application:“Experiencetellsusthatwhendesigningonsteeppropertiesinthe <br />160 <br /> <br />