characteroftheproperty,re-vegetatewhereexistingvegetationhasbeenlost.”Accordingtothe <br />Application,the new treeswillbe“healthyandsiteappropriate,”asopposedtotreescurrently <br />onthesite,whichtheApplicationdescribesas“notofhighqualityorvalue.”TheApplication <br />claimstowishto“preservethevegetatedcharacteroftheproperty,”butthestateddesireto <br />remaketheridgelinebyrevegetatinganaturalsettingrunsdirectlycontrarytotheideaof <br />“preservation”asdefinedin EC9.8320(4).Replantedfirtreeswillonlybe5’inheight; <br />replanteddeciduoustreeswillonlybe1.5’incaliperdiameter.Smalltreesoftheproposedsize <br />willnotbeabletoservethefunctionofprovidingscreening,maintainingtheridgeline,and <br />withstandingwindthrowwhileprotectingneighboringtreesfromwindthrow. <br />TheApplicationhasmanifestlyfailedtosatisfyEC9.8320(4)(b)6.andshouldbedenied. <br />PreservationofTreesAdjacenttoPublicParks,OpenSpaceandStreets <br />TheproposedCHPUDsiteisimmediatelyadjacenttoHendricksPark.Iftheprominenttrees <br />runningfromnorthtothesouthalongtheridgelineandthehigh-elevationareasoftheproposed <br />CHPUDsite(seephotosabove)areremoved,thetreeslocatedinHendricksParkalongthenorth <br />boundaryoftheCHPUDsitecouldbesubjecttowindthrowashigh,unobstructedstormevents <br />blastacrossadeforestedridgelinestraightintoastandoftreesintheparkthathavenot <br />developedthestrengthtowithstandhighwinds. <br />AccordingtoMehrwein(p.2of17): <br />“harvestingthedesignatedtreeswillsignificantlyincreasetheriskofwinddamagetothe <br />remainingtrees.TreesnotonlyontheCHPUDsite,butalsoinadjacentprivateproperties <br />andinHendricksParkwouldbevulnerabletobeingblowndownorhavingtopsbroken.” <br />Inotherwords,theforestofHendricksParkiscontiguouswiththeforestontheridgeline <br />beginningonthenorthendoftheproposedCHPUDsite(seephotosabove).Onlytheartificial <br />boundaryofthepropertylinedifferentiatesthesetwoareas.Byeliminatingthemature-growth <br />forestatthehighpointoftheridgelineintheproposedCHPUD,HendricksParkwillsufferfrom <br />widespreadwindthrow. <br />TheApplicationfailstoprovideabufferbetweentheproposedCHPUD’sclearcutonthe <br />ridgelineandtheforestofHendricksPark,violating EC9.8320(4)(b)4.and8. <br />ExistingForestContributiontoSoilStability <br />Lastly,largetreeshighontheeasternslopeoftheproposedCHPUDsitearecriticaltosoil <br />stabilityinanareathatcurrentlyexhibits“creep",asdocumentedphotographicallyinthe <br />Mehrweinreport.TheentireeasternslopeoftheproposedCHPUDsitesitsonunstableground <br />thathasbeenmovingformanyyears.Stablerootsystemsfromlargetreesplayanimportantrole <br />instabilizingthesoil.Giventheslopeinstability,theplannedharvestwouldincreaselikelihood <br />ofslopefailure(p.2of17): <br />55 <br /> <br />