"FromdirectobservationoftheproposedCHPUDsite,slopeinstabilityisevidencedbythe <br />presenceofcurvedtrunktreesandthefailingfoundationofanexistingbuilding.Afterreviewing <br />relevantpublishedreportsregardingtreeremovalandslopestability,itismyopinionthatthe <br />proposedplantocutthenumberoftreesdesignatedforharvestwouldincreasethelikelihoodof <br />slopefailureinthefuture." <br />BecausetheproposedCHPUDwouldsignificantlythreatenthewelfareofthesurrounding <br />neighborstotheeastandwestaswellastheRibbonTrail,the Applicationhasfailedtomeet <br />EC9.8320(4)(b)4. <br />BecausemanyofthetreesslatedforremovalontheproposedCHPUDsiteareonsteepand <br />unstableslopes,foresterJamesMehrweincontendsthattheApplicantwilllikelyhavetousea <br />“yoder”toremovethelogsfromthesite.AccordingtoMehrwein,intheprocessofdragging <br />logsupaslopetowherethelogscanbeloadedontotrucks,furtherdamagetovegetationmay <br />occur. <br />“Ayoderwilllikelyweighinexcessof100,000pounds,whichcombinedwiththeweight <br />ofalow-boytrucktohaultheyodertothesitewillpresentasignificantchallengedueto <br />ahair-pinturnbeforereachingthesubjectpropertyandtheweightlimitoftheexisting <br />road”(Mehrwein,p.12of17). <br />Inotherwords,theturningradiusforalonglogtruckwouldlikelybegreaterthantheradiusof <br />thehair-pinturn.Theremay,infact,benopracticalwaytoaccessthesitewiththekindof <br />loggingequipmentneededforsuchalarge-scalejob.Eveniftheloggingequipmentcansafely <br />accessthesitewithoutblockingtheonlyroadtothetopofCapitalDr.,thereisclearconcernthat <br />thesteepslopesandunstablesoilwillmeanthatloggingactivitieswoulddestroymanyofthe <br />treestheproposedCHPUDplanstoconserve,thusviolatingallof EC9.8320(4)(b). <br />Inshort:TheApplication’sTreePreservationPlanwascreatedwithoutregardtothe <br />destructiveprocessoftryingtoselectivelylogalongasteepslopewithonlyonenarrow <br />accesspoint.BecausetheApplicanthasnotplannedahead,theircurrentplanwouldhave <br />tobealtered,ortheywouldlikelycreatesignificantdamageintryingtocarryouttheir <br />currentplanandindoingsowouldabrogatealltheirclaimswithregardtoEC9.8320(4) <br />(b).ConsistentwithourassessmentthroughouttheApplicationprocess,whichwasforced <br />completebeforetheApplicationwasfullydeveloped,wefindthattheTreePlanisnotwell <br />developed. <br />Application'sApproachtotheRegulationofTreePreservation <br />TheApplication’sTreePreservationPlanattempts,onthesurface,to“conserve”anumberof <br />treesinconservationareascontrolledbybothindividualpropertyownersontheeasternslopeof <br />theproposedCHPUDandinHOAconservationareas,presumablycontrolledbytheHOA.Inthe <br />NotesSection(SheetL3.0,SitePlans),theApplicantstatesthatremovaloftreesinthe <br />conservationareaswillbeallowedwithdocumentationfroma“certifiedarborist”whowill <br />determinethehealthandwelfareofthetreesinquestion.However,theApplicant’sentiretree <br />56 <br /> <br />