Hendricks Park, consistent with the policy language above. <br />The Joint Response Committee wishes to point out several flaws with the above <br />statement. To begin with, there is no Åpreservation areaÆ on the northeast boundary where <br />the proposed PUD abuts Hendricks Park. On the ridgeline and extending down to Tract <br />A, Lots 1, 4, 5 directly abut Hendricks Park, which means the large trees on those private <br />lots can be cut down and will have to be cut down during the construction of homes. This <br />information is apparent from looking at the site plans. The large trees of the park have <br />grown in a group. According to the Forestry report attached the Joint Response <br />Committee document, large trees grow and strengthen to withstand windthrow in groups. <br />So if half of the trees in a particular group are removed, the rest are exposed to <br />windthrow danger. This is what would happen if the trees along 1,4,5 were removed, as <br />they surely would be to construct new homes. Because stands of trees do not recognize <br />property lines, the large trees in the part adjacent to the northern boundary of the <br />proposed Capital Hill PUD would be exposed to windthrow danger. <br />While it is true that the applicant has provided some open space in Tract A, it is also true <br />(as we argue elsewhere) that this thin strip of land will not shield the 47-foot tall houses <br />from people hiking on the Ribbon Trail. The Eugene planning staff repeatedly states that <br />R-1 zoning allows for 30-foot houses, and they use this height as an example for how the <br />visual effects will be mitigated by the code. They are, however, wrong about the code. <br />On slopes (of the kind that exist on the east side of the proposed Capital Hill PUD), <br />houses are allowed to be 40-feet plus in height. Mike McKerrow, Land Use Analyst with <br />the City of Eugene, wrote to confirm this fact to the Joint Response Committee: <br /> "A way to summarize the definition which attempts to provide some relief for steep <br />lots is, you always measure building height from the lowest point of the perimeter of <br />the building at a distance 5' from the wall. If the difference is 10' or greater from that <br />lowest point on the perimeter to the highest point you get 40' instead of 30'. <br />In addition, Mike McKerrow acknowledged that houses using 6/12 roof pitches built on <br />steep slopes can go an extra 7 feet in height for roof features, which takes the height of <br />buildings from the Eugene Planning StaffÈs 30 feet to a potential 47 feet. We feel this <br />difference invalidates the arguments used by the Eugene Planning staff to assert that the <br />construction above the Ribbon Trail will be hidden from view. <br />Of the two tracts connected to Tract A that run east and west, one serves as the storm <br />water run off area. Trees will have to be cut down in this area, and though small trees of <br /> <br />