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Applicant seeks 29.9% woodland disturbance; developers promise mitigation and replacement plantings
Summary
The tentative plan proposes woodland disturbance up to 29.9% (near the 30% threshold that triggers mitigation). Applicant said the additional removal is driven by roadway, cul-de-sac and stormwater siting; the team agreed to replacement planting and possible HOA restrictions on further clearing.
The applicant requested permission to disturb up to 29.9% of existing woodlands on the tract, which is above the ordinance baseline threshold of 25% but within an allowable mitigation band up to 30% if compensatory plantings are provided.
Rick Stratton said most of the woodland removal occurs on the northeast parcel to accommodate the roadway connection to Haywood Drive and stormwater facilities. "We're very close to 30%. We're at 29.9%," he testified, and said the plan includes mitigation in the form of replacement trees (shade trees, evergreen buffers and understory planting) and compliance with the ordinance’s mitigation calculations. Several residents asked for alternatives to tree removal; the applicant said alternatives were considered and that some adjustments were made to move some facilities underground and to increase setbacks from neighboring properties.
The board and conservation stakeholders pushed for recorded commitments limiting future woodland removal and asked that final mitigation plans be provided on the recorded plan and in HOA documents. The applicant said it is open to HOA enforcement measures and to working with the township to ensure replacement plantings meet size and species standards.
