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Forestry and sustainability questions focus on canopy, soil volumes and green features
Summary
Applicant said the site meets canopy requirements and exceeds open‑space minimums; Forestry Commission and environmental commenters pressed for larger soil volumes, native plant palettes, green roofs and more on‑site tree canopy. Applicant and landscape team will supply detailed planting and canopy breakdowns at the next SPRC.
Landscape materials and sustainability drew sustained comments from the Forestry and Natural Resources Commission and other speakers. The applicant's landscape lead said the site meets canopy requirements and that "we are meeting our canopy requirements — we're slightly exceeding them at this site" and cited roughly 36% canopy coverage when street trees and rooftop trees were combined.
Forestry representatives said the site should aim higher and raised a technical concern about tree soil volumes (staff cited an existing site calculation of about 900 cubic feet vs. an optimal 1,000–1,200 cubic feet). Dr. Birnie Byrne (public commenter and ecological expert) urged a native‑only planting palette, questioned the inclusion of adaptive cultivars and flagged creeping jenny as potentially problematic. Staff and the applicant agreed to supply a detailed canopy breakdown and to discuss native species choices at the next meeting.
