Commission keeps Forestry District limits for now after conservation arguments

Commissioners agreed, for the present package, to maintain the Forestry District's existing use table and density limits amid divided views on whether to permit triplexes or fourplexes there.

Chris Shaheen recommended keeping the Forestry District focused on conservation and said he could not find direct research isolating the difference between a clustered multi‑unit building and several detached houses for wildlife impact. "My recommendation is to maintain the current allowance forest district and not going to adding fourplexes in that district," he said, asking commissioners to consider mapping and Natural Resource Overlay (NRO) updates later.

Some commissioners argued that clustering units in one building could reduce fragmentation compared with multiple detached houses and pushed for design and PUD mechanisms that would require large open‑space set‑asides; others invoked the precautionary principle and the district's conservation purpose. The commission asked staff to prepare more granular mapping (how much forestry land is buildable, forest block delineations) and to return with draft NRO updates and any targeted standards at a future meeting.