In the end, the Planning Board approved the plan which worked to save a 200-year-old tree as well as a half acre of contiguous forest.
A developer, Augustine Homes, was proposing to put five houses on about 2.6 acres in the Congressional Forest subdivision, just off Bradley Boulevard near the intersection with Kentsdale Drive.
Area residents asserted that three houses would be best suited for the spot, preserving large trees and protecting steep slopes. But planning staff said four houses could be accommodated.
“Four can meet the criteria and work better for tree preservation,” said Malcolm Shaneman of the park and planning staff.
One issue with the five-house proposal was lot size. County development criteria require that lot sizes be roughly in keeping with lot sizes in nearby properties. “There are only 11 lots of the same size. All the other lots are much larger [than the proposed lots],” Shaneman said.
According to Shaneman, the proposed lots ranged in size from approximately 21,000 to 26,000 sq. ft.
The developers included different lots in their definition of the neighborhood. “This is a very diverse neighborhood … our lots fit right in. There are other lots that are smaller,” said Bob Harris, a representative of Augustine.
The neighborhood’s trees were another sticking point. “The houses are forest with small houses. This is large houses with a few trees,” said neighborhood resident Mary Kinely.
Planners agreed that there were some special trees on the property.
One tree in particular, “is really worth going out of your way to protect,” said Cathy Conlon of the park and planning staff. Conlon was referring to a beech tree on the property with a diameter greater than 40 in. “It’s probably over 200 years old,” Conlon said.
There are three “specimen” beech trees in the area. In addition to several other specimen trees. “The forest is a very fine quality of oak-hickory forest,” Conlon said. “[The planning staff ] plan … puts the houses in such a way that you save the big trees,” Conlon said. She further estimated that approximately half an acre of contiguous forest would also be saved.
The developers thought their proposal went far enough to save trees. They would save two of the three specimen beech trees in addition to several other specimen trees. Besides the specimen trees, “we’re saving 40 other trees that are 12 inches or greater, and they’re in groves,” Smith said.
The board briefly discussed the issue.
“For me it’s the trees,” said Commissioner Allison Bryant. The board voted unanimously to approve the four-lot proposal suggested by planning board staff.
According to S. Robert Kaufman, senior vice president of Augustine, construction on the new homes will begin as soon as possible, most likely in the spring.