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<br />.p~, <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />data (if your home is not in the path of the water). <br /> <br />II. Greenbelt <br /> <br />At present, there is a dense thicket composed of a few mature trees and many <br />clo!$ely spaced younger stems along the east boarder of the drainage ditch. <br />This thicket is of sufficient height, opacity and width that the Paul's Place site <br />and Snelling Avenue are not visible from much of the residential area while the <br />trees have leaves. Even in the winter, the thicket is dense enough to provide <br />partial screening. The foliage also provides good acoustic insulation from the <br />traffic noise of Snelling avenue. <br /> <br />The trees which the developer has identified for preservation in the current <br />generation of the site plan have been marked with ribbons. This indicates that <br />virtually all of the young trees and undergrowth will be removed and that the <br />mean distance between trees will be greatly increased. In addition, the width of <br />the belt would be sharply reduced. This would have the effect of destroying the <br />visual and sonic isolation provided by the existing thicket. It is not clear that the <br />proposed new piantings would ever restore the formet level of isolation or, if so, <br />how many years would be required to restore it. A Quick visit to the site can <br />provide a Qood idea of how much isolation would be lost with onlv the ribboned <br />trees still standina. ' <br /> <br />One particularly troubling detail of the current plan is the placement of a holding <br />pond on the southwest corner of the site. This would remove the thicket <br />completely in a region which lies near the centerline of the new access road. <br />This would have the effect of shining headlights directly into second floor' <br />bedroom windows on the west side of the ditch. <br /> <br />I urge that the thicket be left intact (no cutting of small stems or <br />undergrowth) and at least 30 feet deep to provide isolation for the <br />residential area. The tree mix and slope could be improved over a period of <br />years by judicious introduction of evergreens and fill, but the key point is to <br />leave the thicket in place until its replacement has had time to grow. Except for <br />the issue of the holding pond this should not impose any cost or restrict the <br />development. I also believe that at this stage of the project, sound engineering <br />alternatives could be found for the pond placement. <br /> <br />Following the February 10 hearing, the developer suggested that the best and <br />most flexible solution to this problem would be a comprehensive phased <br />landscape plan for both sides of the ditch. This would of course require <br />cooperation of the landowners on the west side of the ditch. While I cannot <br />speak for the other landowners, I personally would welcome any constructive <br />proposals along these lines. To date, this idea has not been developed further. <br /> <br />. , <br />In addition to the utility of the thicket to the humans concerned, it also provides <br />