20240424 Environmental Board Packet Combined

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Sites that have higher restoration potential, long-term management agreements, or connectivity with high-value greenway corridor components may all be areas for which alternatives to tree mitigation numbers may be acceptable. Also, alternatives considered should exhibit some higher value results than the tree planting alone would provide. Increased biodiversity; habitat enhancement for rare, threatened, endangered, or special concern species; and expansion and/or creation of key habitats, such as oak savanna; are all benefits that could be weighed against strict adherence to tree mitigation numbers. Alternatives to the tree mitigation described in ordinance have been utilized in the Foxborough, Saddle Club, and Preserve conservation developments. In these areas, long-term stewardship plans were prepared to achieve a more ecologically sound outcome. In these cases, planting the required amount of trees would have been detrimental to the goals of restoring the native plant communities that were historically present on the land. In the Natures Refuge development,which is currently under construction just south of the proposed project site, the mitigation requirement for removal of aspens in wetland buffer areas was waived in recognition of the fact that native wetland plants would not be able to thrive under aspen canopy. The same situation occurred in Saddle Club, with aspen removals in wetland buffers not subject to mitigation. Some ideas for consideration: • Restoring/establishing native plant communities that resemble historical conditions would be beneficial to rare plants and animals on or near the site and beneficial to biodiversity on the site in general. • Long-term management and stewardship would bring about a better result than would be typical of natural areas or outlots in sites with less restoration potential. Establishment of a stewardship fund would promote active management to benefit the land over time, as opposed to installation of a manicured landscape that would provide minimal environmental benefit. • Other aspects of the landscape ordinance will still be in effect. Highly valued landscape components for the site, such as buffers in the northwest corner,will still be required. • Baseline conditions of the site (current species list and abundance) should be gathered to measure the outcome of management activities and gage success. • The idea is not to eliminate mitigation tree planting, but to supplement tree planting with more focus on native plant community restoration and establishment. This is particularly important in areas that have connectivity with the larger wetland complex that extends from the site to the northeast to the Wollan Park wetland bank. At this point, staff would like to gather feedback from the Board on your willingness to support an alternative to the estimated tree mitigation numbers for this site. Staff is recommending a collaboration with the developer in the interest of achieving a final product that supports native plant communities, rare plants and animals, and the historically significant ecosystem types that would have been present on the land. If the Board is in favor of the latter option, a collaborative process will begin with opportunities for input as the project progresses. 2