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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20180908 17.006 Denny Corr 1-8-19To: Mark Torpey, Chair, Planning Board From: Tom Denny, Chair, Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC) Re: 227 Kaydeross Ave East conservation subdivision Date: January 8, 2018 Hi Mark As you probably are aware, Brad Birge and Kate Maynard asked the OSAC to render an advisory opinion to the Planning Board on the priorities for elements to be conserved as new structures were sited within the unconstrained land on this property. Three members of the OSAC walked the property this afternoon, led by Dave Carr of the LA Group, and joined by Libby Careno, attorney for the owners, Kate Maynard, and Tina Carton. It is a beautiful property with great potential for open space conservation. We want to thank the LA Group for their detailed conservation analysis that made our task much easier. After discussing the site with the other committee members, we make these recommendations. Rural Character. In the 2002 Open Space Plan Map, this stretch of Kaydeross Ave. East hit a trifecta of open space assets: Agricultural Heritage location; a potential on -road Bike Trail; and, what might be easy to overlook under the yellow dotted line of the Bike Trail, the dark brown color marking a Rural Road Corridor. Seventeen years later, this lightly traveled road remains one of Saratoga's best -preserved Rural Road Corridors. (Crescent Ave., from Kaydeross west to the Northway, is also designated a Rural Road Corridor.) The OSAC would recommend that the design of any conservation subdivision do everything possible to preserve that character. To accomplish this, we would specifically recommend: • Preserving the eastward wetland viewshed by placing the entire east parcel into a conservation easement, and not building a single-family house on the east side of the road (we feel there are wetland and water considerations arguing for this as well). • In renovating the existing house and outbuildings, honoring the historic nature and character of the site • Keeping the new developments as invisible as possible from both Kaydeross Ave and from Crescent Ave, by keeping them well set back, with limited height, and, even better, completely screened in the uplands. • Using downward -facing, flat lens lighting at restrained levels of illumination to preserve the "dark sky" quality on Kaydeross Ave East. one of the darkest places in the city, with a powerful nocturnal rural character and some of our best stargazing. (As a side note, the OSAC is including "dark skies" as one of the natural resources in our inventory and we have been working to classify the gradations of dark skies (and not so dark skies) throughout the Greenbelt and in town. Saratoga may want to consider getting certain places in the Greenbelt certified by the International Dark -Sky Association [darksky.org] as official Urban Night Sky Places, and Kaydeross Ave East would be one of our strongest candidates. [https://www.darksky.org/our- work/conservation/idsp/unsp/J) • Viewed from Crescent Ave over by the Northway, preserving the forested ridge line at the west edge of the property. Forested ridge lines are an important aspect for the rural character of this area of the Greenbelt. Proper siting and low design of ridge -top structures, combined with retention of existing ridge -line trees as buffer (or perhaps planting evergreen buffer), are critical to preserving the ridge line viewshed. We would suggest that the Planning Board require the architects to provide viewshed analyses from Crescent Ave. Water. In the OSAC's current work with scientific consultants on a Natural Resource Inventory for Saratoga, we have been regularly reminded of two things. First, fresh water sources, whether aquifers or surface water, will rank among our most precious future resources. And second, that projections of climate change indicate that the northeast will have more rain overall and it will come in more frequent, and heavier, rainfall events. This leads us to believe, looking forward, that the wetlands on this property will likely be wetter and the seasonal stream will likely have higher and more consistent flow. We would also note that vernal ponds are critical habitats for all kinds of threatened amphibians. We urge the Planning Board to err on the side of caution by insisting on ample buffers adjacent to all water sources on the property. Specifically, we recommend the following: • Placing the entire east parcel into a conservation easement, for best protection of the Q11 wetlands • Avoiding impact on the seasonal stream and adjoining wetland through well-buffered design and placement of the bridge • Buffering other wetland areas and vernal ponds in siting of development Trees. Much of the property is fairly young forest. These are well-established, so they are hardly negligible assets, but few of the trees are mature. Conditions seem good for forest growth so that whatever trees are left will mature rapidly. Moreover, any non-wooded land set aside in a conservation easement that is not aggressively mowed to keep it as meadow should revert to forest in a number of decades. We would recommend the following: • Preserving the massive oak tree, which is 207" in circumference, or about 66" in diameter, at breast height. (This tree is probably over 300 years old, yet has the shape of a meadow tree, not a forest tree! How early might someone have cleared this land to let this oak spread its branches?) Best tree-protection practices should be followed during construction. A substantial area around this tree should be fenced off to prevent soil compaction and other damage that could inadvertently kill this heritage tree. • Performing a selective inventory of the largest trees in and near the areas being considered for development and, based on the inventory, preserving as many as possible of the most mature and healthy specimens of quality species (especially oaks, hickories, and maples). • Preserving enough trees along the ridge line to create a buffer that will maintain the rural character of the viewshed as seen from Crescent Ave. • Granting future public access to what will develop into one of Saratoga's nicest upland woodlands. Granting access to this extraordinary tree, perhaps the largest in the city, would be a great public service. Neighborhood planning (trails, etc). Since several adjoining and nearby properties would seem to be candidates for future development as conservation subdivisions, there is an opportunity to take a broader perspective and envision a larger conservation area that might be accessible to the public. These proper- ties east of the Northway contain a considerable area that could mature into a great upland forest preserve. If the owner is willing to grant public access to the easement area, we would recommend the following: • Considering possible connectivity to the natural assets on adjoining properties during the siting process. The expertise of a landscape firm or of a land preservation trust could perhaps be utilized for a study of this nature that looks at several properties in this area. Trail along Lonely Creek. Although the 2002 Open Space Map included Lonely Creek as a possible pedestrian trail, it seems more likely that it would become a future canoe/kayak trail, linking to Kaydeross Creek, which has appeared as a desired open space asset in both the 1994 and the 2002 Open Space Plans. Since state and federal wetlands regulations prevent development along Lonely Creek, this will not affect plans for development of 227 Kaydeross Ave. Nonetheless, it is worth acknowledging this desirable opportunity. We would recommend: • Protecting the entire east parcel running to Lonely Creek in the conservation easement, so that the holder of the easement will be in the position to work with other stakeholders in opening up some future trail, on boardwalk or for paddle crafts. Explicit mention of the possible trail in planning documents, including the easement, would be good. Thanks for your consideration. We hope this input helps the Planning Board to work with the applicant to ensure the best outcome for this beautiful property.