Agenda - 05-03-2005-7b - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Northern (HSCJ Park Challenges and Opportun/ties 22 Existing Vegetation This 9-acre portion of the property is almost completely open and maintained in grass except for the building, playground and parking areas. There is a narrow fringe of woodland forest in the rear of the property, which continues west into the "Kennedy Tract" portion of the County property.. Wetlands and Hydroloey There are no streams or wetlands on this portion of the County property. Tonoeranhv and Soffs The land is fairly flat with a slight downgrade toward the rear of the property. The soils are classified Georgeville B by the Orange County Soil Survey. Georgeville soils are highly suitable for most kinds of urban uses and all forms of recreational uses, No areas of the property are within 100-year floodplain. B. "Kennedy Tract" (39 acres) The Kennedy Tract is identified as Tract B on the Site Map (Figure 1). This portion of the County property is mostly wooded with a mixture of hardwood and pine forest.. Access An old unimproved roadway (10 feet wide) provides access to the rear of the property and the south end of the pond.. The roadway begins near a fenced area beside the children's playground (NHSC tract) and leads due west with pine forest to right and hardwood forest to left. Trash piles are located alongside the roadway. One pile includes appliances, car parts, glass/cans, etc. Midway back through the property, the roadway turns to the southwest and around an adjacent private property, then angles back in more westerly direction to the southern end of Compton's Pond and its high earthen dam. Downed trees and limbs from ice and windstorms of 2003-04 currently block portions of the old roadway. Vegetation The vast majority of the property is wooded with a mixture of hardwoods and pine. A 12-acre section of the upland property nearest the NHSC is comprised entirely of mature hardwoods-50 to 60-feet-tall.. Major canopy trees include red and white oaks, hickories, tulip poplar and American beech.. This mature deciduous forest provides numerous benefits, including habitat for wildlife and native plants, and protection of water quality by filtering out sediment and pollutants from runoff before it enters the adjacent pond and the East Forlc Eno River.. The lower-lying woodlands in the western part of the property are a mixture of pine and hardwoods adapted to the wetter soils nearer to the lake. Dense stands of loblolly pine occur along the northern property boundary and the southwestern boundary, both providing 100-200 foot buffers from the neighboring properties. Two small clearings are located in the far northeast and southwest corners of the property. One is at the impoundment for Compton's Pond; the other has been used by someone to store abandoned vehicles and debris.