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MEMORANDUM To: Brian Collie, Planner II, Planning and Inspections Department From: Christian Hirni, Land Conservation Manager, DEAPR Date: September 19, 2023 Re: Acer LLC “The Treeist”- Map Amendment Conditional Rezoning Proposal Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the proposed Map Amendment – Conditional upon land listed under Acer LLC. The map amendment would allow for rezoning the tract, currently under Rural Buffer designation, to Non-Residential Commercial District for use as an operations site for “The Treeist”, a certified arboriculture and tree company. The site is approximately 10.01 acres located west of Milhouse Road, north of Eubanks Road, and is abutted to County property on three sides with Duke Forest on the western border. The subject property is one parcel (PIN 9871-50-3254) and is within the Neuse River/Jordan Lake Watershed. The property contains approximately 520 linear feet of Old Field Creek, which drains directly into New Hope Creek around 3 miles east of the property boundary. DEAPR comments on development projects are generally intended to a) address any concerns with respect to potential impacts on important natural or cultural resources, and b) identify any areas that might be desirable for possible dedication to the County for public recreation/open space pursuant to Section 7.11.5 of the Unified Development Ordinance. Natural Resources Review Comments: The plan calls for developing just over two-thirds of the property as center of operations and staging for “The Treeist” business, setting aside around one quarter of the property to protect the riparian buffers of Old Field Creek as delineated within the site plan. Referencing the State Natural Heritage Program Inventory and the dataset of the Biodiversity and Wildlife Corridor Assessment confirms Old Field Creek and associated forested corridor (approximately 100-150 feet from centerline), to be of medium-high conservation value (Score 7/10). This section of Old Field Creek headwaters at a spring just 1,500 feet north of the tract, on lands owned by Duke Forest and listed by the County and State Natural Heritage Area Inventory (Blackwood Mountain Natural Area). As such, Old Field Creek is recognized by the Eno New Hope Landscape Conservation Plan as the “Highest” category of Conservation Priority as a Habitat Patch and Wildlife Connectivity Corridor. Any such use of the areas around the creek should allow it to remain in its natural and wooded state. The improvement of the existing roadbed to modern standards, including culverts and/or bridging, should be done with care to limit the disturbance of the stream bed and walls. All other uses or potential improvements associated with the development of the tract should be located outside of this area. As the entirety of the tract is forested, apart from the already developed portion for a cell tower, the remainder is categorized as low conservation priority per the Biodiversity and Wildlife Corridor Assessment and moderate conservation value per the Eno New Hope Landscape Conservation Plan. Any 107