9_4_24 Planning Board Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Approved 12.4.24 767 Statler Gilfillen: I'm not sure at this point. That's the problem. I’m just sitting down and discussing. 768 769 Beth Bronson: I mean, there's an exception. 770 771 Statler Gilfillen: With perhaps a better use of the language. I can give you a specific example. At the location that 772 I'm at, the farmhouse, they planted Burford Hollies in the '40s, and they were planted very close to 773 the foundation of the porch and along with other plants right there. The amount of pruning and the 774 root system that goes down to the foundations is a problem around the building. 775 776 Charity Kirk: Would you suggest a minimum distance away from the foundation? 777 778 Adam Beeman The roots are going to chase to the building. That's the problem. 779 780 Charity Kirk: I'm just trying to narrow down what the suggestion is. 781 782 Statler Gilfillen: The issue I am raising is that the way the language is written, it's ambiguous. I'm not sure that I 783 have an exact solution to tell you tonight what that language should be. 784 785 Beth Bronson: Are you specifically referring to a minimum of 5-foot landscape area? 786 787 Statler Gilfillen: No. It could be wider, from my experience. 788 789 Beth Bronson: I'm asking is that the verbiage. 790 791 Statler Gilfillen: It's because it's up against the foundation. 792 793 Adam Beeman: That's the whole problem. And I'm on the page of Statler. I completely don't like anything planted 794 up against the foundation because when you work on a house, and the place is buried in bushes, 795 and you're bringing insects and all those other things in, that's a whole different argument, like 796 completely get rid of it. But I'm not at that argument, but that's what I think Statler's trying to say is 797 that he's not for planting something up against the building. 798 799 Perdita Holtz: The 5-foot-wide landscape is 5 foot from the building to let's just say the sidewalk for lack of a 800 better term. Now, you're getting into where a shrub should be planted within that 5 foot space, 801 because if somebody were to plant it 1 foot from the sidewalk, then it would be 4 feet from the 802 foundation. 803 804 Statler Gilfillen: The 5 foot is fine, but it should start 2 feet out from the foundation. You should not be putting 805 plants immediately at the foundation, as this language seems to allow. That's the issue. 806 807 Cy Stober: I suppose it could be interpreted in that very kind of heavy-handed way, but my interpretation and 808 what the intention is – and if it's unclear, we can clarify that – is that it can be 5 feet away from that 809 foundation. The intent is to screen it from view from the right of way. So, it can be 50 feet away, 810 theoretically. That's not going to be very useful, but I think, to your point, if the root zone is going 811 into the foundation, then the plantings will die, and we will then be able to issue a notice of 812 violation and require compliance with this landscaping requirement for non-residential structures. 813 So, we do have recourse should someone inappropriately plant them too close to the building. I 814 share your concern, but I believe that the intention of myself, at least – I can't speak for all the 815 staff – is that they would be placed at reasonable distance away from the foundation to survive. 816 Because survival and growth is the purpose. Screening is the purpose. 817 818 Lamar Proctor: It's a minimum of 5 feet from the foundation, right? 819 820 Cy Stober: Yes. 821