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| Tree
Preservation |
Cottage
Knoll is planned with the vision of enhancing
& pre-serving the significant natural
aspects of the site, including its woodlands,
rock outcroppings and wetlands.
Cottage
Knoll has tree coverage of 41%, or 33.6
acres, a
third of which occurs in the northern
section of the property & will be
designated as a woodlands preserve. The
Arroyo Ditch Trail is heavily wooded &
its conversion to a nature trail will
preserve another
1 & a third acres. The scenic corridor
preservation along Highway 49 includes
another acre of tree canopy. Regardless
of development, nearly 13 acres, or 40%,
of the existing tree cover will be permanently
protected with Cottage Knoll.
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The
remaining 20 acres of
tree canopy is spread
across the balance of
the project in varying
densities. Streets have
been carefully designed
to avoid heritage oaks,
oak clusters, & in
many cases, single young
specimens that will become
the heritage trees of
the future. Less than
3 percent of the existing
tree canopy will be removed
for development of community
infrastructure. Once the
roads are complete along
with underground utilities,
almost 93% of the existing
tree canopy will remain.
As
the neighborhood develops,
housing will certainly
take additional trees.
In the desire to maintain
as much native tree cover
as practical, all lots
will be evaluated for
heri-tage trees, rock
outcroppings and significant
tree clusters. Building
envelopes will be tailored
to each lot as appropriate
to preserve healthy specimens.
Pre-liminary efforts in
this regard suggest that
as much as 80% of the
original canopy should
remain when the community
is complete.
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Many
developers realize the role of trees
in the health of the
environment, but few will recognize
the importance of wetlands. Plymouth
Rock Partners wish to set a very high
standard with not only the houses of
Cottage Knoll, but also with their sen-sitivity
to the environment that this development
will strive so hard to protect.
In
recent years, it has become increasingly
clear that wetlands perform very significant
ecological functions. Wetlands mitigate
flooding and erosion. They also facilitate
sediment replenish-ment, provide habitat
for water life, waterfowl, mammals,
& reptiles, all of which are ecologically
important. Wetlands also improve water
quality by removing excess nutrients
& some chemical contaminants.
Cottage
Knoll’s vision for a healthy environment
will insure the
community enjoys the benefits of such
planning for years to come.
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