“There’s a tremendous amount of concern,” said Bill Padgett, whose property abuts the same intersection.
The planned logging was reduced to 12 acres to keep the impact focused on the development area, Halme said. The rest of the property would remain in forestry, he said, and clustering homes in one place puts less strain on the environment and the services such a development would require.
“Environmentally, it’s a much better idea than scattering five-acre lots throughout the forest,” Halme said.
Many of the neighboring properties are five acres or more. The area is zoned as rural residential.
Padgett and others say they recognize a private property can be used as the owner sees fit, within applicable rules. But apparent errors on the HFI application have raised red flags, he said.
For example, some documents in the county’s application file still list the old property owner. And in the original proposal, the application estimated that logging 32 acres would yield 800 board feet of timber — a number far too low for a harvest of that size.
County forester Jim Vandling of the Department of Environmental Services said the initial number should have been 800,000 board feet. Reducing the logged area to 12 acres should drop the estimated volume by half or more, Halme said. But the amended application still used the too-low estimate of 800 board feet.
“Basically what we all want them to do is follow the letter of the law,” said A.J. Niebauer, another neighbor. “I think that’s what we’re looking for as a community.”
Said Padgett: “I view these folks (the county) as the people’s safeguards.”
As currently proposed, the tree cutting would only happen outside of critical natural areas, Vandling said. The county’s environmental compliance standards “far exceed” state rules for such projects, he added.
If all requirements are met, a permit for the logging could be issued within two weeks, Vandling said. The housing development will require a separate application and public review process, he said.