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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPleasant Grove Lane Homeowners Association.PDFPleasant Grove L e Hom own Bruce Ganem 'Past President Ms. llate Supron, lvlayor Village of Cayuga Heights 836 Flanshaw Roacl Ithaca, NY 14850 Dear Ms. Supron: .[ am rvriting on betralf of the Homeow rooncerns over recent logging activities nesultrld in several adverse environmen tlattached) by Mr. dndr6 Bensadoun. lFirst, the steep south slope of the ce lifteen large oak and cherry trees, some oontracted to remo\/e them. Most of the 3 Pleasant Groae Lane Ithaca, NY 14850 February l4th,20Il dumping excess earth from new graves rnade the hillside in question much stee ;;rounrl cover, soil erosion and mudsli fiecond, the stream at the base of the sl branches both from harvested trees and concerned that the wood and brush debri the flow and potentially cause flooding, {-- N{embers: Browning;, Ganem, Corson, piir rs Association of Pleasant Grove Lane to express our r the Pleasant Grove Cemetery. The logging has I effects that are documented in a recent report VCH forester. 'y's premises has been destabilized by the removal of early 150 years old, according to the logger who was es left standing are dead. Moreover, years of well as grass, leaves and other organic matter) have r. Unless the area is replenished with trees and other can be expected as a result of rain and melting snow. in question is now encumbered with large limbs and >s that were damaged by felled trees. We are encroaching on the stream buffer zone will obstruct ream erosion and other damage to the environment. llhird, the logger left several massive pil{s of large limbs and branches scattered around theCemetery's south slope- This highly co$bustiblJ wood detritus represents a significant firehLazard, which if ignited, could burnthe fntire south slope of the Cemetery, risking severalnearby homes on Plreasant Grove Lane, tll,re VCH barn and some homes on Sheldon Road. It is ourr understanding that the vcH tras [tre responsibility and authority to monitor, prevent ando'versee erosion control. We therefore re{uest thit the Viilage engineer conduct a detailedirrspecttion of the affected area to confirrn]the environmentaiissues outlined above. we furtherrrequest that the VCI{ then contact Mr. Jeffrey True, President of the Cemetery Association, toarrange for the necerssary remediations (dutlined in the Village Forester's report; to be conductedas soon as possible. cro: VCH Trustees and Engineer strup-Anderson, Atkins, Cunningham, Rhodes From: Andre Benrsadoun [mailto:<mai 1."! Sarurday, February 05,2011 4:To: I'r.ate Supron; .<mailio: betf, O U.ing Cc : <mailto: beth @ bethganem. Subjecfi RE: plear;ant Grove Cemetery Hi Kate: o: ab55 @ cornell. edu>ab55 @ cornell. edul PM em. com>beth @ bethganem. com @bethganem.com I met this morning with Beth Ganem unt:oT: other neighbors on pleasant Grove Lane. They'were very coflcorfl€:d that the Cemetery {dministration ha'a nroceerierr in n'rri--!r vrv Ywrr v\r'uer'cu mat tne uemetery fdministration had proceeded in cutting;"*;;.;; ,[?iliiffii#:'*ljfj]::t.::,::,:',.yhgF;l-Tr,",,-i,""o doubt that the tree curting has arnaj or vi s ual i mpac* and more"s"ri o urrv f o"li ;;#;l;. #ffi"#T:,ffJtr #jlT"in " ilhfffi|lJlfii#llffJ#J;:#*if "{'* nalira, over trre vears, on the upper side orthe the hill side. d'ulres nave oeen dunfped contributing to the instability of the upp., part oi IrortunLately some large oak trees and blafk :1..y,r,r"."s remain on the side of the stream. Theywill serve as seed trees in the future. I in]spected utt tn" area affected by the logging operation.siome areas have currently u u"ry heauY to;graee of branches. some are just,,brush,,other areb'ranches as large as 8 inches in oiameie.l T$ *urirri, -orning an individuar hired by the ;tffiil1fX',|.j'J,:jtte wood' He indicaied to me,rruirr"-*ould iemove all branches rarger than I suggest the following remediation plan: The_ small branches remaining on the site could beground' Those too large to be processed fould b";;il;laced in direct contact with theground perpendicular to the slope. contaj.t with.the ground will accelerate wood decay andrecycle nutrients. severat u."u, huu. .unl.i.ni-tigii;;ii;* successfut planting of trees. A mix ;llTj':fi:"i,jL,,1T;,..1":{::"1ii1ilr,.*ay spruces coutd be planted. rhe pin oaks courd beplanted closer to the stream bed. rhe nlf :*i.ir;;;;;iliJ "ffi'Il r.#'$io":f'J;[Ii"o'rcrad' T'he trees fromL RPM are 3 to 4feet tall. Thes.e trees presumabry have a very strong roots)'stem and grow faster than trees from other nu.r"rilr. -iiitr.., come in pots are easiryplanted' The trees shtould be planted *i,h ,rr. prot..to., und plastic mats at the base of the treesto minimize competition wittrgrasses and shrubs. In most sites the soil is .urLuy rich inorganic matter and will be favorable to ra$id ,rr" gro*ih. it. logger construcieo a logging roadat the t.p of the hill side that will facilitatd access of a tractor and grinding equipment. The workshould be started as early as possible in ttre spring. on." irr. work is finished, areas with ,i|t:rlb.|,,Xioil and the roggins roao itseir rhouro ;, ,..o;l *irh g.u* ro prevent sol runoff inro I vrill ber glad to discuss the plan further. Best regards Anrdr6