Dear Stonefield Community residents,
In order to address numerous complaints from Stonefield property
owners about an increasing number of dead trees along Stiles Bee and behind the
patio homes due to overgrowth, vines and the overall unkempt look of the area
along with their encroachment onto private property, the Stonefield board
unanimously decided to move forward with clearing the vast amount of
overgrowth, remove damaged limbs and remove the dead trees. Removing just the dead trees was impossible
and not as cost effective due to the extensive overgrowth. 3 estimates were
procured from landscaping professionals, with another unanimous vote to move
forward with the least expensive landscaper who also happens to have a
longstanding relationship with the neighborhood as our landscaper. The
available budget was and will continue to be a key limiting factor to this
project.
A secondary goal of this
work is to once again make this common area a usable recreation area for the
community that can be maintained in our regular landscaping schedule with
walking trails and open areas for community members to use and enjoy. It was never the intent of the board to
completely clear this portion of common area. Here is the quote with a description of the proposed work.
Unfortunately, the removal work found far more dead and damaged
trees and less viable vegetation than estimated. Many dead trees were
completely covered with vines. This has left more open area and less privacy
screening for patio home residents. While we worked with the contractor to
ensure live and viable trees were saved, there were far fewer healthy trees
than expected.
Moving forward
We have outlined the following options moving forward:
1)
Plant
native tree replacements only; leave for regrowth
If we only do this, it is very likely that we
will not be able to keep out invasive species, including invasive vines and existing and new trees will have a high
risk of a limited lifespan. This
approach will be extremely hard to maintain long term unless strict oversight
over the landscaping company is kept, which is put at risk by annual board
changes.
2) Bring the area back to a maintainable
green space: short term option (medium to high cost)
a. Plant native trees
to begin the long-term process of bringing shade and privacy to this space and
its adjoining residents (fall 2017)
b. Hire contractor to
finalize clearing, leveling and replanting space with grass, & add to
landscaping scope for maintenance of grass
c. Plant native shrubs
for screening (fall 2017)
d. Optional: Add wood
chip walking trails through area (no cost)
e. Optional: Add berms
behind homes without privacy fences to provide noise reduction for patio home
residents
* * This can be done at no cost with wood
chips, allowing the wood chips to break down to dirt over time at which point
they can be planted with native shrubs or grass.
·
* Optionally we can also bring in dirt
to build berms at additional cost, allowing us to plant earlier.
3) Bring the area back to a maintainable
green space: long term solution (lower cost)
a. Plant native trees
to begin the long-term process of bringing shade and privacy to this space and
its adjoining residents (fall 2017)
b. Bring in wood mulch
to cover entire affected area to keep weed regrowth down, the mulch will break
down and amend the soil, allowing time to finalize full additions based on
resident input.
c. This option allows
the budget to be rebuilt.
d. Plant native shrubs
for screening (fall 2017)
e. Anticipated hiring of
landscaper to hydro-seed grass (Fall 2017/Winter/Spring 2018).
f. Optional: Add
berms behind homes without privacy fences to provide noise reduction for patio
home residents
* * This can be done at no cost with wood
chips, allowing the wood chips to break down to dirt over time at which point
they can be planted with native shrubs or grass.
·
* Optionally we can also bring in dirt
to build berms at additional cost, allowing us to plant earlier.
In addition to one of the above options to move this space
forward, additional ideas are being gathered from residents. Ideas submitted
already include adding community gardens, butterfly gardens, disc golf baskets
or a barbeque/pavilion area.
We hope this has addressed some of your concerns and questions
regarding the common area. We have
planned a community meeting for Saturday, May 6th at 2:00 pm at Fort
Johnson Baptist Church located at 1473 Camp Rd. We ask that you bring your ideas for the
future of this particular portion of common area. We plan to begin the slow and thoughtful
process of creating an inviting and usable space which all of us can enjoy in
the near future.
For references relating to the use of berms as noise reduction and
the nitrogen concerns when using wood chips, please see below.
Sincerely,
Stonefield Board of Directors
Lesa Jones, President
Jordy Snyder, Treasurer
Ben Neely, Secretary
Zach McGuin, ARB chair
Jordy Snyder, Treasurer
Ben Neely, Secretary
Zach McGuin, ARB chair
