MEMORANDUM

TO: City Council

FROM: David J. Deutsch, City Manager

SUBJECT: Hohensee Property DATE: 10/2/02
State Highway Administration (SHA) Forest Mitigation
_____________________________________________________________________________

I. Background

In October 2000, Council adopted the City's Forest Mitigation Sites Policies and City-Owned Inventory. The purpose of the policies and inventory is for staff to facilitate forest mitigation on City-owned sites, first for the City's own forest mitigation needs, second, to other public agencies, and third, to the development community and other private property owners having plans in the development review pipeline within the City and Planning Area. The policies in this program are found in Attachment 1.

The Forest Mitigation Sites Policies and City-Owned Inventory is intended to complement the County's Woodland Conservation/Tree Preservation Ordinance (WC/TP) and the State's Forest Conservation Act (FCA). By County standards, a City-owned site used for forest mitigation will have a conservation easement established on it to identify the "mitigation" area. A conservation easement is the legal instrument that creates the mitigation area on a record plat of a particular site. Conservation easements are long-term encumbrances that make an area of a site no longer available for any other type of land use other than the forest mitigation.

In early 2001, a consultant for the State Highway Administration (SHA) contacted the City as to the availability of forest mitigation sites in the City's inventory. The consultant is involved in the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project. Based on forest removal associated with the bridge project, the SHA is required to mitigate approximately 100 acres of forest inside the "Critical Area" in compliance with the State's regulations. The Critical Area is defined as land within 1,000 feet of a river that is a tributary to the Chesapeake Bay. In this instance, the acreage of forestland being removed for the bridge project at the Potomac River must be mitigated within the Critical Area of the same river or another reasonably close river in relation to where the forest removal occurs. The State's Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission oversees compliance with State law when a project site disturbs wetlands and/or woodland inside the Critical Area. A portion of one of the City's three farm tracts, the Hohensee property (see Attachment 2), is located within the Critical Area along the Patuxent River. The SHA proposes to mitigate 30 acres at the Hohensee property (see Attachment 3).

The City allows other parties to use portions of the Hohensee site by written lease and non-lease agreements. These users include a local Boy Scout Troop for overnight camping and scouting exercises and an area farmer for farming of soy and corn crops. The City also has a written agreement with the Prince George's Radio Control Club, since April 1992, allowing the members to use 5.78 acres to operate radio-controlled model aircraft. The 5.78 acres used by the Club are adjacent to the proposed forest mitigation area for the SHA. The City has also used the Hohensee site for forest mitigation as three other City sites were developed. Forest mitigation at the site has been in compliance with the County's Woodland Conservation/Tree Preservation Ordinance. These forest mitigation areas have been for: Black Sox Park in 1994 (4.74 acres of reforestation planting and 0.67 acres of onsite retention), the City Gymnasium (1.05 acres of onsite retention) and in 2001 the Bogley property (29.28 acres of onsite retention). A Tree Conservation Plan (TCP Phase II) was prepared for the Hohensee site in 1994. The TCP was last revised in January 2002 and approved by Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission's (M-NCPPC) Environmental Planning staff in February 2002, allowing for onsite reforestation mitigation associated with the Bogley property.

Mr. Sam Wynkoop, a Critical Area Commissioner and Director of the Prince George's County's Department of Environmental Resources has tracked the review and consideration of the Hohensee site for the possible forest mitigation by the SHA for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project. Last month, the City received a letter of support from Mr. Wynkoop that summarizes how forest mitigation at the Hohensee site is an ideal location consistent with the Critical Area Commission's goals (see Attachment 4).

II. Analysis

Use of the Hohensee site for 30 acres of forest mitigation by the SHA is consistent with the spirit and intent of the City's Forest Mitigation Sites Policies and Inventory. In 2001, after the SHA approached the City about possible mitigation at the site, the City had a feasibility study prepared. The study included an in-depth look at potential uses at the site, especially the portion inside the Critical Area. The study recommended use of forest mitigation inside the Critical Area at a higher price per acre than suggested in the City's Forest Mitigation Policies (see Attachment 1, Policy 9). The SHA had the proposed forest mitigation area appraised in relation to current market prices for similar land uses (i.e. forest mitigation in the Critical Area). The SHA is offering to pay the City $13,833.33 per acre. Therefore, the total cost to the SHA for the 30 acres of forest mitigation at the Hohensee site is $415,000.00. SHA representatives have indicated they will pay the City within 60 days of signing a formal agreement for the use of the Hohensee site for forest mitigation. As stipulated in Policy 9 of the Forest Mitigation Sites Policies and Inventory, these funds from the SHA will be deposited in the City's Land Acquisition account.

Members of the Radio Control Club were made aware of the possible use of the Hohensee site by the SHA for forest mitigation. Club Board members objected to the proposed forest mitigation area because, in their opinion, part of it would impact their ability to operate the model airplanes and the typical flight path as young trees matured. In order to accommodate the Club's activities, a five acre portion of the original 30 acres will be relocated to the southwest, beyond the Critical Area. To accomplish this, a compromise was reached with the Critical Area Commission staff to have the City provide for the preservation of a 33 acre forested area between the 25 acre and five acre parcels. Our revenue from the State will remain at $415,000. Attachment 5 is a draft exhibit showing the two modified forest mitigation areas for the SHA. The two forest mitigation areas will be identified on the Hohensee site's TCP as being within two separate conservation easements. Critical Area Commission staff is recommending the conservation easements for the SHA should be held with the Maryland Environmental Trust (MET).

It is important to note that the City will not lose the ability to establish a separate conservation easement on the existing forest area in the future. Therefore, there will be no loss of potential future mitigation revenue on the 33 acre connecting parcel. M-NCPPC Environmental Planning staff confirmed that the City could connect the two forest mitigations areas with the 33 acre forested area, which is not in a conservation easement at this time. Environmental Planning staff did stipulate that the City would have to revise the Hohensee TCP to add a notation as to the connecting forest area and show the two conservation easements for the SHA mitigation. Critical Area Commission staff presented a recommendation to the Commission on Wednesday, October 2 to approve the two modified forest mitigation areas needed by the SHA along with the preservation of the connecting parcel. The Commission approved the mitigation plan as proposed.

Part of the City's review of the mitigation proposal included commenting on the proposed list of tree species/plant materials. The City Arborist and M-NCPPC Environmental Planning staff both reviewed the tree/plant list (see Attachment 6). Both support the tree species and plant material proposed for the site. Some of the trees along the northern edge of the 25-acre mitigation area will be native shrubs instead of trees, since the latter would have grown to heights having an impact on the model aircrafts' flight path. All of the trees and shrub materials will be native species in compliance with the City's Forest Mitigation Policies. Pending approval by the City Council, the SHA's consultant intends to have the two forest mitigation areas planted in Fall, 2003.

The SHA proposal meets the City's criteria for use as a forest mitigation site. The City's TCP for the Hohensee site will have to be revised to identify the two forest mitigation areas for the SHA and the forested area intended to connect the two conservation easements. The City's connecting portion should be identified on the revised TCP as a forest mitigation bank area to be used at a later date by the City. The State's consultant and our Public Works Department will work together to revise our TCP to reflect the two forest mitigation areas as well as the City's forested connecting portion as a forest mitigation bank for future use by the City.

III. Recommendation

Because the proposal meets the City's requirements, staff recommends the SHA's proposal to mitigate 30 acres of forest for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project at the City-owned Hohensee site be APPROVED, subject to M-NCPPC approval of the revisions to the City's TCP for the Hohensee site as noted above.

Attachments