Small whorled pogonia is one of the two endangered plant species on a property slated for development off Shackleford Ridge Road. (Contributed photo)Safety Concerns
With seven driveway access points planned for the subdivison’s eight lots, some residents spoke to the Planning Commission about worries that increased traffic might pose a threat to children at nearby Nolan Elementary School.Derek Blackwood, an engineer at MAP Engineers who is working with the developer, assured the Planning Commission that the seven lots wouldn’t generate enough in-and-out traffic to warrant concern and said the turnaround location in each lot would increase safety by eliminating the need to back out of the driveway, but residents like Anne Hagood want to make sure every precaution is taken.“I’m not opposed to additional development,” Hagood said. “Let’s just do it right.”
After hearing community concerns about the two endangered plant species on land along Shackleford Ridge Road that's slated for development, the developers at GreenTech Homes have agreed to precautions that may save both.
The small whorled pogonias and large-flowered skullcaps present there are, respectively, listed as endangered and threatened under the Tennessee Rare Plant Protection and Conservation Act of 1985, and area naturalists have kept an especially close watch on the orchid of pogonias, which is fragile and harder to move.
"It's very specific. It's got to have certain types of fungi," said Bill Phillips, a senior partner at Envision Ecology who helped perform environmental mitigation for projects such as Amazon and VW locally. He was one of several residents who came to voice concerns at the Planning Commission's September meeting, when GreenTech's preliminary plans for eight single-family homes on the site came up for approval.
In order to ensure the safety of both plants, the developer has agreed to transplant the skullcap, which is currently inhabiting two lots on the overall 19.2-acre property, and will coordinate with a Master Gardener to have the pogonia, which inhabits one lot, transplanted to an appropriate location off-site.
"We feel like this is the best alternative to maintain the survivability of the plants," Derek Blackwood, an engineer at MAP Engineers who is working with the developer, told the Planning Commission.
Blackwood said GreenTech has also agreed to postpone development on the lots housing the endangered plants until next summer, when the plants are in bloom, to ensure the entirety of both species can be properly identified and relocated. Phillips underlined the importance of this step by explaining that the pogonia does not show up every year, as it needs the right conditions to bloom, meaning there might be undiscovered groves of pogonia on the lot waiting to bloom.
"You can't just go out there and look at this plant," Phillips told the Planning Commission. "[But] we can guarantee you it's there, and we can guarantee that with several experts."
Phillips hopes to see a Master Gardener with orchid experience carefully extract a 10-foot-wide, 4-foot-deep piece of land where the pogonia's seeds would have been dispersed and move it to a greenhouse.
"If everything worked out, that person might be able to produce a lot of these plants," Phillips said, adding that he had already been notified of a few redistribution locations with similar habitats. "I think that's, by far, the best plan."
Based on other required changes to the plans, the Planning Commission deferred approval, though the site is already zoned for residential homes. GreenTech will bring its tweaked plans before the Planning Commission in November. The Planning Commission meets the first Thursday of each month at Signal Mountain Town Hall at 6 p.m.
Email Myron Madden at mmadden@timesfreepress.com.