Residential development
It was clear early on that preservation of mature trees in tight spaces in the front and rear yards as desired was not the answer. Following a series of design exercises the landscape architects proposed a solution that committed specified blocks of mature trees to preservation rather than a hit and miss, lot by lot approach. A total of 6 lots were sacrificed and conveyed to the City as forested open space. All disturbed residual land from site servicing was also extensively remediated. The balance of lots were developed for executive housing in a conventional fashion resulting in a considerable net environmental benefit with no prolonged assumption process connected to dead or dying trees.
Simcoe Shores phase 2 is a unique example of a collaborative effort between developer, planners and landscape architects. It starts with a heavily forested site, a part lot control by-law and site specific zoning aimed at saving as many mature trees within the development envelope as possible. Add to this a high water table and very porous sandy soils.
