August 14, 2024 Planning Board Special Meeting Transcript - WEHI

39 (Pages 150 to 153)39 (Pages 150 to 153) Page 150 1 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: No, not yet. 2 MS. BENNETT: Okay. 3 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Go for it. 4 MR. PLOCKER: All right. Thank you, 5 Chairman Bagoff. I just want to make sure that Mr. 6 Appel testified this evening and at the last meeting 7 in his capacity as an architect. He is now fielding 8 questions regarding wetlands delineation and I 9 believe Mr. -- 10 MS. BENNETT: I didn't ask about 11 delineation, sir. 12 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Okay, let him 13 finish, please. 14 MS. BENNETT: I don't want him to 15 misstate what I said. 16 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: You could -- you'll 17 have time afterwards. Let him finish, please. 18 MS. BENNETT: Okay. 19 MR. PLOCKER: And if I misspoke, my 20 apologies, ma'am, but Mr. Appel testified in his 21 capacity as an architect. He is not an 22 environmental professional, he never made himself 23 out to be one in his testimony. I believe his 24 testimony was that he designs the buildings and 25 places them where other professionals told him to Page 152 1 in this audience who asked some questions that it 2 sounds like should have been permitted to -- at 3 least to inquire, and if he could answer, he should 4 answer. 5 Okay. So -- so in your training and 6 experience, if you were asked to design a plan for a 7 dangerous location or that would be dangerous to an 8 environmental condition -- 9 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Okay, I'm going to 10 stop you right there. You can ask about this 11 location, you can ask about his testimony; we're not 12 going into hypotheticals, okay? 13 MS. BENNETT: Okay. 14 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: I just want to focus 15 because the people in the audience have questions 16 about this location, not a hypothetical. Okay? 17 MS. BENNETT: Okay, no problem. 18 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Thank you. 19 MS. BENNETT: You've drawn plans 20 within seven feet of a ridgeline or a steep slope? 21 MR. APPEL: So the ridgeline in here 22 was a -- the ridgeline was a part of the ordinance 23 identifying a ridgeline and there were dimensions 24 that located the building in accordance with that 25 ridgeline, so that was one of the metrics that we Page 151 1 place them, and that was his testimony. 2 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Okay. Thank you. 3 MS. BENNETT: So, just in response, 4 Mr. Appel, if you know, are you required by your 5 licensure, by your profession, to consider negative 6 environmental impacts when you render designs? 7

nk you. 3 MS. BENNETT: So, just in response, 4 Mr. Appel, if you know, are you required by your 5 licensure, by your profession, to consider negative 6 environmental impacts when you render designs? 7 Simple question. 8 MR. APPEL: So what I indicated is 9 that -- 10 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Could you speak into 11 the microphone, sir? 12 MR. APPEL: What I indicated is the 13 information was provided by -- by the team and my 14 responsibility is to follow applicable laws and 15 regulations that govern the design of this project. 16 MS. BENNETT: And when I asked you 17 laws like the Protection of Wetlands Act, when I 18 asked you laws about steep slope, when I asked you, 19 like, laws about ridgeline, or when I asked you laws 20 like the tree ordinance, I thought you agreed that 21 you had to follow all those laws. 22 MS. McGOVERN: He did. 23 MS. BENNETT: That's what I thought. 24 Okay, okay, so then I'll just continue with the 25 questions. My only point was that there were people Page 153 1 were instructed to follow. 2 MS. BENNETT: Okay. Seven feet from 3 the ridgeline, at least in one point, the largest 4 building? 5 MR. APPEL: That was represented as 6 the pinch point to the ridgeline. 7 MS. BENNETT: Is that a yes? Seven 8 feet from the ridgeline at some point in the 9 building? 10 MR. APPEL: It's shown as seven feet 11 to -- to that -- the ridgeline, which is basically a 12 line on a drawing. 13 MS. BENNETT: Has this project 14 minimized the impact upon the trees? 15 MR. APPEL: My opinion is there was a 16 lot of areas of the site that were preserved. That 17 was an important portion of the design. As far as 18 where all the trees are and how that was done, that 19 was a real part of the site engineering and site 20 design. 21 MS. BENNETT: Has your design 22 minimized the negative impact on the ridgeline? 23 MR. APPEL: I don't know what the 24 negative impact of the ridgeline would be. 25 MS. BENNETT: All right, so I'll ask a