Thursday, January 29, 2009

What does a 2:1 compacted slope look like?


Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 27. 2009. Menlo Property on Riverside Drive north of Fletcher. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Menlo Property (above) is a good example of a landscaped and maintained, 2:1 compacted fill slope. Even six years since it was landscaped, little grows except ground cover. Only a few trees, planted after the soil compaction, survived. This is what we have to look forward to on the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract if the proposed 16-lot subdivision gains final approvals.

You could use the drainage benches for recreational access, but you better be awfully fit as they are steeper than they look.

Would it really be an improvement over the natural hillside as it looks from Corralitas Drive, Lake View Ave. and Silver Ridge Ave.? (See photo below.)


Photo: Diane Edwardson. Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract as seen from Corralitas Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)