07-02-90 v MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION HELD AT 7:30 PM ON MONDAY, JULY 2, 1990, AT CITY HALL,
ATLANTIC BEACH
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Gulliford. Present in addition
to the Mayor, were Commissioners Cook, Edwards, and Tucker. Also
present were City Manager Leinbach and City Clerk King. Members of the
Tree Conservation Board and Beautification Committee were also in
attendance. Commissioner Weldon was absent.
The meeting was held for the purpose of discussions with members of the
Tree Conservation Board and Beautification Committee regarding
amendments to the city's tree ordinance.
Mayor Gulliford reviewed the tree ordinance as it read prior to passage
of Ordinance No. 95-89-44 in January 1990. Ordinance No. 95-90-47 which
had failed to pass after public hearing in May 1990 was the subject of
discussions this evening. The Mayor confirmed that all five members of
the Tree Conservation Board were in attendance.
The ordinance was reviewed systematically, page by page.
Page 3. Under the definition of "tree," some concern was expressed
that the trunk diameter had been reduced from 6" in the previous
ordinance to 4 1/2".
Page 4. Peggy Cornelius felt the reporting required in paragraph (f)
was far beyond what should be expected of the Tree Conservation Board.
It was the general consensus the Tree Conservation Board should provide
to the City Commission an annual report on matters which had come before
them but that such report would not be required to be a scientific study
or tree inventory. After a lengthy discussion, the third sentence of
this paragraph was amended to read "The board shall review the overall
status of tree care in the city and submit an annual report to the City
Commission discussing progress, problems and needs relevant to tree
protection, maintenance, removal and planting at no direct cost to the
city." Discussion also ensued regarding the final sentence of that
paragraph and Ms. Cornelius said it was her opinion the same species of
trees would not be suitable for all areas of the city. After further
discussion the final sentence of that paragraph was amended to read "The
board shall prepare a list of trees suitable for planting in Atlantic
Beach.
In discussion regarding Section 23-18, Perry Odom of the JEA said he
felt it was unrealistic for the JEA to apply for a permit for each tree
to be trimmed and noted that the current ordinance exempts a 10-ft.
clearance zone for trimming around existing power lines.
Discussion then ensued regarding Section 23-19 (a) and (b) it was the
general consensus that the board should make decisions regarding removal
of trees of unique or special character and the words "or its appointed
designee" were deleted from (b) .
Page Two
Minutes of Meeting of Committee of the Whole
July 2, 1990
Page 5. Mayor Gulliford said he had received more comments and
concerns about section (c) than any other section of the ordinance. Jim
Pelkey, 1887 Beach Avenue, asked whether builders who removed trees to
build a house would be required to replace those trees. It was the
general consensus this section was intended to relate only to already
developed property but the ordinance was not clear on that point. After
further discussion, Lyman Fletcher of the Beautification Committee, said
he felt that Sections 23-19 and 23-20 applied to removal and replacement
on already developed property and Sections 23-21 through 23-23 applied
to new construction. He felt the ordinance needed to be clarified on
these points.
After further discussion it was apparent that the ordinance needed
further study. Mayor Gulliford said since the city had passed an
ordinance in January providing considerable tree protection he did not
feel there was any urgency to pass an amendment and requested that this
ordinance be rewritten as objectively as possible with as little as
possible left to the interpretation of a future board. Perry Odom of
the JEA said he had been involved with the writing of the Jacksonville
tree protection ordinance and would be willing to work with the
committee to rewrite this ordinance.
Mayor Gulliford also pointed out a few typographical errors and other
minor points which should be corrected or clarified. The remaining
sections of the ordinance were reviewed briefly. Commissioner Cook
suggested the rewritten version be divided into articles, one article to
deal with homeowners, one article to address builders, and another
article to address public properties, or similar.
Page 7. In discussion regarding protective barricades, it was pointed
out that it would not always be practical to protect the tree to the
drip line. Mr. Odom said in many cases tree roots did not reach the
drip line and sometimes they spread beyond the drip line. He felt a
reasonable distance from the trunk could be determined.
Lyman Fletcher invited anyone interested to attend the meetings of the
committee for the rewriting of the ordinance and Commissioner Cook asked
that notices of meetings be published so members of the City Commission
could attend without fear of violating the Government in the Sunshine
Law.
Barbara Hopson, 760 Sherry Drive, commended the City Commission on its
objectivity and said she felt Atlantic Beach was in very good hands.
There being no further discussion, the Mayor declared the meeting
adjourned at 9:50 PM.
Maureen King, City Clerk