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03-28-07:~, ., A~inutes o~M~urh Z8, 2007, Ti•ee Consei7~ntion Board t { ~I?d ^ ssasd O CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH '~~ ~''~'"' ~ ~ '~ TREE CONSERVATION BOARD ~~. REGULAR MEETING MINUTES ~Fssr~z~::~J "~ -- March 28, 2007 `o~ A regular meeting of the Tree Conservation Board was held Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at the Adele Grage Cultural Center. Present were Chair Maureen Shaughnessy, Stephanie Catania, Jim McCue, Brea Paul, and City Liaison/Planner Erika Hall. Carole Varney was absent. 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm. 2. Recognition of Visitors There were no visitors present. 3. Approval of Minutes of March 14'h, 2007 Meeting Jim McCue made a motion to approve the minutes from the March 14, 2007 regular meeting. Stephanie Catania seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 4. New Business a. Tree Removal Permits ii. 1710 Park Terrace East (Rastrelli Redevelopment Site) Mike Burrows, representing Fasanelli Development (14603 Beach Blvd, Suite 2000, Jacksonville, FL 32250) appeared before the boards to discuss the requested tree removal permit for the redevelopment of 1710 Park Terrace East. Ms. Hall reported that she had visited the site on Monday 3/19/07 and that everything appeared to be in order. However, Chair Shaughnessy called on Monday 3/26/07 and stated that there were additional trees marked for removal. Ms. Hall contacted Fasanelli Development and requested that someone check the site and revise the application to accurately reflect the trees marked for removal. Mr. Burrows stated that the property owner had marked additional trees over the previous weekend, and that he (Mr. Burrows) would revise the application and return it. Mr. McCue asked why tree #2 (27" Magnolia) was being considered for removal. Mr. Burrows stated that it was close to the proposed driveway and that the property owner had requested its removal. Mr. McCue noted that all the trees listed Page 1 of 5 Minuses o/'A~arch 28, 2007, Ti•ee Conseil>atia- Board for mitigation purposes were mature trees. Chair Shaughnessy explained to Mr. Burrows that the intent of using existing trees for mitigation was to allow younger trees, 4"-6" the opportunity to grow and mature in the absence of the trees permitted for removal. Mr. McCue made a motion that Mr. Burrows be instructed to return to the site and identify 25" of young hardwood trees, sized from 4"-6", to serve as mitigation for the removal of a 27" Magnolia in the exterior zone and a 23" Live Oak in the interior zone. Additionally, Mr. Burrows should locate 10" of Palm to mitigate for the removal of a 20" Palm in the exterior zone. Once Mr. Burrows reports this information back to Ms. Hall, she is directed to issue a tree removal permit for 1710 Park Terrace East, for the removal of 1-20" Palm and 1-27" Magnolia, located in the exterior zone, and 1-23" Live Oak, located in the interior zone, to be mitigated by preservation of 25" of Hardwoods and 10" of Palms. Alternatively, the property owner may pay $4095.00, or $117/inch, into the Tree Fund. This tree removal permit also allows for the removal of 3-9", 2-10", 1-11 ", 1-13", 1- 14", 1-16", and 1-18" Palms, all from the interior zone, with no mitigation required. Stephanie Catania seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. i. 333 11th Street (Menges Residence) The applicant was not in attendance. Ms. Hall reported that she had visited the site on Monday 3/19/07. Ms. Shaughnessy stated that she had visited the site and met the applicant's son there and discussed various landscaping options. Mr. McCue inquired as to the possibility of pruning the 24" Oak, located in the interior and the 20" Oak, located in the rear exterior, so that they might be saved. Ms. Shaughnessy said that in her opinion, pruning the 24" Oak, which hung over the pool, would leave nothing but a trunk. As to the 20" in the rear, Ms. Shaughnessy stated that she saw no reason for removal other than to appease neighbors to the east. She said that pruning the eastern side of the tree could be an option. Ms. Paul asked if the applicant might consider a pool cage, to eliminate the problem of leaves falling in the pool. Ms. Catania inquired about mitigation, at which point Ms. Hall and Ms. Shaughnessy pointed out that the applicant was going to install a pool perimeter fence only and that did not meet the $10,000.00 threshold which mandated mitigation. Page 2 of 5 Mr-~utes ojMardt 28, 2007, Ti•ee Conse-7~a~ion Bo~~•~! Ms. Catania made a motion that Ms. Hall issue a tree removal permit for 333 11th Street, for the removal of 1-10", 1-18" and 1-24" Oak, located in the interior, and 1-8", 1-10" and 2-20" Oaks, located in the exterior, with no mitigation required. Additionally, Ms. Hall is directed to recommend that the applicant consult with a Certified Arborist to seek alternatives to the removal of the Oaks (especially the 20" in the rear exterior), as the lend much to the quality of life and character of the neighborhood. Mr. McCue seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 5. Old Business None. 6. Reports & Announcements a. Mitigation i. 1680 Jordan Street Ms. Hall reported that she had written/sent a letter via certified mail to Ms. Doctor on 3!21/07. Board members acknowledged the copy provided in their meeting packets. Ms. Hall said that Ms. Doctor had come by City Hall on 3/27/07 after receiving her letter. She stated that she had had phone problems and was unable to retrieve messages and thus did not know that Ms. Hall had been trying to contact her. Ms. Doctor stated that she had gotten 6 trees from the tree give-away that Board Member Carole Varney (absent) had told her about. She planted four (4) in the front yard and two (2) in the back yard. All are approximately 6' tall and 2-3" in diameter. Mr. McCue questioned whether Ms. Doctor was aware that those trees were inadequate to serve as mitigation because they were under the 4" requirement. Ms Hall said that she had been told that Ms. Doctor had been provided with a copy of the tree ordinance and thus assumed that Ms. Doctor was aware of the mitigation requirements. However, Ms. Hall stated that Ms. Doctor had inquired if she would be required to plant more trees. Ms. Hall told Ms. Doctor that she was merely the staff liaison to the Tree Board, and she would have to confer with them as to her mitigation requirements. Mr. McCue stated that this situation had gone on long enough -nearly six months - and that it was time to get it off the table. The Tree Board had considered every possible alternative, but they are in no position to do anything other than what the ordinance provides. All present agreed. Page 3 of 5 Miau~es of Mm•c% 28, 2007, Ti•ee Conse~l~ntion Boa~•d Mr. McCue made a motion that Ms. Hall inform the members of the City Commission of the situation and seek guidance as to how it should be resolved. Ms. Catania seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. ii. 589 W 14~h Street Ms. Hall reported to the Board that she had researched the last 10 years of Tree Board Minutes, along with hardcopy files for this address. She found that Mr. Russell had met his mitigation requirements, with payment of $3000.00 to the Tree Fund (April 17, 2000 TB Minutes) and payment of $6600.00 to the Tree Fund on May 29, 2007. iii. 105 W 6`n Street, Lots 1-6 Ms. Hall reported to the Board that she had confirmed with the Building Department that the structure located on Lot 5 had been CO'd. She then sent a certified letter to the owner of record, Ms. Loretta Nedeau, care of Mr. George Van Dusen, on 3/21/07. On 3/23/07, Mr. Van Dusen came to City Hall and spoke with Ms. Hall, stating that Ms. Nedeau was deceased and that he was the property owner. Mr. Van Dusen said that only Lot 5 had been developed and that he would make application to the tree board again before development of the other lots. Ms. Shaughnessy noted that all the lots have been cleared of the trees requested for removal in the previous applications and that none of the mitigation has been met. Ms. Hall told the Board that she had been unable to locate copies of the Tree Removal Permit applications and therefore could not be sure of what had existed then versus what existed now, and subsequently could not build a case against the owner for failure to mitigate. Ms Shaughnessy stated that she still had copies of the applications and would bring them to Ms. Hall. Mr. McCue made a motion that Ms. Hall should contact the City Attorney to request that he write a letter to the property owner stating that mitigation must be met by a particular date, and if such mitigation is not met, liens will be placed against all properties such that no closings could occur on the properties until mitigation had been met. Ms. Catania seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Page 4 of 5 Minutes of M~a•dt 28, 2007, Ti•ee Conse~7~ation Board b. Other i. 871 Sherry Street -pool/pavers permit(s) Ms. Hall reported to the Board that she had verified with the Building Department that a permit for the pool & pavers installation (#06 34310) was pulled on 11/29/2006. ii. 4001500/534/574 Stocks Street -construction of swale Ms. Hall reported to the Board that she had conveyed concerns regarding the destruction of neighboring tree root systems to Director of Public Works Rick Carper, who checked and replied that no damage had been done but that he would continue to watch. 7. Adjournment Mr. McCue made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:11 pm. The motion was seconded by Stephanie Catania and passed unanimously. C-~l ~~ ~ ~~ Ul G l ~.-z ~u~ ~-~-~ Chair ~~ Da Page 5 of 5