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06-13-07' S ~,f rL`J j.~y~ ~~t~ '^' ~ 7 r~ yr ~Jii ~~' ATLANTIC BEACH TREE CONSERVATION BOARD 800 Seminole Road, Atlantic Beach, Florida 32233 (904) 270-] 605 [phone) (904) 247-5845 [fax] Website: http://www.coab.us/index.asp?nid=55 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TREE CONSERVATION BOARD June 13, 2007 A regular meeting of the Tree Conservation Board was conducted at 7:OOpm on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 in the Adele Grage Cultural Center, located at 716 Ocean Boulevarr~ Atlantic Beach. Chairperson Maureen Shaughnessy adjourned the meeting at 8:45pm. I. TO ORDER &. ROLL CALL: Chairperson Maureen Shaughnessy called the meeting to order at ?:OOpm. Present: Maureen Shaughnessy, Stephanie Catania, Jim McCue, Brea Paul, and City Liaison/Planner Erika. Hall Absent: Cazole Varney and Recording Secretary Jessica Morales II. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS: None III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Stephanie Catania made a motion to approve the minutes from the May 23'a 2007 regular meeting. Jim McCue seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. IV. NEW BUSINESS a. Tree Removal Permits: None b. Exempt Tree Removals: None c. Unlawful Tree Removals i. 420 Whiting (1- 30" Cedar) City Liaison Erika Hall informed the boazd that she had been notified by Code Enforcement Officer Alex Sherrer of the removal of a 30" Cedar from the property located at 420 Whiting. The property currently has building permits pulled (October 5, 2006) for the addition of a "Florida Room". Ms. Hall directed the boazd members to copies of the letter distributed them, and sent via certified mail to the owner of record. In that letter, pertinent passages from Chapter 23, Article II ("Tree Protection") of the Code of Ordinances were cited to the property owner, and the a request was made that the owner appeaz before the Tree Conservation Boazd at the June 13~' meeting. Ms. Hall noted that she had not yet received a return receipt for the delivery of that certified letter. Mr. McCue asked what the step would be, to Page 1 of 4 Minutes of the Tree Conservation Board Meeting -June J3, 2007 which Ms. Hall replied that the case would be turned over to Code Enforcement for non-compliance and non-responsiveness. Mr. McCue asked what the status of the work was, to which Ms. Hall replied that she thought it might be nearing completion. Mr. McCue strongly suggested that the Building Official be requested to issue a "Stop Work" order. Ms. Hall replied that she would discuss the matter with Code Enforcement to determine the proper procedure. Y. OLD BUSINESS a. Mitigation i. 105 6"' Street, Lots 1-6 (Van Dusen) Grant and Roger Van Dusen were present, representing their father George Van Dusen, and seeking resolution to the mitigation of trees removed from the above-stated property. Grant Van Dusen presented a revised spreadsheet and tree survey of the six (6) lots, noting trees not formerly indicated on the previous survey. Mr. (Grant) Van Dusen demonstrated a number of standing trees, totaling 597.67 inches. This number proved to be in excess of the 343.50 inches removed during the construction of the swale that runs across the rear of all six lots and the house located on Lot 5. Mr. McCue asked who had conducted the survey, to which Mr. Van Dusen replied that he had. Mr. McCue expressed concern that the survey of such a lazge development azea was not undertaken by a professional surveyor. Board members discussed that the use of a certified or professional surveyor is not currently required by Code, to which Mr. McCue suggested that future revisions to the Code might look at making that a requirement of development sites over a particulaz size or intensity. Stephanie Catania agreed that for lazge sites and commercial sites, survey standards should be higher, however, the average property owner should be able to complete their own survey. Mr. (Roger) Van Dusen stated that the survey was done with as much accuracy as possible and assured the Boazd that they (the Van Dusens) had absolutely no reason to be dishonest in their submittal. Mr. Van Dusen assured the Board that his family sincerely wanted to rectify this issue. Boazd members agreed that the surplus of standing trees offset the deficit created by the removal of trees for the installation of the swale. Members discussed whether some additional action or vote need to be taken on this matter, however it was decided that only a letter need to be issued to the Van Dusens, for the record, finding that they had met mitigation requirements. The Boazd directed Ms. Hall to compose such a letter. Page 2 of 4 Minutes of the Tree Conservation Board Meeting -June 13, 2007 ii. Stocks Street (R/E Home Investors) Ms. Hall stated that she never did receive a return receipt for the certified letter sent to the property owners/developers. However, when she was preparing to post the letter on door and turn the case over to Code Enforcement, she received an email from Public Works Director Rick Carper who stated that the large piles of dirt previously smothering trees in the right of way had been spread. Additionally, Mr. Carper stated that pipes were being run and the sites were being tied in to the City. Mr. Carper recommended that Ms. Hall wait until this work was complete before re-assessing the entire site for mitigation, given that thane trees, formerly designated for protection, were most likely dead from being under the dirt for over two (2} months. Chairperson Shaughnessy, who lives near the site, stated that the shearing of roots during the cutting of the "ditch" had resulted in detriment to trees located on adjacent backyard properties. Ms. Shaughnessy stated that one neighbor had to have a tree removed when the shearing caused it to start leaning severely, threatening structural damage. Ms. Hall said that she would look into the status of the City hook-up and see what recourse the neighbor might have, though she suspects that that would be a civil matter between the two property owners. VI. REPORTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS a. Review & Discussion: Chapter 23, Article II of the City of Atlantic Beach Code of Ordinances, regarding Tree Protection Ms. Hall provided each Board member with an up-to-date copy of the Code, the last ordinance affecting change to the Code, as well as a copy of the list of suggested trees. On previous occasions, the Board has briefly discussed various items of the Code that seem to be problematic or need to be refined. Thus Ms. Hall suggested that the members take the time to carefully review existing code and begin making notes as to items they would like to address. Ms. Hall stated that she had been doing research into codes and ordinances utilized by other municipalities. Additionally, she reported that she has purchased, out of her own pocket, software called "TreeOrd" that contains over 1800 items from over 200 ordinances from azound the country. Though she has not yet examined the program, apparently, it is seazchable and allows the writer to search and insert clauses and phrases on the fly. Ms. Hall did express reservation about going forward with ,this task, however, as she had recently been informed that it was not the duty of the members of the Tree Conservation Board to research and make suggestions as to changes to the Tree Protection Ordinance. Member Stephanie Catania pointed out that Section 23-19(ex4) cleazly states "The board shall... [r]eview and make recommendations to the director on requests for modifications of the standards of this article: ' Board Page 3 of 4 Minutes of the Tree Conservation Board Meeting -June 13, 2007 members discussed seeking confirmation and direction from the City Commission as to duties of the Tree Conservation Board members as well as Ms. Hall, acting in capacity of Liaison to the Board. b. Disbursement & Discussion: "Government-in-the-Sunshine Manual" Ms. Hall disbursed copies of the "Government-in-the-Sunshine Manual" to Boazd members and requested that they use the manual as a resource should they have questions or concerns about communicating with members of other boazds or committees. Members questioned what had precipitated this, to which Ms. Hall replied that recent requests of the City Commissioners for additional information on specific cases, as well as in general, had led her to contact the Commissioners in an effort to provide the requested information. However, Ms. Hall's efforts were deemed ill advised and inappropriate by a supervisor. Thus, Ms. Hall stated that because she is not permitted to communicate with the Commission directly, she wanted to be sure that whenever Tree Conservation Board members communicate with the Commission, or members of other boards or committees, that they are doing so appropriately. Board members expressed concern over staff's inability to communicate with public representatives. Again, the Board discussed how they might seek direction from the Commission on their (Tree Conservation Board's) duties as well as the duties and responsibilities of Ms. Hall, acting as Staff Liaison to the Tree Conservation Board, finally agreeing that a letter requesting such direction should be sent to the Commissioners. Additionally, they felt that Ms. Hall should be introduced and advertised to the public as an educational and informational resource to the public. In conclusion, the Board encouraged Ms. Hall to keep up the great work she had been doing to assist the Tree Board and the community, and to not be discouraged by recent obstacles to attainment of a successful Tree Protection program. VII. Adjournment: Jim McCue made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Stephanie Catania seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Chairperson Maureen Shaughnessy adjourned the meeting at 8: 45pm. ~ ~~ Page 4 of 4