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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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