2008-09-24 (meeting minutes)City of Atlantic Beach Tree Conservation Board
Regular Meeting Minutes
September 24, 2008
A regular meeting of the City of Atlantic Beach Tree Conservation Board was
convened at 7.•03 pm on Wednesday September 24, 2008 at the Adele Grage
Cultural Center, located at 716 Ocean Boulevard in Atlantic Beach. In
attendance were Board Members Stephanie Catania, Jim McCue, Brea Paul,
Maureen Shaughnessy and Principal Planner/Staff Liaison Erika Hall. Board
Member Carole Varney was excused from the meeting. The position of Recording
Secretary was vacant.
1. CALL TO ORDER
^ Chairperson Maureen Shaughnessy called the meeting to order at 7:03pm.
2. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS
^ There were no visitors or special guests in attendance.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chair Shaughnessy called for a motion to approve the minutes from the August 27"'
regular meeting.
MOTION: Jim McCue moved to adopt the minutes of the August 27t", 2008 regular
meeting, as written.
SECOND: Brea Paul seconded the motion.
DISCUSSION: There was no further discussion.
VOTE: Unanimous, 4-0
4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. TREE 06-00032018
5-69 16-25-29E Atlantic Beach Lots 15,17 Block 6
(Branholm)
Mitigation
Ms. Hall told the Board that this item was on tonight's meeting agenda because, at the
August 13"' meeting, the Board had invited Mr. Branholm to return, along with the
current owner of the subject property, to present a draft of an agreement to accomplish
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Minutes of the September 24, 2008 Regular Meeting of the Tree Conservation Board
mitigation for consideration by the City. Subsequently, the Board voted at the August
27th meeting to rescind this invitation, but Ms. Hall said that she had delayed contacting
Mr. Branholm and telling him not to attend, pending further advice from City Attorney
Alan Jensen as to the proper procedure. On the morning of Tuesday, September 23,
Ms. Hall received a forwarded email (via Mr. Jensen) from an employee of Mr.
Branholm's attorney, stating that Mr. Branholm would be in attendance at the
September 24th meeting to present the agreement, a draft of which was attached to the
email, if there were no objections to the language. Ms. Hall reviewed the document,
and forwarded it along with her comments to her supervisor, Community Development
Director Sonya Doerr, who in turn forwarded her comments to City Manager Jim
Hanson for review.
In the mean time, Ms. Hall said she reviewed the duties, responsibilities and authorities
of the Tree Board with Ms. Doerr, and it was determined that the only remaining
authority of the Board in relation to this case was reinstatement of the original
mitigation order. Ms. Hall added that she and Ms. Doerr further confirmed with Mr.
Hanson that the Board had neither the authority to renegotiate a mitigation order nor
authority to enter into such a legally binding agreement on behalf of the City. Mr.
Hanson confirmed that such decisions could only be made by the City Commission.
Because no response had been received from Mr. Jensen, Ms. Doerr contacted him by
phone mid-afternoon Wednesday, September 24th to clarify the proper procedure for
the Board. Mr. Jensen explained to Ms. Doerr and Ms. Hall that, though the Board
had acted to reinstate the original mitigation order at the August 27th meeting, this
action should occur at a scheduled meeting for which the topic was advertised and to
which the applicant was noticed to appear. [Note: The item was not a scheduled topic at
the August 27'" meeting, but was added at the request of a Board member; nor was the
applicant noticed to appear at that meeting. Thus, the Board needed to revisit the issue
at tonight's meeting, since the topic had been advertised on the posted agenda, and Mr.
Branholm had agreed (at the August 13th meeting) to attend the September 24th
meeting and was aware that his case was being discussed. Further, upon reinstatement
of the mitigation order, Mr. Jensen advised that the Board should notify Mr. Branholm
of his right to appeal the Board's decision to the City Commission within thirty (30)
days.
Ms. Hall explained that she had drafted an order reinstating and imposing the original
mitigation, and had included the provision for the applicant to appeal the Board's
decision to the City Commission. This document was ready for signature and
presentation to Mr. Branholm upon the Board's action. However, Ms. Hall suggested
that, since Mr. Branholm had not yet arrived [7.•10 pm] that the Board move to another
item on the agenda, so as to allow the applicant additional time in case he was running
late. Board Member Jim McCue disagreed and said that he wished to proceed with this
item.
MOTION: Mr. McCue moved that, based upon clarification of its duties,
responsibilities and authority, the Tree Conservation Board reaffirm its previous action
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Minutes of the September 24, 2008 Regular Meeting of the Tree Conservation Board
taken on August 27th, as documented in the official minutes of that meeting, to reinstate
and impose the original mitigation order as described in the official meeting minutes of
January 11, 2006, further noting that the condition of the deferral granted by the Board
on November 8, 2006 was met on March 2, 2007 and therefore accrual of interest on the
original cash equivalent value of the assessed mitigation should begin on that date.
Furthermore, the applicant should be provided thirty (30) days to submit a written
petition of appeal of this decision to the City Commission.
SECOND: Board Member Stephanie Catania seconded the motion.
DISCUSSION: There was no further discussion.
VOTE: Unanimous, 4-0.
As Ms. Hall read the order and passed it to Chair Shaughnessy for signature, Mr.
Branholm arrived [7.•15 pm], stating that he had gone to the wrong place [City Hall] by
mistake. Ms. Hall explained to Mr. Branholm the determination that had been made by
staff (herself, Ms. Doerr, Mr. Hanson and Mr. Jensen) as to the Tree Board's authority,
and told him that the Board, upon advice from Mr. Jensen, had just acted to reinstate
the original mitigation order. Mr. Branholm asked if this action had been taken
because he was late for the meeting, to which Ms. Hall replied no, that it was as she had
just explained - a matter of proper procedure determined by limitations on the Board's
duties and authority. Mr. Branholm stated that he had gone to great trouble and
expense to have this agreement drawn up at the request of this Board. Ms. Hall said
that she assumed that Mr. Branholm would exercise his right to appeal, and she
suggested that he submit a copy of his proposed agreement along with his written
petition to the City Clerk. Mr. Branholm asked to submit a copy of the agreement to
Ms. Hall for this Board's record. Ms. Hall received the document and noted the date in
the upper right hand corner, along with her signature.
Mr. Branholm said that he was attempting to resolve this matter in a professional
manner, but that he had been told by the City [of Atlantic Beach] Attorney that
someone on staff was saying that he [Mr. Branholm] was trying to "dupe" the City. Ms.
Hall told Mr. Branholm that she was unaware of any such comments, and that she, as
the appointed staff administrator of the program, was acting according to the duties of
the position, and had sought direction of the City Attorney throughout the process. She
said that her goal was a fair and objective application of the provisions of Chapter 23,
which included due process for the applicant. Mr. Branholm thanked the Board for its
time and left.
5. NEW BUSINESS
^ There was no new business up for consideration.
6. REPORTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & DISCUSSIONS OF NON-ACTION ITEMS
a. Chapter 23 Revisions
Ms. Hall presented the Board with copies of the revised Chapter 23, and explained that
she and Ms. Doerr had rewritten much of the existing ordinance for the purpose of
reorganizing and providing clarity, in addition to drafting a number of provisions to
cover the deficiencies identified by the Board and staff over the last couple of years.
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Minutes of the September 24, 2008 Regular Meeting of the Tree Conservation Board
Ms. Hall reviewed the proposed revisions with the Board and asked that they take time
to read the document thoroughly over the next few days and forward any additional
comments so that she could discuss them with staff. She said she anticipates a draft of
the revisions will probably go to the City Commission for review within the next couple
of weeks.
b. Red Bay (Laurel Wilt) Treatment
Ms. Hall reported that she had been contacted by Marc White, Certified Arborist with
"The Branch Manager", and told that he had obtained the recently released treatment
for the Laurel Wilt fungus caused by the ambrosia beetles infesting Red Bays. Ms. Hall
said that Public Works Director Rick Carper confirmed that he had also spoken with
Certified Arborist Early Piety as to the effectiveness of this treatment. She said that
this appears to be more of a preventative, as both Mr. White and Mr. Piety
recommended that it be applied only to trees with little to no sign of infestation. Mr.
White said that he would be willing to do a trial demonstration for the City, at cost. Ms.
Hall said that Public Works has identified a small grouping of Red Bays that do not
appear to be infected, and that Mr. Carper will coordinate with Mr. White on this
demonstration, and the Board will be updated when more information becomes
available.
c. Adopt-a-Tree & Community Forest Programs
Ms. Hall announced that Mr. Carper is expected to attend the next (October 8) Tree
Board Meeting to discuss future direction of the Adopt-a-Tree and Community Forest
programs.
7. ADJOURNMENT
^ Chairperson Maureen Shaughnessy adjourned the meeting at 8:54pm.
SIGNED: Maureen Shaughnessy,
~°/8/~8
Date
ATTEST: Erika Hall, rincipal Planner/Staff Liaison
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