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City of Atlantic Beach Tree Conservation Board
Regular Meeting Minutes
May 28, 2008
A regular meeting of the City of Atlantic Tree Conservation Board was convened at 7:05 pm on Wednesday May
28, 2008 at the Adele Grage Cultural Center, located at 716 Ocean Boulevard in Atlantic Beach. In attendance
were Board members Stephanie Catania, Jim McCue, Carole Varney, Chair Maureen Shaughnessy, and Staff
Planner/TPO Administrator Erika Hall. Board member Brea Paul was absent from the meeting. The position of
Recording Secretary was vacant.
1. CALL TO ORDER
• Chair Maureen Shaughnessy called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm.
2. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS
• There were no visitors in attendance.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chair Shaughnessy called for a motion to approve the minutes from the May 14th
regular meeting. Member Carole Varney requested a correction be made on page 2,
last sentence of the first full paragraph. She stated that rather than concurring with
the previous statement made by Ms. Shaughnessy, she had actually said that she
was not able to visit the site in time for the meeting, and therefore could not verify
consistency of the survey with the site. Further, she made the suggestion (not a
formal motion) that review be deferred until all board members could inspect the
site. Ms. Hall made note of the requested correction.
MOTION: Jim McCue moved to adopt the minutes of the May 14, 2008
regular meeting, corrected per Ms. Varney's comments. Ms. Varney
offered a second, and with no further discussion, the vote was unanimous.
4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. TREE 08-00100011
1730 Ocean Grove Drive
(Altenbach for Dixon / residential redevelopment)
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Minutes of the May 28, 2008 Regular Meeting of the Tree Conservation Board
Ms. Hall provided the board with two large copies of the newly submitted revised
tree survey showing the proposed structures. Mr. Altenbach presented an additional
copy on which was also shown the footprint of the now-demolished original house.
The board noted that the original house was located in close proximity to the
northern property line.
Ms. Varney said that she had visited the site the Friday after the last meeting, and
found it to be consistent with the revised tree survey. Ms. Shaughnessy agreed, but
stated her concern was over a number of trees that she felt had been removed
subsequent to the issuance of the original permit, but prior to the submittal of the
revised survey. However, consensus was reached that this case needed to be
resolved, as it was taking a financial and emotional toll on all involved.
MOTION: Carole Varney moved that board approve the applicant's request
to remove all trees as shown on the most recently submitted revised tree
survey, as tallied on the tree mitigation worksheet completed by staff as
follows: from the interior zone, 27" bay, 7" cherry, 101" oak; from the
exterior zone, 9" bay, 14" elm, 180" oak, 12" palm; for a total of 350".
Mitigation shall be assessed as provided by code for those trees that are
protected, and shall equal 101.5", with 94.5" being either oaks and/or
hardwoods.
SECOND: Stephanie Catania seconded the motion.
DISCUSSION: Mr. McCue stated, and the board was in consensus, that he
hoped the applicant and the subject property owners would make every
effort to acknowledge the impacts of these tree removals on the adjacent
property owners and address some of their concerns.
VOTE: The vote was in unanimous in favor of the motion, 4-0.
b. TREE 08-00100012
2391 Ocean Breeze Court
(Raab / residential development)
Ms. Hall told the board that no action was required on this item at this time;
however, she was presenting copies of two versions of the landscape plan received
from the Raabs' landscape architect, in response to the required mitigation. Ms. Hall
summarized the provisions of the plan, and pointed out several concerns voiced by
adjacent property owners were addressed by the plan.
c. TREE 06-00032018
342 5th Street
(Branholm / residential redevelopment)
Ms. Hall told the board that this item was on the agenda because the required
mitigation is now delinquent because conditions that led to a deferral of mitigation
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Minutes of the May 28, 2008 Regular Meeting of the Tree Conservation Board
have been met. She said that she anticipated issuance of a mitigation order to
collect said mitigation, but recent developments in the case caused her to seek legal
counsel as to the appropriate procedure. Thus, no materials were provided to the
board other than a copy of the email from Ms. Hall to City Attorney Alan Jensen
which summarized the history of the case and requested procedural advice in
regards to this case. Ms. Hall said once she gets direction from Mr. Jensen, she will
proceed in the appropriate manner.
Ms. Shaughnessy asked why the board could not go ahead and review the facts.
Ms. Hall responded that, based on Florida Statutes regarding boards involved in
enforcement of municipal codes, a public hearing must be held prior to issuance of
such an order. Additionally, public hearings require adequate notice be given to the
applicant and general public. However, because this case involves an initial hearing
in which the property owner made application and agreed to certain mitigation in
exchange for approval of tree removal, and an intermediate hearing in which the
board, on behalf of the city, agreed to defer mitigation until certain conditions
existed, Ms. Hall is unsure if another public hearing by the [tree] board is necessary.
Furthermore, there are other factors, including transfer of ownership and
nondisclosure that complicate the matter. Thus, Ms. Hall is awaiting direction;
however, she wanted the board to be aware that this item is pending.
5. NEW BUSINESS
• There was no new business requiring review or action by the board.
6. ADJOURNMENT
• Chair Maureen Shaughnessy adjourned the meeting at 8:10 pm.
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SIGNED: M ureen Shaughnessy,`0�•it Date
ATTEST: Erika Hall, Staff Planner/TPO Administrator
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