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10-16-00 v AGENDA IIIREGULAR MEETING OF TREE CONSERVATION BOARD October 16, 2000 7:30 p.m. City Hall Commission Chambers 1. Call to Order 2. Recognition of Visitors 3. Approval of Minutes of Meeting of October 2, 2000 4. Old Business A. Tree Removal Applications 1)None 5. New Business A. Tree Removal Applications 1)Lot 8, Ocean Breeze(Mae Jones) III 2) 470 Saturiba Drive (Richard Bell) 3)Parcel "A"on Corner of Fifth Street and Sherry Dr. (Barbara Mears) 4)Lot 5, Block 181, Section H(Camille Hunter) 5) 675 Beach Avenue(Judith Jacobson) 6. Reports and Announcements 7. Adjournment If any person decides to appeal any decision made by the Tree Conservation Board at the above meeting, • he will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose, may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record shall include the testimony of evidence upon which appeal is to be based. MINUTES OF TREE CONSERVATION BOARD October 16, 2000 41110 A regular meeting of the Tree Conservation Board was held Monday, October 16, 2000, in the City Hall Commission Chambers. Present were Mae Jones, Chairperson, Richard Bell, Camille Hunter, Barbara Mears, Building Official Don Ford and Susan Dunham. 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Jones at 7:35 p.m. 2. Recognition of Visitors None. 3. Approval of Minutes of Meeting of October 2, 2000 Chairperson Jones requested that the Minutes of October 2, 2000, be corrected as follows: 5.A.3., first paragraph change"Mr. Marvin Nash"to "Reverend Nash"and change "Mr. Mears"to "Reverend Nash". Board Member Bell requested that 5.A.4., paragraph one,third line, "houses"be changed to "sites". A motion was made by Board Member Mears, seconded by Board Member Bell and unanimously carried to approve the Minutes of the Tree Conservation Board Meeting of October 2, 2000 as amended. 4.A. Old Business/Tree Removal Applications 1. None. • 5.A. New Business/Tree Removal Applications 1. Lot 8, Ocean Breeze: Due to the applicant not being in attendance at the meeting,this item was moved to the end of New Business. 2. 470 Saturiba Drive: Steve Geuther, 381 Belvedere, Atlantic Beach, introduced himself to the Board. Mr. Geuther is requesting removal of two trees to build an addition to the rear of the home. Board Member Bell informed the Board that Mr. Geuther plans to remove one trunk of a multi-trunk tree, leaving the larger trunk remaining. Board Member Hunter stated that a tree that grows this way is called imbedded bark. This means that it is more likely that the tree will split at this location and, if this happens accidentally, it is actually worse for the tree than if someone cuts the limb off. The Board stated that it would consider this tree to be a pruned tree. The Board determined that 44"of oak is proposed for removal. A motion was made by Board Member Bell, seconded by Board Member Hunter and unanimously carried to approve the application and to direct Building Official Ford to issue a permit for the removal of 44" of oak to be mitigated on site with an 8" oak, a 9" oak and a 12" oak. 3. Parcel "A" on Corner of Fifth Street and Sherry Drive: James Watson, 325 Sawmill Lane, Ponte Vedra Beach. Mr. Watson is proposing to build a cottage-style home and plans to save a 61"oak at the front of the lot in order to keep the"hammock"effect. Mr. Watson requests approval of the removal of a 12"palm and a 30"crepe myrtle cluster that are inside the zone of the home to be built. After discussion with the Board in regard to concern for the 60"oak,the Board suggested that Mr. Watson apply for a variance to move the house farther back on the lot • to attempt to better protect the 61"oak. Minutes of Tree Conservation Board October 16, 2000 Page 2 Board Member Mears asked Mr. Watson how he was going to save the 18"palm that is located • very close to the proposed home. Mr. Watson suggested that he would either shift the building to the right to accommodate the palm or he will replace the palm. Discussion was held regarding the anticipated grade change and Board Member Bell suggested that Mr.Watson talk with a certified tree arborist regarding how the grade change will affect the 61"oak. A motion was made by Board Member Hunter, seconded by Board Member Bell and unanimously carried to approve the application and to direct Building Official Ford to issue a permit with the understanding that Mr. Watson is going to apply to the Community Development Board for a variance to relocate the house farther back on the property or, as an alternative, flip the house plan such that the house is set back from the 61" oak and the garage is a front entry garage on the right side. 4. Lot 5, Block 181, Section H: Paul Nichols, 1765 Alder Drive, Orange Park. Mr.Nichols is proposing to build a single-family house on Jasmine Street. Mr. Nichols advised the Board of the following corrections to the site plan: (1)there is a 9"oak tree in the concrete drive in the external zone that needs to be removed; (2)to the left of the covered entry,the 4"oak is actually a 14"oak; (3)the unmarked tree at the right rear corner of the house is a 14"oak. Mr.Nichols clarified to the Board that he is removing a 20"oak from the interior zone and a 9"oak from the exterior zone and proposed to protect the 14"oak and the 6"oak in the interior zone by the covered entry. A motion was made by Board Member Bell, seconded by Board Member Hunter and unanimously carried to approve the application and to direct Building Official Ford to issue . a permit for the removal of 29" of oak to be mitigated on site with a 14" oak and a 6" oak. 5. 675 Beach Avenue: Building Official Ford advised the Board that Mr. DeJean Melancon was called out of town so was unable to attend the meeting. Chairperson Jones stated that it appeared that the work on the lot had already been done. Building Official Ford indicated that the concrete contractor removed the tree while Mr. Melancon was out of town. Building Official Ford stated that he met with Mr. Melancon prior to the tree being removed and had walked the lot with Mr. Melancon. After discussion, it was determined that the applicant was not removing any protected trees. A motion was made by Board Member Hunter, seconded by Board Member Mears and unanimously carried to approve the application and to direct Building Official Ford to issue a permit as submitted. Board Member Bell stated that the motion should indicate that the three relocated trees were protected and must live for one year. A Motion to amend the original motion was made by Board Member Hunter, seconded by Board Member Mears and unanimously carried to accept the application and that the three protected palm trees that were moved for purposes of relocating the driveway be protected forever. 41111 • r Minutes of Tree Conservation Board October 16, 2000 Page 3 1. Lot 8, Ocean Breeze: The applicant was not in attendance. Discussion was held regarding the applicant possibly grading the site and the effect this will have on the neighboring properties. The Board determined that the applicant is removing 56"of oak and 10"of palm. A motion was made by Board Member Bell, seconded by Board Member Hunter and unanimously carried to approve the application and to direct Building Official Ford to issue a permit for the removal of 56" of oak and 10" of palm to be mitigated on site with a 12" oak and an 11" palm and that they either locate 16" of additional unprotected oak on site or pay into the Tree Fund. Building Official Ford will meet with the owner to make this decision. 6. Reports and Announcements Building Official Ford distributed a letter that he wrote to Dr. James Campbell, dated October 16, 2000. Building Official Ford is scheduled to meet tomorrow with Dr. Campbell's architect, Dick Gradick. Chairperson Jones distributed to the Board members a letter that she received from Dr. Campbell. In addition, Building Official Ford spoke with Bobbi Nelson and Dana Latino of the Department of Environmental Protection to determine if the applicant could move the house seaward, beyond the coastal construction control line,to save some trees and to save the landward dune next to Beach Avenue. Both Ms. Nelson and Mr. Latino agreed that it was possible to move the house seaward because the adjacent properties are much farther seaward than this structure would be. Regarding the issue of protection of dunes, Building Official Ford stated that the ordinance is not clear and does not state what our responsibilities are or how we would achieve protecting the dunes. Building Official Ford recommends clarifying the Ordinance with the Commission so that non- oceanfront dunes could be protected. Board Member Mears stated that she was extremely upset that her neighbor at the corner of Dewees and Coquina removed an oak tree from the City right-of-way. 7. Adjournment There being no other business or discussion,the meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m. ri4h—I‘ Add! _ _ chard Bell, Secretary •