07-01-96 v TREE CONSERVATION BOARD
Minutes of July 1 , 1996
The Board held its regular meeting on Monday, July 1 , in the
City Commission Chambers . Present were :
Hope Van Nortwick, Chairman Mae Jones
Judy Jacobson Rick Bell
Staff: George Worley, Designee Carl Walker, Coordinator
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Hope Van Nortwick
at 7 : 35 PM.
The first item of business was review of the tree removal ap-
plication for property described as Lot # 4 , Block # 4 , A. B.
Parkway. Peggy Cornelius , contractor, was present . There was
discussion regarding the oak tree clusters proposed for re-
moval and it was agreed by the Board and Ms . Cornelius that
the oaks were multi-trunked and must be measured accordingly.
It was calculated that a total of 81" DBH of oaks were to be
removed .
The proposal called for several palm trees , on site , to be
used as mitigation for the oaks proposed for removal . Hope
explained that the ordinance specifically requires that only
oak trees may be used for mitigation for oaks to be removed.
The homeowner, Warren Mack, stated that he was allergic to
oaks and could not consider replanting them on the lot . He
and Ms . Cornelius suggested that other hardwood trees could
be substituted for oaks , under the circumstances . The Board
explained the requirement for replacement of oaks only by
oaks and the reason for this stipulation.
Rick Bell made a motion to allow removal of the 81" DBH of
oaks, to be replaced by 40 1/2" DBH of oaks , with the method
of mitigation to be determined by the applicant by the next
regular Board meeting . Judy Jacobson seconded and the motion
carried unanimously.
Craig Austin, engineer for Sandar Industries , Inc . , intro-
duced himself to the Board for the review of the application
for building expansion on commercial property at 1545 Main
Street . He explained that the growth of the company created
a need to expand their facilities . A color rendering of the
intended expansion on the property was presented . Mr. Austin
introduced Jim King , landscape architect , who elaborated on
details of the master plan to include additional structures ,
parking areas , driveways , storage areas , and retention ponds .
After describing the landscaping design, Mr. King explained
the tree mitigation planned for the proposed tree removal in
Phase I of the project.
A total of 148" DBH of oaks ( 12 trees ) are to be removed; as
mitigation, a total of 65" DBH will be replanted with oaks
( 13 trees ) and 2 other oaks , each with a 6" DBH, will be pre-
served on site . The total mitigation is 77" DBH of oaks .
Additionally, Mr. King proposed removal of 976" DBH of other
trees, 90 % of which he estimated as pines. The applicant ' s
plan includes only those pines with a DBH of over 15" . As
mitigation, the proposal includes replacement of 28 River
Birch trees, each with a 12" DBH, for a total of 336" DBH.
Also, 156" DBH of wax myrtles will be replanted on site. The
total replacement, not including the oaks described above,
will be 492" DBH.
Mae Jones asked about the watering source for the river birch
trees , advising that in checking with the Urban Forester, she
was told they require a great deal of water. Mr. King stated
that a watering source would be available either by sprinkler
or by watering bibs. Rich Belt questioned the removal of the
trees in the southeast corners of the property since there
did not appear to be any proposed construction planned for
that area. The applicant advised that a portion of this sec-
tion was to be filled in and utilized for boat storage.
Both Judy Jacobson and Hope Van Nortwick questioned whether
any trees were proposed for removal in anticipation of future
construction. Mr. King verified that only those trees neces-
sary for Phase I expansion were included on the plans.
Hope Van Nortwick, as well as other Board members , expressed
appreciation for the efforts taken by the applicant in the
design and presentation of their plan, including the marking
of the trees on site .
Judy Jacobson asked if figures were available which would
include all of the pines with a 10" DBH or greater, as re-
quired by the ordinance for commercial/industrial property.
She was told that there would be almost twice as many DBH
inches as calculated in their proposal . Discussion followed
by the Board as to the setting of a precedent if the appli-
cation was approved in its present form, deviating from or-
dinance requirements. Mr. King stressed that the replacement
trees ( i . e. river birch) proposed would enhance the property
and that a financial burden would be placed upon the appli-
plicant if no relief was given for ordinance replacement re-
quirements . He also stated that he felt that the intent of
the ordinance was met with the proposed replanting plan.
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Rich Bell brought up that if the proposed location for boat
storage was moved elsewhere on the property, a considerable
number of trees would not be removed, thus reducing the ob-
ligation of the applicant for replacement trees . In addition,
a portion of this area is wetlands requiring state permits.
It was suggested, and agreed to by the applicant , that the
plans would be resubmitted at the next regular meeting, at
which time the calculations for all trees required by ordi-
nance would be furnished. If the applicant still feels that
relief should be considered for the replacement tree require-
ments , a letter outlining the hardship and/or reason( s ) for
requesting relief can be presented to the Board for consid-
eration at the meeting.
George Worley advised the status of the tree planting at Sa-
turiba. The City attorney and the attorney representing Tif-
fany by the Sea worked out an agreement calling for Tiffany
to replace the 5 dead oak trees with the stipulation that the
maintenance of the trees would be the responsibility of the
City. As a result , the incident will not be heard by the Code
Enforcement Board at the July 2 meeting. George will obtain
a copy of the Stipulation of Agreement.
Hope reported that she had spoken with Jim Jarboe on the sub-
ject of tree removal permit enforcement and he did not think
that a separate fee should be accessed for a permit to offset
inspection costs . He will further discuss enforcement and in-
spections with Don Ford. Hope will follow-up.
Mae Jones made a motion to approve the minutes of the last
meeting, as read. The motion was seconded by Judy Jacobson
and passed unanimously.
There was no further business and the meeting was adjourned
at 9 : 35 PM.
1/t)IM4—
Richard Beaver
Secretary
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