Loading...
03-16-98 v TREE CONSERVATION BOARD Minutes of meeting of March 16, 1998 Corrected The Board held meeting on Monday March 16th,at City Hall. Present were: Mae Jones, Chairman Susan Bullock Mary Emerson-Smith Staff: George Worley, Community Development Director The meeting was called to order at 7:35 PM by Mae Jones, Chairman. The first application was for tree removal on Lot 3, Block 2, Donner's Re-plat. Mr. Dave Clark introduced himself to the Board and explained the necessity of removing 3 non-protected trees from the lot to permit construction of a Single-family home. The Board questioned the construction access to the lot and Mr. Clark responded that all access would be through the driveway and parking pad. The Board determined that no mitigation was required under the ordinance. Susan Bullock moved to approve the request as noted regarding access through the driveway. Mary Emerson-Smith seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously. The second application was for tree removal at 1700 Francis Avenue. Mr. Batts, the representative of the Holy Church of the Living God Revival Center, introduced himself to the Board and explained that the church needed a parking lot on the adjacent lot and desired to remove a number of trees to permit the paving of this lot. Several Board members advised that they believed the measurements of tree diameters to be inaccurate. The Board explained the method of measurement of multi-trunked trees to the applicants representative. Given the applicants need to revise the application, Susan Bullock moved to defer action on this application until the next regular meeting. Mae Jones seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously. George Worley volunteered to meet with the applicants prior to the next meeting to assist them in revising the application. The third application was for tree removal on Lot 48, Oceanwalk Unit One. Mr. And Mrs. Perez introduced themselves to the Board and explained the need for removal of a number of trees to allow construction of a Single-family home. The applicants made special note to the Board of the 45" oak tree adjacent to the rear building setback line. The applicants were advised by the Board to take special precautions to protect this tree to ensure its survival. Upon examination of the application and tree removal survey, the Board determined that 23" of protected palms and 44" of protected oaks were to be removed. Mitigation required was 11.5" of palms and 22" of oaks. The applicant designated an 11" palm at the northeast corner of the house and an 11" palm near the front door as on-site mitigation for the palms removed, and an 8" and 14" oak on the east side of the house as on-site mitigation for the oaks removed. No additional mitigation was required. Susan Bullock moved to approve this application subject to the on-site mitigation noted. Mary Emerson-Smith seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously. The applicant requested a letter from the Tree Conservation Board encouraging the Oceanwalk Owners Association to work with them to protect the noted 45" oak tree. They advised that they were attempting to obtain some relief from the front yard building restriction line for the owners association to help save the tree. After some discussion, the Board agreed to provide such a letter and authorized staff to draft a letter for the Chairmans signature. The letter is attached as a part of the record. The next item was the determination of the required mitigation for the removal of 72" of protected trees without a permit at 1177 Atlantic Boulevard. Mr. Geraldo Gonzales introduced himself to the Board as personal representative of the owner Gaitano Tabacco. Mr. Gonzales explained that Mr. Tabacco did not understand that a permit was necessary for the removal of the trees. The Board explained that mitigation of trees removed without proper permits was calculated at a 1:1 ratio. This requires 50" of oak and 22" of hardwood to be replaced on-site or an equivalent amount donated to the tree replacement fund. Given the enormous financial impact of donating into the fund and the limited space remaining on the property, Mr. Gonzales requested time to confer with Mr. Tabacco. Mae Jones moved to defer action until the meeting of April 6th to allow the owner to prepare a plan for mitigation specifying the amount of on-site mitigation and the amount of donation to the tree replacement fund. The motion was seconded by Susan Bullock and was approved unanimously. Ms. Carolyn Jones appeared before the Board and requested to be placed on the agenda for reconsideration of and possible reduction of the amount of tree mitigation required on her property at 309 Magnolia Street. Staff was directed to place the item on the April 6th agenda. Approval of the minutes of the regular February 2, 1998 meeting was moved by Mary Emerson-Smith, seconded by Susan Bullock and approved unanimously. The minutes of the regular meeting of February 17, 1998 were next considered. Mary Emerson- Smith moved the approval, Susan Bullock seconded and the minutes were approved unanimously. The board discussed the various options for providing a tree related inspection stamp for use on the building site placard. It was decided to continue this discussion at the next meeting to allow for additional investigation. As no further business was before the Board the meeting was adjourned at 9:35 PM. Mae Jones, Chairman.