03-04-95 v TREE CONSERVATION BOARD
Minutes of March 4 , 1995
The Board held its regular meeting on Monday, March 4 , in the
City Commission Chambers . Present were :
Hope Van Nortwick, Chairman Mae Jones
Judy Jacobson
Staff : George Worley, Designee Carl Walker, Coordinator
The meeting was called to order at 7 : 35 PM by Hope Van Nort-
wick, Chairman, after verifying that a quorum was present .
The first item of business was consideration of the tree re-
moval application for property at Lot # 18 , Tiffany by the
Sea. Pat McCray, builder and representative of the owner,
was present to discuss the plans with the Board. Hope Van
Nortwick explained that this was the first application to
be considered under the recently enacted revised Ordinance .
It was agreed that the lot was of an odd shape , bordering on
a cul-de-sac , making it difficult to correctly determine the
protected zones . It was calculated that two 25" DBH oak trees
were proposed for removal from the interior zone , or a total
of 50" DBH. The Board and Mr. McCray, after studying the
plans and recalculating the number and sizes of the trees to
remain on the lot as credit for those being removed , agreed
that under the new ordinance , there was no further mitigation
requirement by the property owner
It was stressed to the applicant that since the remaining
trees were to be counted as credit for mitigation purposes ,
they were protected trees and could not be removed. Mr.
McCray marked these trees on the survey so that the removal
permit would be issued to reflect that they could not be re-
moved and must be properly protected during construction as
required by the ordinance .
Mae Jones moved to accept the plans , as presented, with the
understanding that those trees designated as mitigation for
replacement trees be preserved. Judy Jacobson seconded and
the motion unanimously passed .
The next business item was discussion of the letter from
G. E. Martin of the Code Enforcement Board dated February 25
addressed to the Code Enforcement Officer ( copy attached ) .
Hope Van Nortwick had prepared a response and a copy of the
draft of that document was distributed. The contents were
discussed and Hope will finalize the correspondence , allowing
appropriate copies . George will check with the City Attorney
on the issue brought up as item # 3 in Mr. Martin' s letter.
Carl advised that there was still a vacancy on the Board and
if any members had suggestions to be considered for appoint-
ment they should be given to the Mayor or City Clerk. He also
advised that the annual election of Board officers would be
placed on the agenda for the next meeting date .
Hope Van Nortwick reported that the trees recently planted by
Tiffany by the Sea on Saturiba Drive appeared to be dying or
dead, probably due to lack of water. George has handled this
wit} Safa Mansouri . She also mentioned that the tree DBH size
did not seem to comply with the agreement made . George will
look into this and report at the next meeting .
George advised that the current tree removal application
needs revision in view of the ordinance changes . Several
changes were suggested , including the addition of the tree
protection zones diagram and fact sheet to be attached to the
application. George will prepare a revised form and forward a
draft copy to Board members . It will be further discussed at
the next meeting .
Hope Van Nortwick made a motion to accept the minutes of the
last meeting , as submitted. Mae Jones seconded and the motion
carried unanimously.
There was no further business and the meeting adjourned at
8 : 55 PM .
Respectfully submitted ,
(7—/PL1
Carl Walker
Board Coordinator
- 2 -
Feb. 25 1996
Mr. Karl Grunewald,
Code Enforcement Officer
City of Atlantic Beach
Atlantic Beach, F1.32233
At our recent meeting with George Worley to discuss the recently
passed Tree Ordinance, it was agreed that we submit our comments after
further review. The following are my comments which are basically the
same as previously discussed.
1. ) The Ordinance clearly states that a person aggrieved by action
of the Director may appeal his action to the City Commission.
There is no such appeal process indicated from an action
by the Tree Board. This is improper, in that the there
should be an appeal available from any Board action. Their
action should not be final.
2. ) This Ordinance should not attemptto dictate to the Code
Code Enforcement Board which operates under its own rules
and regulations as dictated by State statute and the Atlantic
••
Beach Code that applies. Section 7 (b)(3) should be changed
to read,the violation shall be reffered to the Code Enforcement
Board for enforcement and further action as required.
There are several reasons for this approach. First,I don't
think the Code Board can collect a fine in 7 days. Secondly,
I'm not sure we can direct that momey into an Account other
than just to the City. Also it is important to note that many
of our fines become lien against property. What do we do with such
a case if we are not operating under our own rules? Thirdly,
the Violations and penalties section states a person violates
this Ordinance and is convicted of same will be "punished
accordingly". The question is who convicts and who punishes
by what standards or levels of punishment. Is this meaning
backto the Code Board or is the Tree Board doing this? If
this is back to the Code Board,we function on a first and
second offense fine structure. Under this Ordinance if two
or more trees were involved, the Code board would be required
to treat it as a second offense even though it was the first
appearance before the Board. Can we legally do this?
3. ) This Ordinance establishes a category of tree known as
a Public protected tree and defines same as any tree on
lands owned by the City or on easements imposed for the
for the benefit of the City or other Government agencies
or authorities,including easements for drainage ,sewers,etc.
(2)
3.) Cont'd Several years ago, Selva Marina Country Club,as a good citizen,
donated a right of way easement to the city of Atlantic Beach for a
sewer line along it's western boundry. Sevilla Condo Association was
considering signing an easement that in fact gives the city a piece
of already constructed sewer line and an easement on the property that
contains the pipe. Both of these organizations take great pride in their
trees. In fact ,as I think you know,Seva Marina has for several years
had a formal tree planting plan with expenditure of some three thousand
dollars for new trees. Sevilla has its trees caredfor by a professional
tree Company. This easement clause would now add the requirement for
each of these organizations to come to the city for a permit to
do its tree trimming for trees on these rights-of-way.
This will be another case if Government intruding where
it shouldn't be. Both of these easements should be excluded from this
Ordinance, and they appearently are. A close reading of the Ordinance
in dicates that the Public protected tree rule applies to easements
" IMPOSED " for the benefit of the City. In as much as these two
easements were not imposed but were voluntary donations made by the
two groups, the exclusion would apply and both groups will plan
to,operate accordingly unless advised to the contrary by the City
of Atlantic Beach.
Mr Grunwald, please add any comments you may have and then
foreword this to Mr. Worley. I will be happy to join you any other
city representatives for further discussions should you so desire.
% . ,
. G.E.Martin
1810 Sevilla Blvd. #204
Atlantic Beach ,FL. 32233
Copies:
Lyman Fletcher, Mayor
.Tim Jarboe, City Manager
Robert Cappock, President Selva Marina C.C.
Jay Wangerin,President Sevilla Condo Assoc.