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11-14-18 ESC Meeting MinutesMINUTES OF CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING NOVEMBER 14, 2018 ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Judith Leroux, Chair Bruce Andrews, Vice Chair Dawn Scott, Secretary Bonnie Hanson Steve Kallao Chip Drysdale (arrived at 6:25 PM) STAFF: Shane Corbin, Director of Planning and Community Development Jennifer Johnston, Building Department 1. Call to order. The meeting was called to order at 6:01 p.m. in the Commission Chambers by J. Leroux. 2. Approval of minutes. The minutes from the previous meeting held on November 7, 2018 were not available for approval at this meeting. 3. Courtesy of the floor. There were no speakers present to address the Committee. 4. Final review of tree ordinance suggested changes per workshops. S. Corbin presented proposed changes to the tree ordinance to the Committee. He said he expected the Commission to approve their proposed changes, and the Committee could either have draft changes prepared to give to Commission or take more time to prepare the changes. J. Leroux asked the Committee if they would like to take more time, and the members agreed. B. Hanson stated she doesn't understand requiring applicants mitigate for the footprint of their home on a vacant lot. S. Corbin explained the history of the ordinance, and said the decision was made to require mitigation regardless of a building's footprint, most likely due to homeowners tearing down smaller, older homes and building larger homes. B. Hanson stated the mitigation requirement could cause a hardship in the situation of building a new home on a vacant lot. S. Kallao stated he understood her concerns, and said that people building in Atlantic Beach would not be poor, and people may take advantage of the requirement to plant less trees. November 14, 2018 Environmental Stewardship Committee Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 4 B. Andrews said he felt that people would clear cut lots, and the mitigation requirement would help ensure that the minimum amount of trees were taken down when building. He said that building a home in Atlantic Beach would be an investment. B. Hanson said she was concerned about people who bought vacant lots prior to the change to the tree ordinance, and how they would be affected. S. Kallao stated that she was speaking about grandfathering people who bought lots prior to any change, and asked how many people could potentially be affected. B. Hanson stated if someone met the prior ownership criteria, they could appear before the Community Development Board. D. Scott stated her concerns for hardships pertained to tree trimmers, not to vacant land owners. She said she sees vacant land on the west side of Mayport Road being held and now sold, but being sold to builders. She asked if that situation could fall under the criteria to obtain a waiver or variance. J. Leroux stated the proposed changes to the tree ordinance could offer relief to applicants regarding the area that mitigation trees could be planted, and the applicant could request a variance, rather than a waiver, if someone wants to request a variance. B. Andrews asked what a homeowner would do in the case where mitigation trees couldn't be planted in the 1/4 mile radius area or wanted to plant mitigation trees on public property. S. Corbin stated the changes haven't been drafted yet and these changes could be included in the revised ordinance. He said criteria would have to be included to make sure the City could agree to maintain any mitigation trees planted in the City's right-of-way. J. Leroux stated that the City is already looking for areas to plant trees, and it would be better to encourage people to plant on private property. The committee discussed mitigation on City property with the City's approval, and all agreed it should be included in the proposed changes. S. Corbin stated that tree mitigation funds could be used to plant on private property if the ordinance clarified an educational component for planting in the front yards of private property. C. Drysdale stated that the ordinance could include language about adopting a tree when a tree is removed. B. Andrews stated that it would have to be written so that an applicant could not take advantage of the mitigation. S. Corbin stated it would have to be limited to one tree visible from the public right-of-way per household. J. Leroux asked the Committee if they agreed on adding the private property mitigation item to the ordinance. B. Andrews said he had reviewed a permit recently where the mitigation proposed was oleander, and he would like to remove oleanders from the approved mitigation list, due to it being poisonous and a bush. S. Corbin stated the next step is for the ESC to vote on recommendations to present to Commission, then staff will draft the code language based on the Commission's directives, then the ESC can make their final recommendation on the draft code language, then present the final code language to Commission. J. Leroux made a motion to vote on the proposed recommendations, C. Drysdale seconded the motion. The motion passed with no opposition. S. Corbin said his next step is to speak with the City Manager and schedule the meeting to present the items to Commission, most likely in January. B. Andrews stated the Committee has not really solved the issue with folks seeing trees come down and being able to prevent it, and there doesn't seem to be an appetite to make the ordinance stronger and preventing homeowners from taking down trees. He said he thinks the November 14, 2018 Environmental Stewardship Committee Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 4 City has a good ordinance and is being administered well by staff, but large oaks will continue to come down, but will be replaced with new plantings. J. Leroux stated that tree canopy monitoring has started, and the Committee can give the public information regarding the tree canopy. B. Hanson stated the next step would be to educate the public on how the ordinance works the way it does. 5. Discussion of Arbor Day January 2019 event/tree planting; Heritage Tree designation and planting maps, etc. S. Dark and J. Leroux both identified a tree at the corner of Country Club Lane and Park Terrace East as a potential heritage tree for Arbor Day 2019. D. Scott asked what steps needed to be taken when the Committee needs to order supplies, like the heritage tree plaque. S. Corbin stated if the Committee would contact him and provide details, he will handle the purchase order. B. Andrews motioned to make the Country Club Lane and Park Terrace East tree a heritage tree, D. Scott seconded, and the motion passed with no opposition. S. Corbin stated the Commission has to designate the heritage tree, and the ESC should present it at the same meeting as the tree ordinance changes. S. Corbin stated the tree mitigation fund was available for a public planting, and researched the possibility of planting up to 200 trees. He said 8 planting sites were identified, and more could be identified on the west side of Mayport Road. He asked the Committee if they wanted to move forward with this idea for presentation to Commission for approval. C. Drysdale stated that trees help keep cars out of homes and businesses that border the right of way. D. Scott stated that an artist's rendering may help Commission to visualize what the trees will look like after planting, and also asked if Howell Park was an option for a planting site, since that park lost so many trees after previous storms. B. Andrews asked if the Commission needed to know exactly what trees would be planted, S. Corbin stated an outside professional could be brought in to consult on the plantings. S. Corbin stated they could ask Commission if they agree to the locations, then move forward. B. Andrews stated he didn't think outside help would be needed, and that the Committee could ask GreenScape for assistance. He talked about the repercussions of COJ mismanaging their tree funds, and now residents could call the City for a tree, and COJ would come and plant a tree. COJ is bidding out tree planting and maintenance services as well, with a 2 year warranty. B. Andrews got prices from their tree supplier, and the plantings could cost near $30,000, and did the Committee want to spend half the mitigation fund on plantings. He also asked if the Committee could use less trees but use COJ trees that COJ would maintain. J. Leroux said the COJ applications are not in place yet, due to the amount of money it would cost. B. Hanson stated she would like to see north Seminole Road, near Oceanwalk, planted with shrubs. S. Corbin stated funds could be used for landscaping/beautification and no -mow areas that require lower maintenance, and J. Leroux said workshops could be held for further discussion. B. Andrews said the Committee should workshop the top 3 choices after getting Commission approval. B. Andrews made a motion to authorize S. Corbin and ESC members to present the concept of planting locations and rough budget to Commission, and then workshop ideas for plantings. B. Hanson and D. Scott seconded the motion, and the motion passed with no opposition. November 14, 2018 Environmental Stewardship Committee Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 6. New Business. C. Drysdale stated he saw dangerous trees on the west side of Seminole Road in the right of way due to thick vines growing there, and asked if it is Public Works' responsibility to clean out the vines. S. Corbin said he would follow up with Public Works. 7. Adjournment. The motion to adjourn was brought by B. Hanson and D. Scott and passed with no opposition. The meeting was adjourned 7:22 PM (Minutes respectfully submitted by Jennifer Johnston on November 30, 2018.) ATTEST: Dawn colt, Secretary Shane Corbin, Director of Planning and Community Development November 14, 2018 Environmental Stewardship Committee Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 4