HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-22-2007 TC MinutesCITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
TREE COMMITTEE
CORPORATION YARD
MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2007
MEMBERS PRESENT: Jim Lopes, Don Dollar, Ben Parker, and Sara Young
STAFF PRESENT: Ron Combs, Keith Pellemeier, and Barbara Lynch
PUBLIC COMMENTS
There were no public comments.
Barbara Lynch introduced Keith Pellemeier and explained that Tree matters will make up
about 1/3 of his job duties. Keith expressed appreciation for the work the Tree
committee does.
1. APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 27, 2006 MINUTES
The minutes were approved with one minor change: 2nd page, 5th column, 2nd line; change
“not” to note.
2. TREE REMOVALS
1100 LEFF ST.
Anthony Flatos, applicant’s representative, has recently taken over management of this
property. He explained that the property has been neglected for quite some time. There
are numerous trees on the property and they applied to have 3 trees removed; two were
undersized and they were given permission to remove them and have trimmed the others.
One pine on the property, closest to the building, has caused extensive roof damage to the
structure because of the needles interfering with drainage. The front unit had to be gutted
and remodeled. He also talked about how much maintenance is involved with the pines
regarding needle and limb drop. Applicant thinks property would be enhanced by
removal of the tree.
Mr. Dollar stated that pines, in general, need a lot of maintenance.
Mr. Parker agreed that there is maintenance involved with all trees and wondered if the
trees had been maintained all along if the damage would have occurred. He noted that
the tree on the Leff St. frontage was diseased and asked applicant if they had a
landscaped plan.
Applicant said he was open to any suggestions.
Mr. Combs stated that the pine has a co-dominant leader and that with maintenance the
tree could be managed, but he is concerned about the limb drop.
Mr. Lopes inquired about the Palm trees growing near the culvert and wondered if they
would be of concern to Mr. Havlick, the City’s Natural Resource Manager. Mr. Combs
didn’t think that Mr. Havlick would be concerned about them. He does think that the
Canary Island Palms were probably seedlings and not planted there on purpose.
Ms. Young said that she thought they were part of the application. Mr. Lopes thought so
too. They told applicant that if they wanted them removed in the future that he would
have to re-apply.
Mr. Lopes asked if they were allowed to remove the tree, if they would have to plant
replacements and Mr. Combs said that there would probably be 4-6 replacements
required.
Ms. Young moved to approve removal based on good arboricultural practices and
proximity to the building and that the co-dominant leader will be a problem.
Mr. Lopes seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
1644 WILSON
Homeowners’ Adam Thomas and wife were present. Mr. Thomas passed out a plot plan
with photos and explained his concerns that the eucalyptus tree is messy, the leaves stain
the patio, it shades the yard and other trees and is killing his lawn. A large limb fell and
split his shed in half and damaged his fence. He’s concerned that his house could also be
damaged.
He has remodeled the home and has planted 2 street trees plus 2 more on the property.
Mr. Lopes asked if the eucalyptus had ever been trimmed and the homeowner said no.
Mr. Combs stated that although he notices where some limbs have split off, the tree
appears healthy. He said there would be no loss of canopy because if the tree was
removed the others in the back yard would fill out.
Mr. Parker said he was concerned that it was a skyline tree and went across the freeway
to check and he felt that removal would allow the other trees to grow taller.
Mr. Lopes stated that the back yard is tight.
Mr. Parker moved to allow the removal based on removal of the tree would not harm the
character of the neighborhood.
Ms. Young seconded it.
A replacement tree will not be required but the committee asked the homeowners to
consider another tree.
The motion passed with 3 approvals and one opposed.
3000 AUGUSTA
The applicants called prior to the meeting and informed Mr. Combs that they were
pulling their application.
399 FOOTHILL
Mr. Lopez, the applicant, was present. He stated that the eucalyptus trees are large and
uplifting the ground. There’s a storm drain that runs through the property and he’s
concerned that the trees will eventually damage the drain. He is designing a new
building and would like to plant all new trees that will fit in with the new design.
Mr. Dollar asked where he was in the building process. Mr. Lopez said that the plans
will go the ARC either the end of January or in February. There has been no building
application submitted at this time.
Mr. Combs stated that he did see parking lot and driveway displacement but says the
trees appear to be healthy.
Mr. Dollar approves removal of tree #4, but would like to see the others remain.
Mr. Lopes stated that the 2 middle trees are healthy but haven’t been maintained. They
are very prominent skyline trees and believe the corner tree (#3 on the map) could be a
problem. He feels the #3 tree should be removed as well as the #4 Silver Dollar one
under the power lines because it prevents the 2nd tree from filling out.
Ms. Young stated that they were the largest trees on the block.
Mr. Parker moved to approve trees #3 & 4 based on good arboricultural practices and
denied removal of trees #1 & 2 because he could not make the findings necessary to
approve removal.
Mr. Dollar seconded it.
No replacement trees are required at this time because those would be addressed through
the ARC.
The motion passed unanimously.
2191 SANTA YNEZ
Roseanne Blackwell was present, representing owner Ben Kulick. She passed out a letter
from Robert Vessely explaining that he believes the eucalyptus is pushing the retaining
wall, causing it to lean and the house to settle in one corner. The roots were also cut
while fixing the foundation. The pine tree in the back yard has roots that are growing
over the gas and water lines. They submitted a landscape plan that includes 5
replacement trees. Robert Shriver, arborist for this projects, explained that the co-
dominate leader is about 8” off the ground and he had noticed borers in this tree and that
the tree is too close to hard surfaces.
Mr. Combs stated that if removal was only for the eucalyptus he could have given
permission but he could find no reason for removal of the pine.
Mr. Lopes didn’t think the pine tree was an undue hardship and explained his reasoning.
Owner stated that they have done quite a bit of pruning. He told the applicant that if they
have future problems that they could re-apply.
Mr. Dollar agreed with Mr. Combs and stated that the pine has good color and vigor and
is a native. He would like the pine to be retained and approves of removal of the
eucalyptus.
Ms. Young agrees and says she believes the pitch that is noticeable, is from old prunings,
not borers. She moved to approve the removal of the Red Ironbark and deny the removal
request of the Monterey Pine because she could not make the necessary findings.
Mr. Dollar seconded that motion.
The motion passed, with Mr. Lopes voting against.
4393 WAVERTREE
The applicants, Mr. & Mrs. Carija were present as well as their son. They have 3 alder
trees in the side yard and are asking to have them removed. They explained that there’s a
lot of upkeep with these trees, the fallout from the trees is causing the landscaping to die
and the flowers attract bees. They are concerned about the school children walking by
and they have also had a neighbor’s dog get stung. The applicants propose replacing the
trees with a more suitable species and re-landscaping the front.
Mr. Dollar told them that Alders are an approved tree for Parks.
Mr. Lopes agreed that they’re not a problem and that they’re an asset to the
neighborhood. He feels their yard is beautiful and he sees no undue hardship.
The homeowners stated that there are other larger alders in the neighborhood. They
acknowledge that the trees are healthy but a bit smaller than others in the neighborhood.
Mr. Dollar asked if they’d ever been pruned and the homeowners said that he’d lifted
them a few years back for sidewalk clearance.
Mr. Lopes inquired if they’d contacted their homeowner’s association regarding the
removals and they said they had not.
Mr. Parker walks frequently in this neighborhood and thinks their landscaping is one of
the best in the neighborhood. He stated that if the location of the bus stop is a concern
for the school that it could possibly be relocated. He doesn’t favor removal.
Mr. Jay Walter, a resident in the neighborhood who lives 6 houses up from the
applicants, commented that he has a very large alder in his yard. He is concerned that if
the committee approves removal, that the other residents will seek to have their trees
removed. He doesn’t favor removal.
The applicants commented that one of the trees had been removed across the street and
Mr. Combs explained that the removal was allowed because the tree was diseased.
The homeowner’s also mentioned that the tree’s roots are surfacing in their backyard.
Mr. Lopes commented that the roots were not mentioned in the application so therefore
he did not look in the back yard. He told the applicant’s that if the roots become a
problem they could re-submit an application or they could appeal to the City Council.
Ms. Young was surprised that they were applying for removal.
Mr. Parker moved to deny the removal request, as he could not make the necessary
findings.
Mr. Dollar seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously
1545 LIZZIE
The homeowner, Donald Avery and the applicant, Patricia Cullinan, Landscape
Contractor were present. They are building a retaining wall and during excavation they
cut thru roots belonging to the neighbor’s oak tree. They are requesting to remove the
oak tree. They passed out a letter from John Kerr, the owner of the oak, stating that he
gives his approval for the removal. They explained that the tree is under power lines and
has been pruned by PGE numerous times.
Mr. Parker approves removal based on good arboricultural practices with a replacement
of 1 24” boxed Toyon.
Ms. Young seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
79 LAS PRADERAS
Wallace and Ruth Trump explained that the pine tree has broken water lines several times
and that the roots are heading for their back bedroom. The tree is too large for the area,
nothing can grow under it and it hangs over the neighbor’s fence.
Mr. Combs stated that it is a medium sized Italian Stonepine with surface roots present.
Mr. Dollar did not see the roots hitting the house but did agree it will only get larger.
Mr. Parker moved to approve removal based on good arboricultural practices.
Ms. Young seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
3. NEW BUSINESS
There is an opening on the Tree Committee left by Katie Hall’s resignation. The City
Clerk’s deadline to submit an application is January 31st. A couple of applications were
passed out at the Farmer’s Market Advisory Body’s booth last week.
Mr. Lopes drafted a letter and forwarded it to Mr. Combs. It is to be emailed/sent out to
everyone that had signed up to be in a Citizen’s Forester group.
Ms. New will work with Mr. Combs to get those letters out on Tuesday.
Mr. Dollar feels the committee should ask for contingency money to replace the freeze
damaged plants.
4. OTHER BUSINESS
Mr. Lopes suggested putting all the common names as well as botanical names on the
Trees for Major Street’s list.
Mr. Dollar would like a copy of the Urban Forest Management Plan. Ms. Lynch said she
would supply the committee with one.
Ms. Lynch suggested that a member of the Tree Committee should speak the next time
there’s an appeal to the City Council.
Mr. Dollar asked about posting and Ms. Lynch said she checked with Planning and once
a property is posted, they do not go back and check on the posting.
It was suggested that the addresses of removals being reviewed, be included in the
committee meeting ad. Ms. Lynch will check that it is acceptable and if so, they will be
included from now on.
Mr. Dollar says he feels that the committee spends 90% of their time on removals. He
feels the committee needs to address other tree related issues and recommendations.
Mr. Lopes said if there’s anything that needs to be discussed it should be placed on the
agenda and a lot of the projects are not pursued because of limited staff.
It was suggested that there should be a standing “Arborist Report” every month on the
agenda.
ON-GOING BUSINESS
Ms. Lynch explained that the committee will be working on updating the Tree Ordinance,
which is high priority. She will work with Keith Pellemeier on it and noted that Jonathan
Lowell and Todd Beights had concerns that will be addressed. She reminded the
committee to make sure to let Community Development know of the changes.
The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. to the next regular meeting of Monday, February 26,
2007 at 5 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sheila New, Recording Secretary