HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-27-2006 TC MinutesCITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
TREE COMMITTEE
CORPORATION YARD
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2006
MEMBERS PRESENT:Jim Lopes, Don Dollar, Ben Parker, and Sara Young
STAFF PRESENT:Ron Combs, Todd Beights, and Barbara Lynch
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Christine Mulholland, Council rep to the Tree Committee, announces that Council will
appoint a new liaison and thanked the Committee for their dedicated service.
Audrey Hooper, City Clerk, discussed the Advisory Body Recruitment process and stated
that the current advisory body vacancies were presenting a challenge to fill. She outlined
how her office was stepping up efforts to advertise recruitment efforts and discussed the
draft brochure. She encouraged Committee members and staff to participate in the
recruitment and education efforts.
Mr. Lopes agreed to draft a letter of explanation and invitation to apply to be sent to the
people who have expressed interest in the Citizen Forestry group and that a brochure and
application could be included with the letter.
1.APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 23, 2006 MINUTES
The minutes were approved as submitted.
2.TREE REMOVALS
MADONNA ROAD & LOS OSOS VALLEY ROAD
Dave Wesolowski, applicant’s representative, discussed the problems with the sidewalk
damage and utility interferences and felt the property owners’ proposal to replace the
existing trees and update the maintenance systems would improve the overall look of the
corridor. He discussed the pine set back 10’ from the curb and felt the replacement
scheme would enhance the neighborhood.
Julie Galvin, property manager for the site, expressed a strong desire to improve the “curb
appeal” for the shopping center. She discussed the non-potable watering system that had
been approved for the site and Mr. Wesolowski’s designs for appealing and easily
maintained landscaping.
Mr. Lopes felt a detailed tree replacement and landscaping plan was necessary to address
the removals. He was concerned about any original use permit issues and felt the CDD
staff should be consulted before the Tree Committee’s final review.
Ms. Galvin noted she had been working with Pam Ricci in CDD for land use issues to
date.
Mr. Parker agreed with Mr. Lopes about the need for CDD involvement.
Mr. Dollar felt an arborist should get involved with determining the health of the trees.
He also felt Mr. Wesolowski should review the requirements for Major Street list, which is
proposed for update approval by Council in the near future.
Mr. Combs noted that some of the Madonna Road existing street trees were interfering
with overhead wires and that the eucalyptus by the bus stop was too close to the
hardscape and felt those could be removed. He did not that most of the trees were fairly
healthy. He also noted that in terms of the infrastructure/hardscape relation, planting the
trees further back than 10’ from hardscape would make them preferable for maintenance
issues and felt larger tree species could be chosen to have further setbacks.
Mr. Dollar determined with Mr. Combs that the pines have about 50 years to go. Mr.
Dollar was also concerned that the site was not posted. Mr. Combs stated the site had
been posted 10 days prior.
Ms. Galvin stated they could consult with CDD regarding the landscaping plan and return
to Tree Committee with any removals slated from that approved design.
Ms. Mulholland stated she was a resident in the neighborhood and felt the existing mature
and multi-species tree scape on Los Osos Valley Road was preferable to a mono-themed
replacement plan and felt some evergreens needed to be included. She felt removing all
the trees at once would be too extreme an approach. She also noted she did not see any
sign postings.
Ms. Galvin noted the need for “pedestrian friendly” trees, e.g. fewer needles dropped to
cause slip hazards.
Mr. Parker moved to continue the item to allow applicant the opportunity to consult with
the CDD and coordinate with the proposed Major Street Tree list to create a landscaping
plan for review.
Ms. Young seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Dollar discussed how to mitigate sign postings being vandalized or removed from the
sites and make sure residents were made aware of posted information. He suggested
expanding the legal notice text to list the addresses of removals proposed.
Ms. Lynch agreed to investigate the possibility.
3.NEW BUSINESS
A.Review Draft Advisory Body Recommended Goals
There was general Committee discussion on the focus of the goals and the most effective
manner by which to present them.
Mr. Lopes felt there should be some support for the start-up of a Citizen Forestry group
to supplement the maintenance efforts and costs involved with urban forestry.
Mr. Dollar discussed the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.
The Committee agreed to draft Goal as follows:
TREE COMMITTEE GOALS:
WHAT:
Increase resources for the Urban Forest Maintenance Division to:
Be in parity with comparable cities
Provide a sustainable urban forest
Reduce risk and liability within the City
Provide preventative tree care and maintenance
Address issues/needs outlined in the “Evaluation of Selected Street Trees”
report (March 2006)
WHY:
The number of trees under the City’s jurisdiction has steadily increased over
the past 20 years without sufficient increase in staffing and budget
The Mayor committed to maintaining a healthy urban forest and promoting
tree planting to increase shading and help absorb CO2, as outlined in the signed
”Mayors Climate Protection Agreement”
HOW:
Increase the tree maintenance budget to provide necessary trimming and tree care
resources as provided in other comparable cities.
B.Review Draft Downtown Urban Forest Management Plan and make
recommendations
There was general Committee discussion and recommendations. Highlights included:
Include tree regulations in the document “Purpose” section
Outline tree specifics in the “Resource Dedication” section, e.g. tree
injuries, truck height damage, vandalism, infrastructure damage
In the “Work Identification” section addressing how specific work requests
will be prioritized, state the Downtown report will guide City’s response
and prioritization of citizen and utility requests
In the “Vandalism” section, expand the high potential zone for vandalism
to include Pacific Street
In the “Infrastructure Damage” section, have the first sentence of the
second paragraph read: “This portion of the plan is not unique to the
downtown area, but is a citywide issue where trees and sidewalks, streets,
pipelines, and public interest meet.”
In the “Tree Planting and Care” section, delete the last part of the last
sentence in the paragraph and have the paragraph end with “It will be
continued on an as needed basis.”
Delete reference to “non-aerial spray methods”
Suggested adding a paragraph to emphasize improving on-going
maintenance of trees to include water, increasing fertilization to prolong
and enhance tree life and preventing problems
Add an end paragraph addressing the re-evaluation of activities to date and
requiring on-going assessments of Report implementation
The Committee agreed they did not need to review the document again and asked staff to
coordinate suggestions with Downtown Association and deliver it to Council.
C.Council Appeal
Mr. Lopes discussed Mr. O’Reilly’s appeal of the Tree Committee decision regarding the
Chorro St. Mobile station property and asked that as many Committee members as
possible be in attendance at the Council meeting of 12/5/06.
Mr. Dollar reiterated that he voted against the motion, which had allowed for specific tree
removals and retention of other trees on site, because he felt all the trees should remain
until a design for the property had been approved and the request for removal should be
made after that design approval.
OTHER BUSINESS
1.Tree List Update Submitted to Council
Mr. Lopes noted the list was going to be submitted for Council approval and again urged
members to attend the 12/5 meeting.
ON-GOING BUSINESS
1.Staff Report
Mr. Combs stated that all six removals on the Action Plan had been performed with
virtually no complaints from the public. He reported that all major pruning projects had
been completing, but stump grinding, replanting, and infrastructure repairs/tree grates still
needed to be performed.
Mr. Lopes suggested that by upcoming Arbor Day, a spring planting project or pruning
project be outlined with the Citizen Urban group to be part of the Arbor Day activities.
He also discussed fundraising possibilities to promote projects.
He noted that EcoSlo had done some planting on the Bob Jones trail.
The meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m. to the next regular meeting of Monday, January 22,
2007 at 5 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Woske, Recording Secretary