HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-27-2003 TC MinutesCITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
TREE COMMITTEE MEETING
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2003
MEMBERS PRESENT: Laura Rice, Jim Lopes, Steve Caminiti
STAFF PRESENT: Ron Combs, Lisa Woske
1. REVIEW MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 22, 2003
The minutes were approved as submitted.
2. TREE REMOVAL REQUESTS
132 CALIFORNIA (4 palms)
Roland Fumase, resident, 132 California, discussed the history of rats living in the palms.
He stated concerns with the location of the trees, which were planted in a small planter
area on a steep grade, held up by a failing retaining wall. He believed the wall was being
pushed over by the trees and the problems would get worse and create a liability with the
neighbors. He was also concerned that the tree roots were causing foundation problems.
He noted that the site was heavily planted with trees, half of which were palms.
Mr. Combs agreed that the palm closest to the house was growing into the building and
that the palms may be damaging the retaining curb. He discussed a need for shade in the
area and reported that the property owners had agreed to mitigate the tree loss with
plantings along the frontage/lawn area. He felt there should be a shade tree in the
parkway.
Daniel Dalshi, resident, 132 California, did not favor all of the removals and felt the
retaining structure was rotting and could be rebuilt. He did favor removing the saplings
in the back and the palm closest to the house.
Mr. Lopes thought the palms looked crowded and could be thinned. He suggested
replacing the palms with a species such as camphor for shade aspect. He favored
removal of all the palms, with replacement plantings appropriate for the site and shade.
Ms. Rice agreed with the concept of leaving the three front palms and removing the
saplings and the tree by the house.
Mr. Caminiti agreed with Ms. Rice. He stated he could also favor removing the second
closest to the sidewalk to thin the stand, replacing them with two 15-gallon canopy trees,
e.g. jacarandas.
The Committee agreed the retaining structure was not a liability issue.
Mr. Caminiti moved to approve the removal of the tree closest to the house, the removal
of the two young seedlings, and the tree that is second in place from the sidewalk area,
based on promoting good arboricultural practice. He required two 15-gallon trees to be
chosen from the Master Street Tree List, coordinated with the City Arborist, and planted
within 45 days of issuance of permit. He suggested species with the attributes of
shading for the area.
Mr. Lopes seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
276 DEL MAR (Italian Stone pine)
Herb Lucas, 276 Del Mar, discussed the removal request, stating that the tree had been
continually pruned and maintained, but was still too big for the front yard. He reported
that branches and cones had fallen and damaged vehicles and the littering of the needles
and cone was causing a hardship. He suggested replacing the tree with Red Maple,
Orchid, Eastern Red Bud, or Toyon tree species.
Marybeth Lucas, 276 Del Mar, also was concerned with littering and the liability to the
neighbor’s driveway. She also felt the tree had been misshapen due to pruning efforts.
Al Bonin, 272 Del Mar, was concerned about the liability of the tree, stating it was top
heavy, had cracked the driveway due to root intrusion, and reported that the littering of
cones had damaged his vehicle.
Mr. Combs stated that the tree was a healthy specimen and he could not make findings
for removal. He agreed the tree was in the wrong location for its size and it would keep
getting bigger.
Ms. Rice agreed it was a beautiful tree, but favored removal due to the increasing
problems faced by the property owners.
Mr. Lopes and Mr. Caminiti agreed with Ms. Rice.
Mr. Lopes moved to approve the removal request, based on promoting good
arboricultural practice and due to undue hardship, and required replacement planting of
one 15-gallon tree to be chosen from the Master Street Tree List, coordinated with the
City Arborist. And planted within 45 days of issuance of permit.
Ms. Rice seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
3. NEW BUSINESS
Margaret Sigerson, 1840 Hope, discussed a strong concern with the issue of regulating
the pruning native trees and the lack of direction included in the Tree Ordinance.
She reported on a 300-500 year old oak located on her property, which had a section that
grew over her neighbor’s property line at 378 Grand. The neighbor had massively
pruned a major section of the tree on his side of the property, without notice to Mrs.
Sigerson, and had ruined its shape arbitrarily, as she was unaware of any mitigating
issues on his property due to the tree’s location and form.
Mrs. Sigerson was concerned for the tree’s viability with such invasive actions against
the tree. She believed that there should be protective language in the Tree Ordinance that
addressed even the pruning of native trees so that the trees could be preserved whenever
possible.
Mr. Combs did concur that there was no permit required regarding pruning issues. He
noted that the City of Paso Robles had language included in their Tree Ordinance which
restricted cutting any branch over 6” in diameter without a permit.
Mr. Caminiti agreed that such language needed to be included in the San Luis Obispo
city Tree Ordinance, which would outline that even neighbors/non tree-owners had to
comply if any branch over 6” was involved. He further believed that in such cases, the
property owner needed notification and agreement with any pruning actions.
Mr. Combs agreed to research and distribute copies of Paso Robles’ Tree Ordinance with
the next agenda packet so language could be considered for inclusion to protect all
aspects of native trees.
4. OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Lopes discussed the need for communication and follow-up on items and concerns
that have been raised by the Tree Committee and reviewed and/or acted upon by other
departments and committees. He used the Board Street undergrounding project as an
example, stating he had to track down follow-up information and had not been notified of
council actions, etc.
He cited follow-up requests for the goals and management objectives discussed with staff
and the Tree Committee, e.g. ordinance review, as well as the goal to have better
clarification on departmental/committee roles in new development planning.
Mr. Combs agreed to pursue a stronger line of communication and updating on pertinent
issues.
The meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m. to the next regular meeting of Monday, November
24, 2003 at 5 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Woske
Recording Secretary