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Home My WebLink About4/25/2022 Item 5b, WhippleTO: Jeremy Lowney FROM: Anthony Whipple, Acting City Arborist/Urban Forest Supervisor SUBJECT: Removal Application SR#12496 On Date: April 11th, 2022, I Posted a Public Notice for a Tree Committee hearing for a tree(s) located at address 439 Branch Street. The signage was placed on south street in response to tree removal application SR#12496. The removal of the mentioned application was submitted based on: San Luis Obispo Municipal Code 12.24.090 (E) 3 E. Criteria and Process for Non-Construction Related Tree Removal Application Determinations Related to Tree Health or Hazard Mitigation or Property Owner Convenience (Refer to Subsection G of This Section for Criteria for Construction Tree Removal Determinations). E. 3. Tree removal requests based on property owner convenience shall be subject to tree committee review in accordance with the process set forth in subsection (F)(2) of this section, the relevant additional application requirements set forth in subsection (D)(2) of this section, and the criteria set forth in subsection G of this section. F. 2. For all tree removal requests related to ministerial development permits, other than as specified in subsection (F)(1) of this section, the tree committee shall review and make a recommendation on the tree removal application to the community development director based on the criteria in subsections G and J of this section. The director shall consider the recommendation of the tree committee, as well as the consistency of the tree removal application with other city development policies and standards applicable to the site, and shall either approve, conditionally approve, or deny the tree removal request, subject to appeal as set forth in Section 12.24.180. The Subject tree Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), The tree committee shall review and make a recommendation on the tree removal application to the Community Development Director. authorized by the City of San Luis Obispo Municipal Code, Title 12, Tree Regulations Thank you, Anthony Whipple, Acting City Arborist/Urban Forest Supervisor (805) 781-7021 awhipple@slocity.org Public Works - Urban Forestry 25 Prado Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3218 805.781.7220 slocity.org Tree Removal Inspection Report Staff Agenda Correspondence - Item 5b April 18, 2022 Delgado, Adriana From:Whipple, Anthony Sent:Monday, April 18, 2022 2:35 PM Cc:Sabatini, Hayley; CityClerk; Cruce, Greg Subject:RE: 04/25/2022 TC Agenda Packet Published Attachments:439 Branch street 1 tree.pdf Bcc Tree Committee, I wanted to revise and clarify the tree removal appeal 5.b 439 BRANCH STREET will be reviewed under the 12.24.090. E.3 section “property owner convenience” listed below for reference. I have attached my revised tree inspection report to reflect my understanding of the process. Tree Regulations 12.24.090 E.3. Tree removal requests based on property owner convenience shall be subject to tree committee review in accordance with the process set forth in subsection (F)(2) of this section, the relevant additional application requirements set forth in subsection (D)(2) of this section, and the criteria set forth in subsection G of this section. F. 2. For all tree removal requests related to ministerial development permits, other than as specified in subsection (F)(1) of this section, the tree committee shall review and make a recommendation on the tree removal application to the community development director based on the criteria in subsections G and J of this section. The director shall consider the recommendation of the tree committee, as well as the consistency of the tree removal application with other city development policies and standards applicable to the site, and shall either approve, conditionally approve or deny the tree removal request, subject to appeal as set forth in Section 12.24.180. D. 2. An application for tree removal on a site where a discretionary or ministerial development permit is requested shall include the following information, in addition to application materials identified in subsection (D)(1) of this section: a. An arborist report that identifies and discusses each tree within the development footprint (including, but not limited to, structural development, grading, staging areas, ground cover removal, changes in drainage patterns, and associated off-site improvements) including those trees proposed for removal and those trees that will remain. An arborist report may not be required for tree removal(s) proposed on a single-family residential site for which only a ministerial development permit for construction related to a single-family residence is requested; b. A site plan that includes accurate drip line delineation and cross sections of construction work impacting both trees proposed for removal and trees planned to remain; c. Any other information deemed necessary by the director of public works or the director of community development to evaluate the proposed removal in accordance with the criteria set forth in subsection G of this section. 1 d. The tree removal application materials shall be provided at the same time and in addition to the development permit application but may reference the development permit application to provide the information required by this section. G. Criteria for Construction Related Tree Removal Recommendation. Recommendations and determinations of the city arborist and the tree committee regarding any tree removal requests pursuant to subsection F of this section shall be based upon the criteria in this section. Tree removal recommendations shall be based on the following criteria: 1. Size of Tree. The scale of the tree shall be considered, as well as the size of the tree’s canopy. Larger, more visually prominent trees may have a higher preservation priority than smaller, less visually prominent trees; 2. Location of Tree on Private Property. The location of the tree on private property shall be considered. Trees located in a private rear yard, which are not highly visible from the public right-of-way, may have a lower preservation priority than trees with a high visual impact to the neighborhood; 3. Species of Tree. Native trees shall have a higher preservation priority than non-native trees; 4. Forestry Best Practice. The number of healthy trees that a given parcel of land will support shall be considered, and whether removal would enhance the health or survival of remaining trees. Applications that increase biodiversity of native trees and tree age distribution within a given area are preferred; 5. Public Right-of-Way Obstruction or Displacement. Street trees requested for removal due to obstruction of vision, access, mobility of public traffic or sidewalk infrastructure repair or replacement shall have a lower preservation priority when the tree species is known to have invasive root structure or other characteristics that increase the likelihood that damage is likely to reoccur if not authorized for removal. Trees adjacent to sidewalks with a high volume of pedestrian use with large vertical or slope displacements may have a lower preservation priority; 6. Compliance with Subsection J of This Section Regarding Compensatory Plantings. The approving authority may consider an application proposal to provide compensatory plantings in excess of required minimums in evaluating this criterion; 7. Heritage Trees. A tree which has been designated a heritage tree is prohibited from removal unless the city arborist authorizes a tree removal upon finding that a tree removal would be related to tree health or hazard mitigation as outlined in subsection (E)(1) of this section. Heritage trees have the highest preservation priority. J. Compensatory Tree Planting. Tree removals authorized under subsection E or F of this section shall be compensated by planting a minimum of one new tree for each tree authorized to be removed when planted on the same property (on site) or two new trees for each tree authorized to be removed when planted on a different property or within the public right-of-way (off site). In approving an application for tree removal, the authorized approving authority shall require compensatory plantings of a size consistent with city engineering standards as set forth in the table below: Container Size Trunk Diameter (inches) 15-gallon 0.75" to 1.5" 24-inch box 1.5" to 2.5" 36-inch box 2.5" to 3.5" 2 Container Size Trunk Diameter (inches) 48-inch box 3.5" to 4.5" The authorized approving authority may require subsequent compensatory tree plantings in the event that the original replacement plantings fail to establish and/or may require a bond ensuring that replacement trees shall be planted and maintained. City Staff will be revising the current tree removal application ASAP and inserting a section for convenience. We believe the revision should clear up any uncertainty. Let me know if you have any questions Thank you, Anthony Whipple Urban Forester Public Works Urban Forest Services 25 Prado Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7314 E awhipple@slocity.org T 805.781.7021 C 805.431.0398 slocity.org Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications From: Cruce, Greg <gcruce@slocity.org> Sent: Monday, April 18, 2022 7:54 AM To: Whipple, Anthony <awhipple@slocity.org> Cc: Sabatini, Hayley <hsabatin@slocity.org> Subject: FW: 04/25/2022 TC Agenda Packet Published Greg Cruce Deputy Director - Maintenance Operations Public Works Department 805.781.7264 gcruce@slocity.org From: Wilbanks, Megan <mwilbanks@slocity.org> Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2022 3:55 PM 3 To: CityClerk <CityClerk@slocity.org> Cc: Cruce, Greg <gcruce@slocity.org> Subject: 04/25/2022 TC Agenda Packet Published Hello, The April 25, 2022 Tree Committee packet is published and available in a new location on the City’s website, the Public Meeting Agendas web page. In June 2021, the Clerk Team implemented a new agenda management software called eSCRIBE, and this platform has allowed us to streamline the way we prepare packets for public meetings. For the past year, we have been slowly transitioning the Advisory Bodies to eSCRIBE- we currently use eSCRIBE to prepare City Council, Planning Commission, Architectural Review Commission, and Cultural Heritage Committee packets. You’ll notice a few minor changes to the format of the packet (font is now Arial and unjustified to be more compliant with ADA Website Accessibility Guidelines). Also, when you look at the website, you will see two options for viewing the packet Agenda HTML | PDF (shown below). “Agenda HTML” is the HTML version of the agenda and you can click on individual items to see their attachments; “Agenda PDF” is the complete agenda packet in PDF form, with bookmarks for easy navigation. If you don’t like either of those views, you can also visit the Tree Committee Laserfiche archive where we archive all of our meeting documents. View from the Public Meeting Agendas web page: Example of viewing Agenda HTML. Click on the report title to open the dialog box with all attachments for that item. Example of viewing the Agenda PDF. This view shows the complete packet as one PDF document. Notice that the system incorporates bookmarks for easier navigation. 4 Another minor update to the TC agenda is the addition of a “Consent” section. Consent items are regularly used for Council, PC, ARC, and CHC meetings and are deemed to be routine, uncontroversial items that can be acted upon at the same time (meaning only one vote). TC Members and/or members of the public can speak on any item listed under Consent, which will typically only be approval of the last meeting’s draft minutes, as shown below. If you have any questions or need further instruction on how to access the packet, please let me know! Bcc: Tree Committee Group Megan Wilbanks Deputy City Clerk City Administration 990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249 E mwilbank@slocity.org T 805.781.7103 slocity.org Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications 5