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Home My WebLink About04-04-2017 Item 16, RitterCOUNCIL MEETING: ITE -M NO.: APR 0 3 2017 SLO CITY CLERK From: Matt Ritter [ Sent: Sunday, April 2, 2017 6:46 PM To: Codron, Michael <mcodron@slocity.o> Cc: Grigsby, Daryl <dgrigsby@slocity.or> Subject: 71 Palomar Hello Michael, I hope you are doing well. I will not be able to attend the city council meeting on Tuesday evening and it's been requested that I send you an email clarifying my position on the trees at 71 Palomar. As Chair of the Tree Committee, I had an opportunity to visit the site and review the reports that were submitted to the City regarding the trees. We also had several meetings of the Tree Committee where we heard testimony from the neighbors, the developer's architect, and City staff. As you know, I was unimpressed with the developer's arborist report as well as the second arborist's report contracted by the City, and I discussed the failures of that report in my email to Rachel Cohen, which I copied you on, on December 13th, 2016. The shortcomings of the reports aside, I think deeply about tree removal in San Luis Obispo and I'm grateful to be in a City that has an ordinance to protect our urban forest. San Luis Obispo is, after all, a Tree City USA. With regards to 71 Palomar, the property is large has many trees on it. Those numerous mature trees contribute significant canopy cover and make up an important part of the urban forest in that neighborhood. I think our City should carefully consider any proposal to reduce large amounts of canopy cover. That being said, no INDIVIDUAL tree at 71 Palomar is particularly special, large, historic, or of great arboricultural value. The only possible exception to this is the tallest Norfolk Island Pine on site, which by my measurements (95 feet tall) is the second tallest individual of this species in San Luis Obispo. Thank you for your efforts in this difficult and controversial project. Warm regards, Matt Matt Ritter, PhD I Professor I Biological Sciences Department California Polytechnic State University I San Luis Obispo I CA 93407 :