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HomeMy Public PortalAbout8A Appeal of Parks and Recreation Commission Decision no to remove a Valley Oak Tree 9836 Estrella AvenueDATE: TO: FROM: AGENDA PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT ITEM 8.A. MEMORANDUM December 15, 2015 The Honorable City Council Bryan Cook, City Manager f\ f>r By : Cathy Burroughs , Director of Parks and Recreation CJ~ SUBJECT: APPEAL OF PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION DECISION TO NOT REMOVE A VALLEY OAK TREE LOCATED AT 9836 ESTRELLA AVENUE RECOMMENDATION: The City Council is requested to: a) Consider request from a resident to remove a Valley Oak tree at 9836 Estrella Avenue ; and b) Uphold the Parks and Recreation Commission's decision to not remove the tree . BACKGROUND: 1. On December 3 , 2013, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 13-983 repealing the existing Roadside Trees Ordinance and replacing it with a Tree Preservation and Protection Ordinance . The Tree Preservation and Protection section of the Temple City Municipal Code (TCMC) reflects current best practices relat ive to public trees and establishes policies, procedures , and expectations for City-owned trees located in public rights of way. 2. On October 14, 2015 , staff received a request from the property owner at 9836 Estrella Avenue to remove the Valley Oak tree located in the public right of way at that address. City Arborist Rob Cruse inspected the tree and determined it did not meet the removal criteria outlined in §3-4D -9A of the TCMC (Attachment "A "). 3 . On October 16, 2015 , the property owner was notified of the City's determination . 4. On October 28, 2015, the property owner, Chung Chen , submitted a Notice of Appeal to the Parks and Recreation Department appealing staff's decision to not remove the Valley Oak tree located at 9836 Estrella Avenue . City Council December 15 , 2015 Page 2 of 3 5. On November 18, 2015 , the Parks and Recreation Commission cons idered the request for removal of the Valley Oak tree located at 9836 Estrella Avenue . The Commission upheld staffs determination to not remove the tree . 6 . On November 24, 2015 , Mr. Chen submitted a Notice of Appeal to t he City appealing the Parks and Recreation Commission 's decision to not remove the tree to the City Council (Attachment "B"). ANALYSIS: The Parks and Recreation Department received a request from the property owner at 9836 Estrella Avenue requesting that the City-owned Valley Oak tree located i n front of their home be removed. The resident requested removal primarily due to cultural beliefs as the tree is located in front of the main entrance to the house . The resident also stated the gas line runs directly under the tree , therefore the root system might cause damage to the gas line , meter, and vault. Section 3-4D-9A of the TCMC addresses removal of public trees and identifies criteria for removal. City Arborist Rob Cruse inspected the tree located in the parkway at 9836 Estrella Avenue and determined it is a healthy Valley Oak tree , approximately 30 ' in height , which does not meet any of the criteria for removal as stated in §3-4D-9A . In reviewing the work history for this location , the tree has been trimmed regularly by the City's contractor, West Coast Arborist, including in 2003, 2007 and 2012. The property owner was notified of staffs decision and appealed that decis ion to the Parks and Recreation Commission . In appealing staffs decision to not remove the tree , the property owner stated that the Valley Oak tree aligns directly in front of the main entrance of the home "which is causing all inhabitants in the dwelling declined quality of life and misfortune ." The property owner also states that the tree is located approximate ly four feet fro m the gas meter vault and that the gas line runs directly below the tree. Staff has verified that the gas meter is near the tree , but we do not know where exactly the gas line is located . There is no indication at this time of any damage to the gas line , meter or vault. Attached to this staff report are photographs of the tree and adjacent property (Attachment "C"). During the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting on November 18 , 2015 , the applicant stated §3-4D-9A8 applied to their situation. Subsection 8 , under Criteria for Removal , states: "Obstructing proposed improvements so as to restri ct economic enjoyment of the adjacent property, including construction or safe use of a driveway or parking space for which a permit has been issued , unless such tree has been designated as an exceptional specimen tree ." The intent of this section is to allow a property owner to request removal of a tree if/when improvements are made to the City Council December 15, 2015 Page 3 of 3 property, or a new home is constructed, and the proposed location of certain amenities (i.e. driveway, walls , fence , sidewalk, water and gas meters, etc.) would be impacted by the tree in its current location. The Commission deliberated on the intent of this section and agreed it did not apply. The Commission also considered moving the tree so it does not obstruct the main entrance to the home . However, due to the age and size of the tree, it is unlikely the tree would survive if moved. Ultimately the Commission upheld staffs decision to not remove the tree. CITY STRATEGIC GOALS: Upholding the Parks and Recreation Commission 's decision to not remove the Valley Oak tree located at 9836 Estrella Avenue will promote or further the City's Strategic Goal of Quality of Life . FISCAL IMPACT: Th is item does not have an impa ct on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015-16 City Budget. ATTACHMENTS: A . TCMC §3-4D-9A B. Notice of Appeal -Chuang Chen C . Photographs of tre e lo cated at 9836 Estrella Avenue D . Draft Minutes of the Parks and Recreati on Commission 's Regular Meeting of November 18, 2015 ATTACHMENT A 3-40-9: REMOVAl OF PUBliC TREES: A. Cr iteria For Removal: The city values trees as an important part of the environment and shall strive to preserve them w h e never poss ibl e and fe as ib le. Su bject t o provisions of this article, the director or his/he r d esig nee shall be r esponsible for inspection, maintenance, removal and replacement of pub lic trees, and may ca use p u blic tree s t o be removed, or pe rm i t the remova l of a public tree p ursuant to a permit, if they ar e deemed to be : 1 . Dead; 2. Dyin g, decayed or hazardou s, or so we aken ed by age , disease, storm, fire, excav ation, removal of adjacent trees, or any injury so as t o cause imminent danger to persons or property; 3. St ructurally unsound du e to an abnorma l and unco rrecta ble structure or appearance due to severe pruning or storm dam age ; 4. Diseased beyond re clamation, o r the co nd ition of which is a source of present d anger to healthy trees in th e vici nity, providing tha t an inspec t ion and notice attesting to such fac t ha s been completed by a state li censed pest con trol advisor or arborist ; 5. Ob stru cti ng c urb, gutter or sidewalk repa ir, or in the way of a new curb, g utter or sid ewalk for which an exce ption to sta ndard d es ign is determined by the director to be inco nsi st ent with established po lici es and st andard s for publi c tre e pla n tin g an d main tenance; 6. In dangerous proximity t o existing structure s or interfering with ex isting uti lities; 7 . Causing excessive d am age to curbs , gutte r s, sidewa lks, or driveways; 8. Ob st ructing proposed improvements so as t o restrict eco nom ic enjoyment of the adjacent prope rty, includi ng the construction o r safe use of a driveway or parking space for which a permit h as been issued, unless such tree has been designated as an exceptiona l spec im en tree ; 9. Cr owded by other trees and good ho r ticu l tural pract ices d ictate removal of some of them; 10. Oth e rwi se he althy, but the r emova l of w h ich is considered des i ra b le b ecause it is a proven nuisance species a nd /o r in o rd er t o ac hieve a properly st age d t ree rep l acement schedule whi ch e nab les severa l ge nerations of t r ees to ex ist sim u ltaneously; 11. Causing an allergic rea ct ion t o a prope r ty owne r whose property is adjacent to th e public t ree . The property owne r mu st prov ide a cer t ification from a physician li censed to practice in Ca l ifornia that th e tree is ca u sing the prope rty owne r to suffer allergic r eactions. Exceptional specimen trees may not be removed p ursuant t o this subsect ion 3-4D -9All; 12. Incompatible wi t h the growing space o r un suitabl e for use in it s present location; 13. To facilitate ha rd scape repairs that canno t be complete d without severe root p r uning or other ac tio n that wo uld j eo par dize the heal th and st ab ility of the t ree. ATTACHMENT 8 City of Temple City-Department of Parks and ·Rec r eatio n 10144 Bogue St reet, Te mple City CA 91780 (626) 285-2171 NOTICE OF APPEAL-TREE REMOVAL For office u se only File Number -----------------Fi l ed: 1\ \,~Y, \J') Project Location---------------By: ~ Please TYPE or PRI NT all inform ation clea rly ~ APPE LLANT NAME: t'f> VI IN{\~ GWJV\ APPELLA NT ADDREss: G1 ~;V; ~-\it\ \CA J\VQ_.\tn,~\.Q CA~ . 0 ~ OJ nW (All correspondence will be mailed t o this address) Phone :0J.loq )-\tt. <£qq~ Emai l: S-:JO\J1~S@)~ff\~.(;orJ{ TREE(s) LOCATI ON: BVI'd \l D~t u=b V\JC\~ oJAjCA u. ~t .\) ~oo>r r-b fMf--IJ1~ Please state speci fic rea son(s) for th e appea l (use se p arate sheet if necessary) REASON FOR APPEAL: _ __.f__,Uk~([~W;..__~_\;W-_. _lJ\1\_L_~------- APPELLANT SIGNATURE:"""~:::...._---'==>-2"'----.......,---------------­ PrintName :~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,~~---------~ By sig nin g this Notice of App eal-Tree Remova l Form, I hereby certify that I am a r esident or property owner of the City o f Temple City. I further ce rtify th at I have read Sect ion 3459 of the TCMC, including the appeals process. Please return this form by emai l t o: d ing ram@te mp lec ity.us., mail to: Ci ty o f Tem pl e Ci t y, Attn: Departm ent of Park s and Recr ea t ion, 9701 La s Tunas Dr, Te mple City CA 91780 or i n person at the Live Oak Pa rk An nex, 10144 Bogue Street, Temple City. NOTE : Th e ap pellant has the burden of proof. In o rd er for the appellant to prevail, he/she must show by clear and convincing eviden ce, that City staff's decision to remove or not remove a street tree i s not au t horized by appl icable fed eral, state o r local law, o r is i ncons istent with the remov al criteria per Sectio n 3459 of th e (TCM C) Te mple City M un icipal Code. Additional Information Reaso n for Appeal: We are appeal in g the denial o f our tree removal request bec ause we feel that WE D O meet th e removal criteria as outlined in th e Temple City Municipal Code 3-4 D-9A. According to our cu ltural b el iefs, the location of the Valley Oak tree i s o bstructing proposed improvements so as to restrict economic enjoyment of the adjacent property. T he Valley Oak aligns directly in front of the main entrance which is causing a ll inhabitants in the dwelling decline quality of li fe and misfortune. Furthennore, with t he severe drought and Governor Jerry Brown proclaimed a State of Emergency, we want to help California conserve water by re landscaping our front yard to a drought tolerant landscape . The Valle y Oak tree is al so located ap prox imately four feet from a gas meter vault and the existing gas line runs directly below the tree. Pennitting the tree removal w ill prevent the root system to cause excessive damage to the gas meter vault , gas line , and meter . The Valley Oak tre e is not pro tected, nor designated as a heritage tree in Temple City. On November 18, 20 14 , The Parks and Recreation Commission denied o ur request to r emove the tree. The Commiss ion blatantly disregarded our cultural beliefs and did not take into count how we interpret the vaguely written Temple C ity Municipal Code 3-4D-9A. ATTACHMENT C 9836 ESTRELLA AVENUE ATTACHMENT D PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES A November 18, 2015 ~ ~\f \} \ 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS -None w)~ Page 2 7. NEW BUSINESS A. REQUEST FOR REMOVAL OF A VALLEY OAK (QUERCUS LOBATA) TREE LOCATED AT 9836 ESTRELLA AVENUE Parks and Recreat ion Director Burroughs presented the staff report. Chuang Chen , res id ent at 9836 Estrella addressed the Comm ission citing their desire having the tree removed due to cultural beliefs. She stated the tree is constricting the flow of pos iti ve energy and referenced subsection #8 from the Temple City Municipal Code 3-4D-9 . Ms . Chen stated the tree was not planted when the home was purchased more than 1 0 years ago. Commissioner Haddad asked if the tree could be replanted . City Arborist Rob Cruse confirmed the tree was planted at the location approximately 10 years ago . He added it would be a high risk to relocate the tree. The tree has a life span up to 150 years . The Commission discussed the intent of subsection 8 of the TCMC 3-4D , obstructing proposed improvements so as to restrict economic enjoyment of the adjacent property, including the construction or safe use of a driveway or parking space for which a permit has been issued, unless such tree has been designated as an exceptional specimen tree . Parks and Recreation Director Burroughs stated the intent of subsection 8 was for sidewal k or driveway improvements. Vice-Chairman Georgina moved to deny the appeal submitted by Chuang- Pay Chen and Pi-Yu Liu to remove a Valley Oak tree located at 9836 Estrella Avenue , seconded by Chairman Rosso and unanimously carried by the following roll call vote : AYES: NOES: ABSENT : ABSTAIN: Commissioner-Baroldi , Georgina , Rosso Commissioner-Haddad Commissioner-Wen Commissioner-None Parks and Recreation Director Burroughs notified the property owners that the decision can be repealed to the City Council within 1 0 days .