HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-09-2009 Tree Committee Meeting MinutesFairhope Tree Committee Meeting Minutes September 9, 2009 Members Present: Bobby Green, Tom Ellis. Paul Fontenot, Jennifer Fidler, and Maria Gwynn Members Absent: Rick K.ingrea and Skip Jones Guests: Paul Ripp, Susan Davis and Ed Skinner The minutes of the April 16, 2009 meeting were approved with corrections. Jennifer stated that the number of trees given out on Arbor Day were actually several hundred more than that which is reported in the minutes. Tom made a motion to approve with correction s; motion was seconded by Maria and passed unanimously. Tom presented a book to Jackie Frodsham to thank her for her years of service on the Tree Committee. Vacancy on the Committee: Jackie recommended in January of 2009 that Harriet Gutknecht replace her on the Tree Committee but some eight (8) months later the Mayor has not acted on that recommendation. Jackie stated that Mayor Kant had indicated to her that he wanted to appoint a member from the Wisteria Garden Club and the Fairhope Garden Club. Bobby suggested writing a letter to the Mayor asking that Harriet be approved. Paul suggested submitting more than one name to the Mayor. Jennifer suggested Troy Strunk a Landscape Architect and Paul suggested Katherine Pate who works for Walcott, Adams in their Environmental Green Division. Tree Survey Issue -Shoppes at Fairhope Village: Bobby presented the Committee with a timeline of all the events which have occurred concerning the Tree Survey Issue going back to October of 2007. Jennifer stated that she had ridden the property with Arthur Corte in 2007 and didn't see any large trees on the property. On December 3, 2007 Planning & Zoning gave Preliminary Site Plan Approval of the development. The minutes of that meeting reflect the approval was given provided the following .conditions be met: 1) a revised Landscaped Plan be done; 2) a Tree Survey be completed; and, 3) a Tree Protection Plan, meeting the approval of Jennifer Fidler, be submitted. Paul Ripp stated that once these conditions had been met that it should have gone back to the Planning & Zoning Commission for final approval. The problem with this development is that P&Z did not have all the documentation before a decision was made. The Tree Ordinance states that the Tree Survey has to be done and then overlaid on the Landscape Plan indicating the trees to be retained and the trees to be removed and an explanation of why the trees must be removed. Jennifer
stated that when an engineer tells her that the only way a site can be developed is by removal of the trees she doesn't know what to do because she is not an engineer. The bottom line is that the Planning & Zoning Commission needs to have all the documentation before they make a decision. Paul asked if certain steps are followed by the Planning & Zoning Department. Bobby stated that a checklist should be provided to Jennifer, the Planning & Zoning Department and the Planning & Zoning Commission that would include all the documentation cited in the Tree Ordinance that needs to be included and reviewed prior to P&Z approval. Bobby stated that he needs to report back to the City Council on recommendations to avoid the kind of mistakes that were made with The Shoppes at Fairhope. The next issue is how the same mistakes can be avoided in Phase II of the Arthur Corte development. Maria stated that before the developer does anything it should be explained to the developer exactly what documentation must be provided. This again goes back to the need for a checklist. Paul urged the committee to get a checklist in place before Phase II begins or the same thing will occur again. Maria will draft the checklist for the committee to approve. Maria made a motion for Bobby to write a letter to the City Council explaining exactly what we think happened and make recommendations to prevent the same from occurring in the future. Paul seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Bobby will e-mail the letter to the committee members for approval prior to submitting to the Mayor and Council. Susan Davis - Tree Behind Her Shop: Mrs. Davis presented the Tree Committee members with copies of the minutes of the informal July 2009 meeting discussing the issues she has with the large Oak tree behind her shop in the Hampton Inn Courtyard. Jennifer had denied her the right to cut the limbs in her airspace which hang over her shop. She is asking the Tree Committee to review Jennifer's denial and let her know what she can and cannot do. Mrs. Davis wants to know if she would be able to cut the limbs to add a second story to her building. She also expressed concern that the limbs might fall on her building. Mr. Skinner stated that he and Mrs. Davis each hired an attorney and tried to work with the City on this but got no response. The attorneys advised that the only recourse was to sue. The committee advised Mrs. Davis that they would have to get a legal opinion from the City Attorney and get back to her. It was suggested that Jennifer, Rick Kingrea and Tom visit with the City Attorney. Jennifer will set up the meeting. Ms. Davis and Mr. Skinner agreed to postpone the appeal until the legal opinion is obtained. Bobby suggested that maybe an allowance could be made to cut the limbs up to a height of 35 feet the maximum height allowed for building a second story but Jennifer stated she would have to have building plans in hand before approval would be granted.
Letter Concerning Regency and the Tree Survey conducted by Tom and Paul: The Tree Committee submitted a letter back in April to the Mayor and asked that the letter be sent to Mr. Corte and Regency Centers. Bobby got a response back from the Mayor that the letter would not be sent. Tom suggested that the inventory of the trees in the right-ofway be sent to the Mayor with a request that it be sent to Mr. Corte, Regency Centers and the State Highway Department with an understanding that the trees and vegetation in the right-of-way are not to be cut according to an agreement made between the Committee, Mr. Corte and Regency Centers in exchange for allowing the Live Oak to be cut for their driveway. They have now asked that the buffer in the right-of-way be cut. Tom and Paul then performed an inventory of all the trees in the right-of-way. Bobby will send a letter to the Mayor stating the Tree Committee's position with the Tree Inventory included. It is the committee's position is that none of the trees or vegetation in the right-of-way is to be cut. Tree Removal on Public Property: The Mayor and the engineer hired by the county made the decision to cut the Live Oak near the Satellite Courthouse. This tree was in the City of Fairhope right-of-way. The Mayor gave Jennifer an order to cut the tree during the meeting with the county. Jennifer and The Planning & Zoning Commission suggested that the tree might be saved but the county insisted that it had to be removed. The Mayor signed the order for removal of the tree. The meeting was adjourned at 5:55 PM. Attachments: Corrected minutes of April 16, 2009 meeting Report/Recommendations-Shoppes at Fairhope Village Recommendations for development of checklist City Attorney Opinion-Trees on private property