Appeals Hearing Board Meeting

APPEALS HEARING BOARD MEETING MINUTES CITY OF MONTEREY (Zoom teleconference) Monday, February 22, 2021 11:00 AM MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Board members Present: Hawkins, Millich, Glenzer Absent: Yaqub (Alternate) Board Staff Assistant City Attorney Karin Salameh, Deputy City Attorney Ryan Donlon Present: and Clerk of the Board Alicia Salas Other Staff City Forester Justin Prouty Present: CALL TO ORDER Chair Hawkins called the Zoom meeting to order at 11:05 pm PUBLIC COMMENTS None. PUBLIC HEARING 1. Reopened Hearing on the Appeal by Chinyere Ogbonna of the City Forester’s Decision to Deny Application for Removal of One California Pepper Tree at 514 Prescott Avenue, Monterey, APN 001-083-011-000 – Continued from February 9, 2021 (Not a CEQA Project) Assistant City Attorney Karin Salameh said at the last meeting there was a Stipulation between the Appellant and the Department that if Board member Glenzer watched the video of the previous hearing the Board could proceed with deliberations without redoing all the evidence. Board member Glenzer stated that he did watch the video. He also apologized to Ms. Ogbonna for not being at the last meeting. Board member Millich said the pepper tree is originally from Peru, so it’s not a native tree. He said it can last for about 150 years and can grow about three feet a year. He continued and said he believes the tree is in the wrong place - it’s over the sewer line. He said it may or may not break but if it does break it’s very expensive and the Appellant is going to be living there a long time. Board member Millich said in terms of safety it is a factor when he takes all of this into consideration. He pointed to a couple of traffic counts performed by the City to show how busy Prescott Avenue is on a daily basis. Finally he said he visited the property and saw that it is a very small lot and the tree over takes and over shadows most of the lot. Board member Millich said the tree is just too big for the lot and if the appellant is willing to replace it, then he would grant the appeal. Board member Glenzer said to start there is the science of it all – is the tree healthy, will the sewer line break? He said the preponderance of the evidence suggests that the tree is healthy and the sewer will be fine. He said it all comes down to the four criteria that were introduced in Appeals Hearing Board February 22, 2021 Minutes the last meeting. Board member Glenzer said there is no question of mitigation measures as the Appellant already said she is willing to do that. He said the visual prominence of the tree and importance of the tree is a judgment call. He continued and said he doesn’t see that removing the tree will negatively affect the property value of the lot, but instead he thought it would probably help it. Board member Glenzer pointed out the anxiety of the Appellant which is one of the four criteria to consider. He said one cannot ask someone to be anxious or not be anxious about something. So it all comes down, for him, to safety and Appellant’s enjoyment of gardening for her wellbeing. Board member Glenzer said he appreciated Board member Millich asking for the traffic count on Prescott because he was concerned about the safety and how busy the street could be as well. Board member Glenzer said mostly because of safety, which he does believe, is a factor, he would grant the appeal. Chair Hawkins said he is swayed by the City Council’s direction to the Board. He said it is a good healthy tree, it’s the only tree on the lot and he said he thinks it’s very significant for that reason. He went on to say he believes the issue with the sewer has been resolved. Chair Hawkins said in terms of safety, the issue can be taken care of if the tree is properly trimmed high enough so that when you back out of the driveway there is a clear path. Chair Hawkins said if the Appellant plants new trees, it will be about 15 – 20 years before it becomes significant. He said he is inclined to keep the tree. Deputy City Attorney, Ryan Donlon said he would like to comment on the four factors from the last meeting as he did not get a chance to comment. He said he appreciates Board member Millich getting the traffic counts on Prescott Avenue but he thought that was just a single piece of information. The other piece is does this tree make pulling in and out of that lot any less safe and if there is a way to mitigate that without the removal of the tree. He said there might be 6,000 trips down Prescott Avenue but there isn’t any evidence to suggest the tree makes it unsafe to enter and exit the lot. Deputy City Attorney Donlon said at the last meeting he thought the fence was more of a safety concern than the tree. Board member Millich said in the last meeting, it was the neighbor Carolyn Mitchell, who brought up safety and said it was unsafe to back out of her driveway. He said that is what got him to ask for the traffic counts. Assistant City Attorney Salameh said Chair Hawkins in the interest of fairness, Appellant should get a chance to speak since the City had a chance. Appellant Chinyere Ogbonna said she feels that since she and Ms. Mitchell live there and have to deal with the fence issue and backing in and out onto Prescott Ave., she hoped that that would carried some weight, in terms of safety. Board member Millich made a motion to grant the appeal. Board member Glenzer seconds the motion. Assistant City Attorney Salameh asked Board member Millich if he wanted to include in his motion any mitigation measures. 2  Appeals Hearing Board February 22, 2021 Minutes Board member Millich said he did want to amend his motion to include replanting of two new trees from the list of approved trees. Board member Glenzer seconds the amended motion. The motion carried by the following vote, which was conducted by roll call: AYES: 2 COMMISSIONERS: Millich, Glenzer NOES: 1 COMMISSIONERS: Hawkins ABSENT: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSTAIN: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None RECUSED: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Board member Glenzer apologized again for missing the last meeting. ADJOURNMENT Chair Hawkins adjourned the hearing at 11:33 am Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Alicia Salas Daryl Hawkins Recording Secretary Chair of the Board 3