HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997 10 13 Informational Item A
COMMISSION AGENDA
ITEM
A
REGULAR
CONSENT
INFORMATIONAL X
October 13,-1222
Meeting
MGR fV~/";IJEPT Y.V
Authorization
REQUEST: Update the City Commission on the Land Clearing Activity Occurring at The
Oaks Subdivision.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this Board item is to update the City Commission regarding the land
clearing for l'he Oaks subdivision and whether it is in compliance with the Arbor
Ordinance.
CONSIDERATIONS:
A question was raised at the September 22, 1997 City Commission meeting whether
the land clearing oc~urring at the Oaks subdivision was in compliance with the Arbor
Ordinance. A review of this project confirmed that activities performed to date are
consistent with staff direction at the preconstruction meeting with the exception being the
developer did not submit the Arbor permit application as directed. Upon discovery, a cease
and desist order was issued to the contractor. The contractor promptly paid the penalty of
the double permit fee, $400, and was allowed to resume work.
The final engineering plans for The Oaks subdivision were approved by the City
Commission on March 24, 1997. This 27 lot development is located on Edgemon Avenue
and includes the Shepard Road extension. A copy of the site plan is attached. Prior to staff
approval, we walked the site to determine whether any specimen trees (i.e. 24" or larger
oaks) were on site and none were found. The current Arbor Ordinance allows for the
removal of trees (with the exception of specimen trees) located on building and construction
sites without any reforestation requirements.
The staff allowed for clearing of the entire site due to the proposed filling of 11 lots,
muck removal on 6 lots, and regrading of 5 lots. It was also known that this site was also the
October 13, 1997
Information Agenda A
Page _2_
former North Orlando dump and there was a significant amount of garbage and debris
scattered throughout numerous lots. The contractor has left approximately 30 to 40 trees
along the rear of lots 12 to 16 although it is doubtful they will survive due to the planned fill.
There are also several trees remaining on lots 1 & 2.
It is our intent to reinvest the arbor permit fee collected from this project into
purchasing trees for installation particularly along the area contiguous to the park. We also
will be researching surrounding communities arbor ordinances with a goal of strengthening
our ordinance as it relates to requiring tree surveys, defining specimen trees, and
reforestation requirements. It is our intent to propose these modifications within the next 90
days.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. The Oaks site plan.
2. Arbor Ordinance
COMMISSION ACTION:
None Required
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Attachment No.2
Chapter 5
ARBOR.
*Editor's note-Ord. No.'451, ~ 1, adopted Mar. 27,1989, ,irovided'for the deletion of provisions pertaining to tree preservation,
such provisions being ~~ 5.1-5.5 as derived from the 1974 Code, ~~ 14-10-14-14, and enacted in lieu thereof new provisions set
forth herein as ~s 5-1-5-5. .
Cross references-Code enforcement board to enforce certain ordinances of the city, ~ 2.5.6 et seq.; buildings and building
regulations, Ch. 6; flood damage prevention, Ch. 8; land development, Ch. 9; motor vehicles and traffic, Ch. 12; riuisances, Ch. 13;
planning, Ch. 15: signs and advertising, Ch. 16; streets, sidewalks and other public places, Ch. 17; zoning, eh. 20.
Supp. No.1.
297
Sec. 5-1. Intent and purpose; applicability;
definitions.
(a) Intent and purpose. These arboreal stand.
ards of the city declare the tangible and intangi-
ble value of trees and plants to the citizens and
the community, in that they playa vital role in
the natural ecosystem of the city, benefitting the
air, water, soil, wildlife, and other vegetation of
the environment, and in' that greenery as well
contributes to the esthetic aspects of life. There-
fore, precedent to any activity which requires al-
teration of the natural vegetation on the land, an
application shall be presented to the city for re-
view of the extent and necessity of removal or
destruction of trees. No activity shall proceed until
a permit has been acquired from the appropriate
city office., as prescr.ibed hereinafter in this chap-
ter. All activity undertaken without such permit
shall cease and desist immediately upon issuance
of notice by the city.
(b) Scope' of applicability. The regulations en-
acted hereinafter shall apply to all real property
within the city limits. For emphasis and to avoid
doubt, these lands 'are designated hereinbelow:
(1) All publicly owned property;
(2) All private rights~of-way;
(3) All undeveloped property;
(4) All vacant property;
(5) All property to be redeveloped or renovated;
(6) All property on which structures are to be
altered or enlarged; .
(7) The greenspace, ope'n space, and yard areas
of all developed property; .
(8) All commercial property ,after construction;
(9) All residential lots before and after home
construction.
(c) Definitions. As used in this chapter, the words
and phrases listed below shall be construed ac-
cording to the meaning specified herein:
(1) Bona fide logging operation: The good-faith
operation ,of the business of felling trees of
merchantable size for lumber, cutting them
Supp. No.1
ARBOR
~ 5.1
into suitable~length logs, and hauling such'
logs to some point for transportation to andlor
manufacture at sawmills and markets.
(2) Buildable area: That portion of a site within
the yard area on which a structure or im-
provements, including driveways and park-
ing lots, may be erected.
(3) Caliper: Measurement o(tree at base.
(4) City forest: The aggregate of all street trees
and all park trees.
(5) D.B.H.: Diameter at breast height.
(6) Drip line: The vertical line running through
the outermost portion of the tree crown ex-
tending to the ground.
(7) Encroachment: The protrusion of a vehicle
into a vehicular accessway,' pedestrian-way,
or required landscape area.
(8) Green area: Any portion of the site which is ,
planted and maintained in grass; shrubs
and trees or maintained as a natural drain-
age area (exclusive of concrete or asphalt
or other paving material).
(9) Landscaping: Landscaping shall consist of,
but not be limited to, grass, ground covers,
shrubs, vines, hedges, trees, berms, and com-
plementary structural landscape architec-
ture features, such as rock, fountains, sculp-
ture, decorative walls and tree wells.
(10) Landscaped dividing strips: Landscaped areas
containing ground cover, shrubs, and trees
or other landscaping used to partition park-
ing areas into individual bays.
(11) Park trees: Trees, shrubs, bushes, and all
other woody vegetation in public parks and
all open areas owned by the city, or to which
the public has free access.
(12) Parking areas: Any area, excluding public
right-of-way, used for the purpose of driv.
i~g, maneuvering, parking, storing, or dis- '
play of motor vehicles, boats, trailers, mo-
bile'homes, and recreational vehicles includ.
ing. new and used automobile lots, other
parking lots uses, and paved outdoor sales
areas. .
299
H.l
WINTER SPRINGS CODE
(13) Parking spaces: A parking area used 'for
the temporary storage o( a single vehicle to
serve a primary use; groups of spaces and
the abutting accesswayare called parking
lots.
(14) Shrubs: A self-supporting \\roody species of
plants characterized by persistent stems and
branches springing from the base. .
(15) Single-family lot: An area of land developed
for and restricted to a single-family residence.
(16) Specimen trees: Trees of significant size,
age or historical value (to be detei'mined by
the city forester).
(7) Street trees: Trees, shrubs, bushes, and all
other woody vegetation on land lying be-
tween property lines on either side of ali
streets, avenues, or ways within the City.
(8) Tree: Any living, self.supporting perennial
plant which has a trunk diameter of at
least three (3) inches measured at D.B.H.
(at the base of the tree) and normally grows
to a minimum overall height offifteen (15)
feet.
(19) Trees planted for harvest: All trees which
have been planted, or shall be planted, with
the bona fide intention at the time of such
planting to commercially .harvest such trees
in the future. Said trees shall include, by
way of illustration and not limitation,
Christmas trees, slash pines, and pulpwood.
(20) Yard area: An open space on the same lot
with abuilding, such space being unoccu-
pied and unobstructed from the ground up.
ward, with the exception of trees and other
natural vegetation.
(Ord. No. 451, S 1,3-27.87)
Sec. 5-2. City forestry office~
(a) Establishment of office. There is hereby cre.
ated within the department of public works, the
office of city forestry. The director shall head this
office and shall appoint one (1) or more employees
of the department to act in the capacity of for-
ester for Winter Springs. .
Supp. No.1
(b). Scope of authority. The city forester shall be
charged with the responsibility and authority to
review and oversee all activities within the city
limits which cause removal of Or create danger to
any trees.
(c) Responsibilities. The role of the city forester
shall be dual;
(1) To preclude removal of trees from private. .
property prior to review and appi'oval of
development proposals.
(2) To augment the city forest by the planting
or approval of planting. of additional trees
on public property. .
(Ord. No. 451, S 1,3-27-87)
Sec. 5.3. Regulations applicable to privately
held property.
(a) Per'mit to alter' natuwl landscape. Applic~-
tion for a permit to disturb natural vegetation
shall be submitted prior to the following activities:
(1) Cutting down, removing, or damagingdur- .
ing construction any tree growing on prop-'
erty located within the city limits.
(2) Land.clearing, land.removing, or land.filling
operations including use, operation, or pro-
pulsion of a bulldozer, payloader, front.end
loader, backhoe, dragline, power shovel, road
grader, dump truck, dredge, fill spreader,
or other heavy duty equipment.
None of the. preceding activities shall proceed until
review of the request by the city forester and
issuance of a permit prescribing the extent of
operations being approved.
(b) Scope of r'eview. The permit application may
be supported by drawings, plans, or photographs
as necessary to depict to the city forester the present
nature of the land, the proposed alteration, and
the objectives that may justify the removal of
trees. These submittals shall includ'e all the fol-
lowing information pertinent to the stage of de-
velopment under review: .
(1) Propo.se~ location of streets, parking'areas,
utility or drainage structui'es, buildings,
300
and any other physical improvements an.
ticipated; ,
(2) Specific location of all specimen trees within
these areas to be removed along with their
common names and current sizes (within
reason, plans should be modified to save
these. trees);
(3) Proposed grade changes of more than one
(1) foot depth outside of the building sites
which may adversely affect any trees;
(4) Proposed protective barriers to preclude dam-
age to uninvolved trees prescribed in Flor-
ida Division of Forestry guidelines (as
amended from time to time). .
(c) Permit to be specific to stage of development.
The city forester shall review the above-Prescribed
submittals and act upon the request under the
following authority either independently or as agent
of a staff-wide review, depending on the develop-
l1}~.nt stage of a project: .
(1) Predevelopment stage. The city forester uni-
laterally may review and issue permits for
land alteration incident to surveying, soils
investigations, and preparation of initial
de\lelopment plans.
(2) Preliminary plan/preliminary engineer-
ing. The city forester shall act as advisor of
the city staff in review of preliminary
development/engineering plans to recommend.
the extent of land tlearing to be authorized
with approval of such plans. The city for-
ester shall subsequently issue a permit pre.
scribing the alteration development/engi-
neering plan.
(3) Final engineering stage. The city forester
shall consider requests for additional tree
removal coincident with final engineering
plan review only when a developer shall
show that unexpec'ted or unanticipated fac-
tors preclude any reasonable alternative
solution than destruction of further trees.
The city commission must sanction these
requests along with final engineering ap-
proval before the city forester may issue a
further permit for tree removal from the
~ubject land.
Supp. No.1
ARBOR
* 5.3
(4) Site plan. The city forester sh'all act as ad-
visor to the site plan review board during
its review of plans for commercial or multi-
family site development proposals, for ei.
ther initial construction or expansion or
alteration of a site. A permit which speci-
fies exactly which specimens or stands of
trees may be removed to develop a site must
be acquired before any modification of a
site may take place.
(d)' General criteria for issuance of permits to
remove trees, 1'rees may be authorized to be re-
moved only if they fit into one (1) of the following
categories; the validity of the status of a tree as
eligible for removal shall be verified on site by
the city forester prior to issuance of a permit:
(1) Trees located on building and construction
sites as shown on approved plans;
(2) Trees within ten (10).feet of proposed struc-
tures or improvements so that they restrict
approved construction;
(3) Trees severely diseased, or injured;
(4) Trees which will interfere with provision
of aboveground utility installations.
(5) Trees which have been approved to be re-
placed elsewhere on the property by trees
equivalent to those to be removed.
(e) Public removed of trees on private property.
Only under the following circumstances may city
employees prune or remove trees gr.owing on pri-
vateproperty:
(1) Any dead or damaged or diseased tree which
constitutes a hazard to life and property or
danger to the city forestry shall be removed
by the property owner upon notification and
justification by the city forester. The prop-
erty owner must have the tree removed
within fifteen (15) days or show cause why
it has not been removed. If no action is
taken within fifteen (15) days of notice, city
employees may remove such trees and bill
the property owner. Unpaid bills become a
lien on the property.
(2) Tree limbs and. shrubs overhanging any
public right-of-way so that such branches'
.,
" 36'1
~ 5.3
WINTER SPRINGS CODE
obstruct the light from any streetlight or
.so that such branches obstruct the view of
any street intersection and create a hazard
to vehicular or pedestrian traffic. (All limbs
will be removed following standard arbori-
cultural standards).
(Ord. No. 451, ~ 1,3-27-87)
Sec. 5-4. Officialg,reen plan for public prop-
erty.
(a) Initial plan. The city forestel; under the guid-
ance of the director of public works, shall develop
an official Winter Springs Green Plan which pro.
vides to the city commission the following infor-
mation:
(1) Documentation on' the current nature of
the city :forest:consisting of pai'ks, rights.
of-way, easements, and public facilities;
(2) Proposals for the care, preservation, replace-
ment, and new planting of trees and plants
on city land;
(3) Projected budgetary data for at least the
subsequent five (5) years.
(b) Annual report. Each year the city forester
shall submit to the city manager a written report
on the progress toward implementation of the green
plan, including suggestions for additions and re-
visions to the plan. When ratified by the city
commission, these modifications shall become in-
corporated into the official plan.
(c) Interim reports. Whenever i'equested by the
city manager, the city forester shall investigate
or analyze a site or concern and. file a report on
findings on the matter.
(d) Implementation of city green plan. The city
forester shall cause the official green plan to be
implemented to adhere to the follo~ving guidelines:
(1) Street tree species to be planted. The offi.
cial street tree species for Winter Springs,
Florida, is presented below. ~o species other
than those included in these lists shall be
planted as street trees without written per-
mission of the city foreste!'. Upon recom.
mendation .from the State Division of For-
Supp. No.1
estry, this list may be revised with approval'
from the commissi<;m.
Small Trees
, Dahoom Holly
Hop Hornbeam
Jerusalem Thorn
Chickasaw Plum
Pindo Palm
Cherry Laurel
Medium Trees
Dogwood
Cabbage Palm
Redbud
Golden Rain Tree
American Holly
Bay Loblolly
Pumpkin Ash
, Large Trees'
Bald Cypress
Winged Elm
Hackberry
Red Maple
La,urelOak
Live Oak
Washington Palm
Sycamore
Sweetgum
Date Palm
Magnolia
(2) .spacing. Trees shall be spaced at least at
the distance specified: Small trees, thirty
(30) feet; medium trees, forty (40) feet; and.
large trees, fifty .(60) feet, .
(3) Distance from curb and sidewa'lk. The min-,
imum distance ti'ees may be planted from
curbs or cUl'blines' and sidewalks shall be:
Small trees, two (2) feet; medium trees, tlu'ee
,(3) feet; large trees, four (4) feet.
(4) Distance from street corners and fireplugs.
No street tree shall be planted nearer than'
twenty (20) feet to any street corner, mea.
sured from the point of nearest intersect-
. ing curbs or curblines. No street tree shall .
be planted within ten (10Heet of any fireplug.
(5) Proximity of street trees 'to utilities. No
street trees other than those species desig-
nated small trees shall be planted under or
within ten (10) lateral feet of any overhead
utility wire, or over or within five (5) lat-
eral feet of any underground \\Tater line,
sewer line, transmission ,line, or other util-
ity installation.
(e) Protection of city forest:
(1) Tree' topping. It shall be unl!3-wful as a nor-
mal practice for any person, firm, or city
department to top any street tree, park tree,
or other tree' on public property. Topping is
defined as the severe cutting back of limbs
to stubs larger than .three (3) inches in di.
ameter within the tree's crown to such a
, '302
ARBOR '
degree so as to remove the normal canopy 0
and disfigure the tree.
(2) Damaged trees. Trees damaged by natural
causes and trees u~der utility wires or other
obstructions where other pruning practices
are impractical may be topped with approval
of the city forester.
(0 Interference with city forester. It shall be un-
lawful for any person to prevent, delay, or inter-
fere with the city forester or any designated agents
while engaging in and about the planting, culti-
vating, mulching, pruning, spraying, or remov-
ing of any street tree or park tree.
(Ord. No. 451, S 1, 3-27-87)
Sec. 05.5. Enforcement.
(a) Monetary fine for willful destruction. Any
person who willfully destroys a tree shall be as-
o sessed a fine of up to but not exceeding twenty.
five thousand dollars ($25,000.00). In assessing
the fine, the city shall consider, among other things, .
the size, age, health, and number of trees dam-
aged or removed. This fine shall be in addition to
the replacement requirements set forth in sub-
section (b) below.
(b) Reforestation. Any person violating any of
the arboreal. provisions set forth herein shall be
required to appear before the city commission which
shall be empowered to specify the number and
types and sizes of trees to be replanted by the
individual to compensate the public for the loss of
existing trees. The guidelines in subsection (c)
below shall apply to reforestation of land illegally
cleared:
(c) Reforestation point standards:.
(1) Minimum points required per acre. The
minimum number of tree points required
in each zoning category per acre of land
(excluding areas dedicated for rights-of-way
for streets) are as follows:
a. .Residenti:al (including residential PUD)
o -Twenty-five (25) points per acre.
b. Neighborhood commercial districts (in-
cluding commercial PUD)-'I\venty (20)
points per acre.,.
Supp. No.1
S 5.5
c. General COl'llil!n€l1cTa;] and. frrrl!trstr.iiaP: dis-
tricts (including industrial: PUID):- Fifteen
(15) points per acre.
(2) Tree point, standards:
Number of Points
a. Specimen tree (as. designated by
city forester) .; . . . . . . . . ... . . . .. 5
b. Large tree: (40 feet high or 3'5"foot 0
crown) ..................... 5
c. Medium tree (18 feet high or 12-
foot crown) . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 *
d. Smalllnonjuvenile tree (8 feet high
and 2-inch caliper) .. . . . . . . . . " 1
e. Small/juvenile (8 feet high and 1.
inch caliper) .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. 0.75
f. Native shrubs material. . . . . . .: 0.1
*Plus five tenths (0.5) point for each
five (5) feet of additional height after
o twenty (20) feet.
(3) Native species bonus. This bonus is awarded
in addition to the tree points listed above:
a. Specimen tr~e NA
b. Large tree . 1.0
c. Medium tree 0.5
d. Smalllnonjuvenile tree 0.25
e. Small/juvenile tree 0.1
(4) Minimum number of small, medium, and
large trees. A minimum. of fifteen (15) per-
cent of a11 the' nummer of trees counted to-
ward these tree point standards must come
from each of the three (3) size categories of,
small, medium, and large. To determine
the number of trees which will be needed
to meet this fIfteen (15) percent requirement,
the following, rules of thumb may be used:
a. Determine the total points on the site
as follows:
T =. Number of acres x Points required per acre
b.
Determine the minimum number of me.
dium or large trees'needed for fifteen
(15) per~ent requirement as follows:
. Minimum Number = T x 9 percent
303.
~ 5-5 WINTER SPRINGS CODE.
c. To minimize the number of new small
trees to be planted retain the following
number of medium plus large trees:
l\tedium + Large Number Total = T x 30 percent
(5) All plant mate'rial must be propel:ly planted
and protected from construction damage to
be eligible for tree points.
(Ord. No. 451, S 1,3-27-87)
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Supp. No.1
304