Title
Consider a resolution removing the monarch designation for a tree located on a proposed development site at the southwest corner of the intersection of Sunrise Road and Eagles Nest Street.
Body
This request, submitted by Mr. Jonathan Wagner of Studio 16:19, on behalf of the owner, Burke Real Estate Group, proposes to remove the monarch designation from a tree located on a lot proposed for light industrial development. The monarch tree is a multi-trunk 26-inch Texas Red Oak and is located on the eastern periphery of the 13.34-acre property, close to Sunrise Road. Measurements of the tree are taken of the diameter of the trunk(s) at four and a half feet above ground level; for multi-trunk trees the measurement is calculated by utilizing the diameter of the largest trunk and adding to it half of the diameter of the other trunks. In accordance with Sec. 8-18 of the Code of Ordinances, removal of a monarch tree requires City Council to first remove the monarch designation from those trees.
The site development permit (SDP) application was submitted for preliminary review in August 2022, and no monarch trees were identified by the applicant at that time. Upon further evaluation of the site, and after the applicant had substantially laid out the site improvements, the design team identified the monarch tree in their first full submittal to city staff in December 2022. Staff provided a review comment to the applicant pointing out their proposed removal of the monarch tree and asked for alternative site designs to preserve the tree or for the applicant to submit a formal request to have city council remove the monarch designation. The applicant provided the next submittal of the SDP in June 2023 depicting the same site design and without a request to remove the tree. Staff review comments identified this as a critical path item that needed to be adequately addressed in order to avoid undue delay in approving the permit. The applicant submitted the third full submi...
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