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<br /> DRAFT
<br /> 985 Cy Stober: It's very difficult to enforce that narrow,that small of a DBH for us as staff. To get to Perdita's
<br /> 986 earlier point of going out for the pine straw,for staff to go out and measure 1-foot DBH is a much
<br /> 987 greater challenge than 2 feet because those are much more obvious.
<br /> 988
<br /> 989 Lamar Proctor: My concern on that is just doing some research as to DBH and different types of trees, the DBH
<br /> 990 has to be factored in with the growth rate of the tree. But just for example, a red maple with a
<br /> 991 DBH of a foot is a 37-year-old tree, so I mean my concern is,and I understand, now that 1
<br /> 992 understand the rationale that it's a time-intensive thing for staff, but I think raising that from 1 foot
<br /> 993 to 2 feet,you're only preserving trees that are like 70 or 80 years old, and you're cutting down
<br /> 994 trees that are 30 to 50 years old, depending on the tree. The trees have different growth rates, so
<br /> 995 in terms of preserving native healthy trees that form an integral part of our ecosystem, I would
<br /> 996 oppose increasing that to 24. 1 would keep it at 1 foot. Or somewhere in between.
<br /> 997
<br /> 998 Charity Kirk: Eighteen inches?
<br /> 999
<br /> 1000 Lamar Proctor: I don't know how much time goes into measuring these things or evaluating in these buffer zones
<br /> 1001 the tree sizes and all that. I mean,just sitting here thinking about it, it does seem a rather labor-
<br /> 1002 intensive process, but I don't know if you can give me some examples.
<br /> 1003
<br /> 1004 Cy Stober: I can. Other than anecdotes of staff of going out to sites and going, oof, okay. So that was the
<br /> 1005 response, and this is a reactive amendment. It's again addressing the enforceability of the
<br /> 1006 ordinance. But to get to look at the consistency with our comprehensive plan, to your point, Mr.
<br /> 1007 Proctor, I could see why there would be other goals and objectives that are in that comp plan that
<br /> 1008 would be underserved by reducing this. So,you're not going to hurt our feelings, but it is a
<br /> 1009 formidable challenge to enforce the 1-foot DBH.
<br /> 1010
<br /> 1011 Charity Kirk: Would 18 inches be easier to enforce?
<br /> 1012
<br /> 1013 Cy Stober: Probably. Just either way we're going to have to get used to a new standard if we change it.
<br /> 1014 There was not a scientific process to this. We did not do a lot of research on this. It sounds like
<br /> 1015 Lamar has done more research than most of my staff, other than perhaps Patrick.
<br /> 1016
<br /> 1017 Lamar Proctor: Well, if y'all name a tree I can tell you how approximately, according to these calculations, how old
<br /> 1018 it is based on 1 foot or a 2 foot.
<br /> 1019
<br /> 1020 Cy Stober: I will also add to this point, if it is a point of concern,while it is a difficult matter to enforce, it is not
<br /> 1021 creating massive headaches for us as staff. It is not a formidable challenge; it is more about the
<br /> 1022 clarity of what a 2-foot DBH tree is versus a 1 foot, and we can move forward in either way.
<br /> 1023
<br /> 1024 Chris Johnston: And to confirm, staff is doing this; it's not the applicant who then goes through and provides these
<br /> 1025 numbers. Correct?
<br /> 1026
<br /> 1027 Cy Stober: In an ideal world, it would be the latter. It is more often than not the staff.
<br /> 1028
<br /> 1029 Chris Johnston: Sure.
<br /> 1030
<br /> 1031 Charity Kirk: Do staff mark the trees that can't be removed?
<br /> 1032
<br /> 1033 Cy Stober: So,we would if we have an enforcement matter or if we have a complaint or if we know of existing
<br /> 1034 legacy trees, say, in a zoning matter, or special use matter,that have been identified on the site
<br /> 1035 plan. We had one just recently that was a bizarre geometry and has a number of larger older
<br /> 1036 trees on a commercial property with light warehousing, but the trees overhang all the warehouses.
<br /> 1037 They're right on the property line, et cetera, et cetera. We did indeed go out onto the property and
<br /> 1038 say, okay,they are there. We are good. And we moved on. And they were identified on the site
<br /> 1039 plan, per the ordinance. And if you want credit for them,then you have to identify these, and we
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