PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. Charles D. Herbertson, Public Works Director/City Engineer

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1 Page 1 PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT DATE: April 18, 2017 TO: FROM: Culver City Residents and Cmmunity Charles D. Herbertsn, Public Wrks Directr/City Engineer SUBJECT: Tree Remvals Dear Residents: Trees can be remved fr several reasns: 1.) Safety cncerns it ccasinally cmes t ur attentin that a tree is diseased r damaged in sme way as t create an unsafe cnditin. When this ccurs, the City s Urban Frester will evaluate the tree t see if there is any way t mitigate the prblem. Smetimes this is nt pssible and the tree must be remved t prtect public safety. 2.) Sidewalk Repairs ccasinally it is necessary fr the City t remve trees t allw fr prper repair t damage sidewalks in rder t return sidewalks t a safe cnditin cmpliant with federal accessibility standards. Again, the City s Urban Frester will lk at each case carefully and recmmend remval nly when in his judgement there is n ther alternative. This mst ften ccurs when extensive rt cutting is required in rder t repair the sidewalk. When in the judgement f the City s Urban Frester the requirement t remve rts is s extensive as t destabilize the tree r kill it, the tree is remved. 3.) Private cnstructin prjects ccasinally private develpment will require a tree t be remved in rder t accmmdate develpment f a prperty. This happens due t relcatin f driveways and smetimes due t the cnstructin f undergrund parking which interferes with the tree rts. City staff wrks with develpers t try t minimize remvals caused by private develpment. When this is nt pssible and trees are remved, the develper is required t plant tw new trees fr every tree that is remved. 4.) Tree Remval Requests - the City Municipal Cde includes prvisins fr prperty wners t request a tree t be remved frm the parkway in frnt f their prperty when the tree meets specific criteria identified in the cde. This requires the prperty wner t submit a tree remval request accmpanied by a fee and dcumentatin t supprt their request. The

2 Page 2 City s Urban Frester will then inspect the tree and make a recmmendatin t the Public Wrks Directr. The Public Wrks Directr reviews the request and the City Urban Frester s reprt and makes the final determinatin as t whether the tree shuld be remved r nt. Each case is given careful cnsideratin. There is als an appeal prcess that allws either the applicant r an interested party t appeal the Public Wrks Directr s decisin t the City Cuncil. The fllwing is a cmpilatin f cncerns that have been expressed regarding the City s tree remval prcess fllwed by a respnse t these cncerns. Cncerns: Tree remval damages the climate and impacts the City s beauty and ecnmy. Yung saplings d nt ffer the same benefits as mature trees. Aggressive tree cutting n healthy mature trees cmprmises well-being f ther healthy trees. Trees cntribute t the quality f life in Culver City, ne f many reasns peple chse t live in Culver City. We agree that the City s urban frest is a very imprtant asset fr the city and we take the health f the urban frest seriusly. Unfrtunately, we have seen increased stress in the City s urban frest caused by recent drught cnditins. These stresses make trees mre susceptible t disease and pests. In additin, much f the City s urban frest is made up f lder trees which may be nearing the end f their life cycle s increased incidence f trees requiring remval is t be expected. The City has a practive tree maintenance prgram where trees are trimmed n a regular pruning cycle. Where pssible diseased trees are treated and we have experienced sme success in this area. The same cmpany hired t trim the City s trees als makes decisins abut which trees t cut dwn. The sle judge fr remval appears t be West Cast Arbrists. West Cast Arbrist (WCA) des nt make any decisins regarding tree remval in Culver City. Under current City plicy and practice, all tree remval requests are reviewed by City staff with recmmendatins made by the City s Urban Frester (a certified arbrist) and the final decisin made by the Public Wrks Directr fr all cases where tree remval is requested by a member f the public. In the case f tree remval fr safety reasns, the City s Urban Frester (a member f the PW Department staff and a City emplyee), nt West Cast Arbrists, makes the final determinatin. All tree remvals are determined by City s Urban Frester after he has perfrmed a thrugh assessment and exhausted all ther viable ptins (i.e. treatment fr disease, pruning, etc.) and remval is cnsidered a last resrt. WCA s staff, wh are all certified arbrists r tree wrkers, will make recmmendatins t City staff fr further tree evaluatins n individual trees

3 Page 3 if they determine ptential hazards that they identify while trimming ur trees; but again the final determinatin n what curse f actin t take is made by the City Urban Frester. Trees that are trimmed by WCA are inspected by the City s Urban Frester bth befre and after the wrk t ensure the wrk was dne accrding t instructins and specificatins. S in a nutshell, ALL wrk dne by WCA is at the City Urban Frester s directin. Culver City is nt wrking t find slutins t tree-related issues befre cutting a tree dwn, as advised in the Culver City Urban Frest Master Plan. All tree remvals are determined by the City s Urban Frester after he has perfrmed a thrugh assessment and exhausted all ther viable ptins (i.e. treatment fr disease, pruning, etc.) and remval is cnsidered a last resrt. Nevertheless trees are ccasinally remved fr ne f the fur reasns stated at the beginning f this dcument. Residents reprt that the City nly prvides 4 days ntice fr remvals and the lack f cmmunicatin frm the City abut tree remval is alarming. Residents reprt that there is nt enugh/extensive cmmunicatin abut remval, even if fr safety reasns. The requirements set frth in the CCUFMP are nt being fllwed fr review and ntificatin prcesses. Ntificatins fr scheduled cycle pruning: This ntificatin takes place via psting N Parking signs n the entire segment r blck f street scheduled hurs in advance f tree trimming. Ntificatins fr lcalized scheduled trimming: The City s Urban Frester will ntify the immediate adjacent prperty wners via dr hangers r direct cntact; if pssible, he will await fr cnfirmatin frm these impacted prperty wners befre scheduling the wrk. Lcalized trimming is dne fr reasns including but nt limited t: request frm prperty wner, clearance issues near dwellings, lw hanging branches, bstructing street lights r traffic signs, prir rt cutting necessitating the need t balance the canpy, culd nt be trimmed at an earlier scheduled date due t vehicle parked underneath, etc. Ntificatins fr tree remvals: The City uses a 100 ft radius fr all ntificatins pertaining t remvals via dr hangers abut 7 t 10 days in advance. If an emergency tree remval needs t take place, the City will ntify after the fact via dr hangers indicating the tree had t be remved immediately. If the tree remval due t special request and apprval by Public Wrk s Directr, letters are mailed t thse prperties within a 100 ft radius since there is an appeal ptin with this prcess Tree remvals are nt reviewed and apprved in a multi-level structure t ensure that the decisin is aligned with CCUFMP recmmendatins.

4 Page 4 Here are sme f the mst cmmn reasns fr tree remval. These reasns can cnstitute the need t remve trees immediately. Tree is dead. Tree is leaning extensively t the pint where the ptential target can be a hme, vehicle r street. A majr branch has brken ff a tree that has caused weight instability in the canpy and cannt be crrected with structural pruning r balancing. Excessive rt cutting that will impact the tree s stability (i.e. due t the need fr sidewalk repairs). A tree is diseased heavily beynd treatment (i.e. pests r disease) and remval is necessary t prevent the spreading f the disease t ther trees. Trees damaged by vehicles (ether kncked int by vehicles r majr branches clipped by large vehicles). Remvals thrugh the tree remval request prcess. All tree remvals are determined by the City s Urban Frester after he has perfrms a thrugh assessment and exhausted all ther viable ptins (i.e. treatment fr disease, pruning, etc.) and remval is and always has been the last resrt. Excerpt frm the Urban Frest Master Plan states that In urban and develped areas where peple culd be injured, prperty damaged, and activities disrupted, tree cnflict r tree failure is an imprtant cncern f any municipality. Decisins abut whether a tree inspectin is required r what level f assessment is apprpriate shuld be made with cnsideratin fr what is reasnable and prprtinate t the specific cnditins and situatins. Frtunately, serius damage, injury, r death frm tree failure is relatively uncmmn. Tree failures during nrmal weather cnditins are ften predictable and preventable. Hwever, any tree, whether it has visible weaknesses r nt, will fail if the frces applied exceed the strength f the tree r its parts. Tree risk assessment is the systematic prcess fr identifying, analyzing, and evaluating tree risk. Three levels f tree risk assessment are defined in ISA s Best Management Practices: Level 1: Limited visual Level 2: Basic Level 3: Advanced The City f Culver City may emply ne r mre f these levels n an nging basis; the City may chse t subcntract this wrk t a Qualified Tree Risk Assessr (TRAQ), an Internatinal Sciety f Arbriculture-spnsred qualificatin.

5 Page 5 Resident cmmented that tree trimming takes place at the wrst time, in spring, when squirrels and birds rear their yung. Nests becme targets fr hawks, wls, and crws. As part f its cntinuing practice f recgnizing the beginning f the bird nesting seasn, the Public Wrks Department des nt schedule any tree maintenance wrk (i.e. trimming and remvals) during the mnths f April and May. Only wrk necessary due t safety reasns will be scheduled. Tree planting als takes place during this perid. As utlined in the Urban Frest Master Plan n page 153, the City maintains a vluntary mratrium that prhibits tree trimming r remval between April 1 and May 31. The exceptin t this wuld be if a tree presents a public safety hazard and must be pruned r remved t mitigate the hazard. The City abides by the Migratry Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and has prcedures fr dealing with trees with active nests. Public Wrks is nt wrking t educate the public abut the trees specific t their neighbrhd as recmmended in the CCUFMP t prevent tree remval requests. Residents want mre cmmunicatin/dcumentatin abut maintenance, care, and remedy t disease prir t tree cutting. The Urban Frest Master Plan prvides suggestins fr residents n Caring fr a parkway tree n page 104. The Plan als directs residents t the CalPly Selectree website t learn mre abut the specific tree in their parkway. The Urban Frest Master Plan is available n the City s website.