1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: February 28, 2023
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director Marisa Garcia, Park, Recreation, and Community Services Director VIA: Amanda Landry, Senior Planner
Michael del Campo, Landscape and Forestry Services Superintendent
SUBJECT: Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Title 7 (Public Ways and Property), Chapter 4 (Trees and Vegetation) of the Burbank Municipal Code to Protect Trees in Public Right of Ways During Construction Activities
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK AMENDING TITLE 7 (PUBLIC WAYS AND PROPERTY) CHAPTER 4 (TREES AND VEGETATION)
OF THE BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE TO PRO TECT TREES IN PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAYS
SUMMARY
Council Action
On February 14 , 2023 , the City Council held a public hearing to introduce AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK AMENDING TITLE 7 (PUBLIC WAYS AND PROPERTY) CHAPTER 4 (TREES AND VEGETATION) OF THE BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE TO PROTECT TREES IN PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAYS.
At the p ublic hearing, the City Council considered staff’s recommendation and public comments on the proposed updates to Title 7, Chapter 4. After discussion, the City Council voted to introduce the proposed Ordinance with direction to include a minor change to Section 6 of the proposed ordinance pertaining to Burbank Municipal Code Section 7-4-111, to clarify that when the applicants who have requested a public tree removal do not perform the actual work of removal or replacement and the work is instead performed by the City, the applicant is responsible for reimbursing the C ity for the City’s
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 actual cost of performing the removal/replacement work, in addition to the value of the tree to be removed and the value of the replacement tree.
Vote at Introduction:
AYES: Mullins, Perez, Takahashi, Schultz, and Anthony.
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Proposed Changes
Based on the direction provided to staff at the introduction of the Ordinance, Section 6 of the proposed Ordinance has been amended to read as follows (for the purpose of clarity, the proposed amendments made in response to City Council comments on February 14, 2023 are noted in red):
Section 6. Amendment to Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) 7-4-111:
Removal for the Purpose of Construction. Subsection 7-4-111 is hereby amended and restated as follows. Additions to the BMC are underlined and deletions are marked in strikeout:
A. Street Public Trees: A public tree removal permit is required to remove any public tree. Any street public tree requested by any person or property owner to be removed for the purpose of any type of construction shall be replaced by the permittee with a tree of the nearest a size available, of a species and in the location to be determined by the Director, consistent with the Master Street Tree Plan . The person or property owner permittee shall pay the total cost of the valuation of the public trees being removed and of the replacement tree to the City of removal prior to any such action being undertaken.
If the permittee fails or otherwise chooses not to perform the work of removing or replacing such tree, or trees, are not replaced, by the permittee, the City shall perform such work and be reimbursed the value of the tree(s) as established in Section 7-4-105 of this article, in addition to the cost to the City of removal removing the existing tree and/or the cost of installing the replacement tree, as applicable, in addition to the payment for the value of the tree(s) being r emoved and the value of the replacement tree(s). Tree value will be determined by an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture or another nationally recognized tree research, care, and preservation organization using the “Trunk Formula” method of valuation. The provisions of this section requiring payment of the cost of removal and replacement or reimbursement to the City shall not apply to property located in an R-1 single-family residential zone
B. Private Trees: Any tree removed for the purpose of any type of construction in accordance with Subsection 10- 1-1113S of this code shall be replaced with a tree of equal size, of the same species or an appropriate alternative, and in a location to be approved by the Park, Recreation and Community Services Director and the Community Development Director. Alternately, the City shall be reimbursed the value of the trees, 3 pursuant to this section and Section 7-4-105 of this article; or, the project’s landscaping shall be improved above what is required by Subsection 10- 1-1113E of this code, and in an amount equal to the value of the removed trees, or if the excess landscaping does not equal the value of the removed trees, then a fee for the shortfall shall be paid to the City; or, the tree(s) shall be moved elsewhere to the satisfaction of the Park, Recreation and Community Services Director; or a combination of moving or replacing the trees pursuant to Section 7-4-105 and this section shall be followed. The fees obtained from private development will be placed in the Urban Reforestation Fund which will be devoted to the replacement of City trees.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Staff recommends that the City Council find that the proposed City code amendment (the project) is categorically exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq,) (“CEQA”) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2), 15060(c)(3), and 15061(b)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines because it will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, because there is no possibility that it may have a significant effect on the environment, and because it is not a “project” as that ter m is defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends City Council adopt the Ordinance as implementation of the proposed ordinance would provide clarity to the public and staff who review and approve public tree removal applications by instituting objective standards and establishing formal review procedures, thereby reducing confusion for the public and staff and further the ability of the City to uphold its commitment to preserving and protecting a healthy, diverse, and resilient public tree canopy.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Proposed Ordinance