PZ 06/23/2010 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning & Zoning Commission/ Local Planning Agency June 23, 2010 Page 4 the property with his realtor a notation was placed on the listing instructions warning that there were several large dead trees on the property. He said when he was clearing the underbrush on the property a Code Enforcement Officer approached him regarding the logs located at the front of the property. He explained that Progress Energy had cut five trees due to the power lines. Mr. Anderson said he was concerned with the liability of the dead trees and hired Sun State Tree Service to remove the dead trees. He said he met with a representative from Sun State at the site and questioned if a permit was required to remove trees. He said the Sun State representative said that a permit was not required because the trees were dead and he knows everyone at Casselberry. Mr. Anderson said a Code Enforcement Officer visited the site the day the trees were being removed and questioned the work being done on the site. He said the worker from Sun State identified the trees that were being removed to the Code Enforcement Officer and she agreed that the trees were dead and she left the site. He said a few days later he received a notice from Code Enforcement regarding the removal of the trees. He said a neighbor had called the City reporting that live trees were being removed from the site. Mr. Parkhurst asked if there was anyone in the audience who wished to speak in favor of, or in opposition to, the request. No one came forward. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding liability issues associated with dead trees, Sun State's failure to obtain a permit, the City' tree replacement requirements, Dbh calculations based on the stump diameter and the value of the property. Mr. Anderson stated the City waived the tree bank contribution for two properties that were developed on Concord. Ms. Drage explained that it is the applicant's responsibility to ensure the proper permits were obtained. She said she is not allowed to give legal advice to the applicant but if the contractor failed to obtain a permit the applicant may have some type of legal action against the contractor for the fine if there is no waiver. She said the Code specifically states that the applicant must show that they cannot get reasonable use of their property or that the waiver can be demonstrated to be consistent with the purpose and intent of the tree protection code. She said those