By Allison Jarrell, Special to the Independent
Residents and business owners in Laguna Beach may think twice before yelling “timber” after elected officials voted to establish a tree removal permit process, including setting fines as high as $30,000 for violations.
At least, that’s what city staff hope.
The council approved a first reading of an ordinance last Tuesday, May 8, that would require a permit for the removal of heritage trees, Design Review Board-approved trees and privately-maintained trees in the public right-of-way. The council first reviewed the ordinance back in October and gave direction to staff to exempt trees on private property.
Two towering eucalyptus trees of considerable girth cut down last year outside Ruby’s Diner prompted the revision in the city’s tree removal policy. In June, Ruby’s owner Steve Craig addressed the Council, saying he had contacted the city’s planning department before removing the trees and was told that a permit was unnecessary as the specimens weren’t heritage trees. Craig claimed the trees had caused $50,000 worth of damage to the restaurant parking lot and said he planned to replace them with more “appropriate” trees.
At that same meeting, landscape architect Ann Christoph urged the council to require a permit to remove trees, and the council agreed to look into the issue.
Council member Toni Iseman returned to the subject last week and asked if Craig was penalized for the violation.
Greg Pfost, community development director, said there was a “fairly minimal” consequence due to the current citation fee structure of $100, $200 and $500 for first, second and third offenses, respectively. Pfost added that the Ruby’s incident was due to a miscommunication and said describing new permit rules once they are passed will be a priority for staff.
Under the new ordinance, staff said Ruby’s owner could have faced fines of $200 ($100 per tree) and an additional penalty of $3,000 per tree upon first notification, based on the size of the removed trees. If no action had been taken to rectify the issue in 30 days, a second notification could’ve totaled $14,400, and a third notification could’ve totaled $21,000.
The new ordinance’s penalties, which are based on the size of the removed tree, are similar to the cities of San Marino and San Jose. In San Marino, penalties range from $5,000 to $25,000 for removing trees on private property without a permit. In San Jose, removal of trees in the public right-of-way without a permit costs $15,000 per tree, while heritage trees can incur $30,000 fines per tree.
Before voting, the council agreed to double size-based penalties, which could range from $2,000 to $30,000 per tree.
Beyond the penalties, the ordinance also requires the property owner plant a replacement tree within 30 days of the original’s removal and to delay tree removal if nesting birds are found in the tree canopy.
Staff will work on an “aggressive” notification process including a citywide mailer and information posted online, and applicable trees will be identified with a yellow ribbon, per the council’s tagging request.
Council members made it clear that once the ordinance is passed, they want staff to communicate effectively with the public, so residents are aware of the new regulations.
“The purpose of the rule is to deter people from doing bad things, and it only acts as a deterrent if they know that there is such a rule,” council member Steve Dicterow said.
Ocean Avenue Tree Replanting
In addition to tree extraction, the council also discussed tree planting along Ocean Avenue, but even that elicited controversy and a decision was put off.
The separate agenda item concerned the purchase and planting of four trees, the acceptance of a $3,400 contribution from the Laguna Beach Urban Tree Fund and the allocation of matching funds from the public works budget. The anticipated project cost is $6,800.
The replanting of about 40 trees in the downtown area has been delayed because some of the city’s guiding land use documents, including the Downtown Specific Plan and the Landscape and Scenic Highways Element, are under review. In the meantime, staff suggested starting planting anyway with four specimens along Ocean Avenue.
Plans for planting two Little Gem magnolias, a New Zealand Christmas tree and a Chinese pistache in vacant lots between Beach Street and Forest Avenue prompted pushback from several residents who felt there were better choices for the area.
Horticulturist Ruben Flores, of Laguna Nursery, and others recommended a different combination of plantings for the street; three larger magnolias—a Samuel Sommers variety—and one New Zealand Christmas tree.
“We don’t want to slow down this process; we do want to enhance the process and make sure it goes in well,” said Flores, also a consultant for the Laguna Beach Urban Tree Fund.
Barbara MacGillivray, who recently founded the tree fund with her husband Greg, thanked the council for their support and asked that the item be approved as is.
Assistant City Manager Shohreh Dupuis said she provided a list of tree recommendations for the site to MacGillivray four weeks ago, but only learned of dissent that day. “I really believe the type of tree they are recommending is too large for the locations and the width of the sidewalks,” Dupuis said.
The lack of consensus disappointed Council member Bob Whalen, who recommended a postponement to work towards finding agreement. “You can’t just weigh in at four o’clock on the day of the City Council meeting. Things aren’t going to work well that way,” Whalen said.
Council member Toni Iseman favored listening to the concerns brought up by local experts. “All you have to do is look at that tree and know that it’s going to be a problem on the sidewalk,” Iseman said of the staff-recommended Little Gems.
City Manager John Pietig said it seemed impossible to achieve consensus on the appropriate tree species. “I hope that we start to hold people’s feet to the fire for a timely process…it takes an awful lot of staff time to keep doing these things over and over again,” Pietig said.
The council voted 4-1, Mayor Pro Tem Rob Zur Schmiede opposed, to hold the item until their June 12 meeting. Zur Schmiede said he felt staff did a good job with the recommendations.
Dupuis aims to come back to the council in July with recommendations for all 40 tree planting locations. Planting for those areas would likely begin after the summer, Dupuis said.
Photo: The felling of two eucalyptus trees of equal size to the one that remains at Ruby’s restaurant instigated a new permit process for tree removal.
So much for private property rights. Loud busybodies want to control other people’s homes, businesses, and even the plants in their yards. There’s no end to the insanity. More government means less freedom.