our board. good >> is there any public comment on this item and? seeing none, we will move to item three, which is the adoption of minutes. before you are the minutes of january 18, 2012. >> i see so comments, so i move that we adopt a comments five written during your >> any comments? simenon, if you can call the roll please. >> -- seeing none, if you can call the roll please. [calling votes] >> the vote is 4-to zero, those votes are adopted. >> we will call item no. 4. gothe subject is that commonweah

avenue, and it is appealing of permit to remove and replace one treat your ego -- one tree. we will start with the appellant, or the appellants agent year ago -- the appellants agent. >> i am married to linda. i am here to talk about the two trees in front of the house. it was approved for removal of the country. the other is not approved, and we are protesting but it was not approved for removal. our reasons are threefold in. one is safety. the tree does helene 20 degrees towards our neighbor's driveway. good and -- it doesn't mean -- it does lean 20 degrees towards

our neighbor's driveway. our neighbors to put up a wire to hold it up, and they are in a lawsuit as a result. good we have had significant new sidewalk damage from the tree. dpw marked our sidewalk. and we do not want to go through that again. from of beauty point of view, we would like to put trees in. there are a lot of trees on the block. cbc suggest we have a pear tree. these do not do well in front of the house. we do not believe this one is safe. we would like to start over with two new trees. that is my presentation.

>> you might not want to make a point about if the tree were trimmed it would be below a size that would require permission. >> that is correct. we knew about in the beginning. good and we went to the people we would have hired. we have not trimmed it to your good region we have not trimmed its. it is over the size, when it comes to the canopy. the trunk and the measurements of the trunk are well within the boundaries. g>> 3 you have a picture? >> yes. >> would you put it on the overhead? >> yes. is it faceup now?

you can see the lean of the treat your gut -- aline of the tree. the sidewalk was done within the last few months, so it looks really nice right now. >> the other tree, what was the reason for granting approval? >> the tree is diseased. gooyou can see in this picture f the tree on the left is very small compared to the tree we are asking for. there is agreement it is diseased and should be removed. the one on the left has been approved for removal. >> is a disease contagious? >> i have no idea your gut >> i assume that is the neighbor's

driveway. an -- i have no idea. >> i assume that is a neighbor's driveway. have cars hit it, or has there been any issues? >> there has been. we had to cut off of brownish -- a branch because it was hitting the car is going into the driveway. there has been an issue. what perturbs us is not so much inconvenience but possible safety problems. >> you mention a wire that your neighbors put up. >> our neighbors to the south had issues with the trees, and they put a wire to hold the trees oup, reading it in the ground some distance to have the

leverage they need it, and a person got out of the car at night, a trip, and sued them. over the years we have done all lot to try to get the trees to go correctly. we have made an effort, but clearly unsuccessfully. >> were these trees planted by you? >> they were planted by us in 1997 during a -- in 1997. a >> thank you. >> should i wait to be called? good evening, commissioners.

i do not have too much to add a. i want to clarify, i am not sure when the question of the wire came off. and we do not think the tree is going to fall over. give we think it has grown into the lean. there is plenty to work with. you can prune to get necessary clearances. i did not mention of wire. if it was mentioned, it may have been mentioned by someone. if you have concerns the tree might fall over, you could cable ... to reassure property owners. the tree that was approved had decay of the base. it is not a contagious disease,

but it should be removed. you heard me say larger trees provided more benefits in the form of environmental service, so we tried to preserve mature trees. the highest mortality rate as during the first five years of planting. granting removal of a tree that does not need to be removed reduces the benefit from those trees and increases the likelihood the new tree may need to be replaced before we get those benefits. the department's policy is to look for more solutions. we of the tree could be pruned to get necessary clearances. we thought they could correct the form of the tree, so we deny the application to remove it. if they want matching entries,

-- matching trees, they could plant another pair. i am looking at everybody. the aesthetics should be considered during your they can -- should be considered. they can keep the tree. i think the benefits outweigh the aesthetic benefits. i am available for questions. >> and when you address the issue president garcia out and the appellants to discuss -- of the appellant to discuss, which is should be pruned it would get to a size where permit for removal would not be required. >> there is question about a significant tree and a street

tree. any tree planted in the right- of-way is protected by code. those signs relate to trees on private property. if there are trees on private property within 10 feet of the right of way, in order to be protected, they must meet one of three size criteria, but any tree in the public right of way. it requires a permit for removal and is protected. go>> this street is quite wide. was there a history of city- planted trees in this area? >> not to my knowledge. they were planted with permits. i believe they were always planted by the property owners.

>> the pair is a very slow- growing trees. good >> this is a slow-growing evergreen pear. the orange trees grow faster. the evergreen pear does not grow upright. >> and the plum? >> aplomb is considered medium, so it is not considered -- plum is considered medium, so it is considered slow-growing. >> you showed it is ok to remove one of the trees because of the disease. what is the size of the replacement tree? >> 24 inch box. >> what if a compromise or reach -- were reached democrats i think we would be getting closer. we would not -- where --?

>> i think we would be getting closer. we would still not have a diameter of we need. it is certainly better than 24. >> we have a question about two 36's. and we are probably getting closer to the same benefits of the trees that would remain in terms of capturing the missions. -- capturing the missions. >> we would see a delay, because they would provide more benefits. and the analysis it was anything from a 10-year delay. >> what would be a reasonable size fed would address some of

the concerns of the apartment house -- that would address some of the concerns the department has? >> generally that would be a 60- inch to 72 inch box. you could get back in here, because they have all lawn area, but that is much more expensive. it involves many more people to get the tree in the ground. gooit all depends on the specie. >> is there cause for concern about the life expectancy of that tree? >> it is probably leaning because of the wind.

it can be hard to attempt to keep them upright with stakes. if it is a windy corridor, they can uproot them. we did try to be thorough in our evaluation, and we look for any signs of displacement in the roots, and which you can see some signal the tree has shifted. we found no indication of that, so it is our feeling it has grown into that lean, so you can try to correct a form. you will never get the trunk corrected, but you can make it a little more of light through judicious pruning. we do not -- a little more upright through judicious pruning. we do not think it is falling over. >> have you had any discussions about a 60-inch box replacement? >> that did not come up at the

department of hearing. >> my last question, it seems as if there is some discrepancy about whether or not there is sidewalk of damage, and the appellant maintains there was and it has been repaired, and my memory is they have stated there was no damage to the sidewalk. >> the sidewalk was in good condition now. it may have been repaired, and that may be why it is in good condition. if this is in good condition and the tree is in good condition, we do not care if it was repaired in the past or not. the tree is fine, and the sidewalk is fine. if it were not possible to repair the sidewalk because we thought it would impact the tree, that is possible. >> if a tree in the past has

been able to damage the sidewalk, the possibility still exists in the future it could do that. >> it certainly does. these trees are less likely to do so because they have a wider space. where we see more substantial sidewalk damages where trees are planted in a small basin and we cannot expand it. any species of tree is capable of causing sidewalk damage. they are living things. evergreen trees are not a species that typically causes sidewalk damage, and yet in this case the property owner has indicated it has. whether it will do so in the future cannot be predicted. >> this is more of a comment you could respond to, but it seems as though we have a policy that we encourage people to plant trees, and even if if is an

esthetic issue, there are some problems with a tree the remains, and the homeowner has been denied the right to remove it. it is not a graeme tree people would drive by to look at, so we might be discouraging people to plant trees if we are going to be so hard on the one they hope to replace it, even if it is is for us that it reasons. what do you think about that? >> i think that is a valid concern. i would respond the public works code was not written by the u.s. it was written by our legislators with feedback from the public, and as you know, people feel very strongly about the removal of trees, so we have to have some guidelines in place for when removals can be

granted. that would satisfy both the needs of property owners and the needs of the public who benefit from these trees and appreciate and value them, so in order to be consistent, our policy is consistent with public works code, which requires we look a condition of these trees before we grant removal. if we can get equal value, in some cases we have approved removal and replacement, but i think the challenge of we are not only on a losing that benefit, but also losing the establishment of these trees. >> is there any public comment on this item? we will move into rebuttal. if you have anything more to say, you have three minutes.

>> first of all, i think all the issues have been put on the table. we would be open to the proposal. we disagree that it is a slight lean. we believe it is a considerable lean, and our research shows it is over the amount it should been taken down the road -- taken down. trees are that should be allowed to prosper, but we do not want to deal with more damage to the sidewalk, but we would be open to some sort of compromise that involved a bigger trees so that the department of public works would be pleased with that. >> how much bigger would you be willing? what about the '60?

>> when i heard about the frame, that is not exactly where i want to go, so maybe there is a balance. >> anything further? on the matter is submitted. >> should we give them an opportunity to discuss a possible compromise and come back? >> i do not think that is necessary. i am not sure the department will back off from a fairly established position you're a good -- established position.

>> id would get similar sidestreet your good -- need would get a similar size tree. >> i am not sure i agree with that. the city replaced them with 24- inch in boxes. i do not think it is fair to make the citizens go through such an elaborate increase in size. i would be willing to consider making both trees and 48 inches. they can still be handled by a small group of people without extraordinary tools or equipment. >> can we hear from ms. short on facthat, on whether that would e

something to do satisfy the department? >> it would involve a crane, but often you can get a crane with tree deliver repair reagan >> it is more of a cherry picker -- you can get a crane to deliver. >> it is more of a cherry picker. >> generally, we do not take out the trees unless they are very unhealthy, but that seems like a substantial contribution, and we do not want to be unreasonable, sir sure. >> can you give me a sense of the installation? general ballpark. >> typically, we buy it at a reduced cost, and we install it ourselves.

i know the cost could be $1,200. with insulation you are probably adding another $1,000. >> how about 60 inch? >> that would be several thousand dollars more. please do not hold me to those numbers. >> that is close enough now to the range. hear from the appellant, because if you are opposed, there is no sense in trying to explore that possibility. >> i would go with the 48. i want to make sure there are two trees, and we can do the trees we want to do. >> this court has never imposed a 48 on anyone, have we?

>> we have, multiple times. >> i take that back. this board has a history of imposing 48 on anyone. that is a reasonable thing to do. i would have been ok with 46. çthe point that was broughtç p having to do with the city policy of making it difficult for people to have trees that match and have a greater potential for success on that particular street as demonstrated by what happened with this shrieve. it seems that i would want to relax a little bit, but i would support a motion to overturn the department and allow this individual to replace trees so far as he is willing to replace them with 48-inch boxes.

>> i am going to make that motion, and given the parties have already stated on the record they would be able to do that. that would be the basis for the motion. >> with the plum tree species specified as a replacement. >> if you could call and roll please. >> as a side recommendation, these trees need to be staked well. there are good details and by details -- bad details. otherwise you are going to end up with a leading tree again. >> we have a motion to grant this appeal, overruled the denial on condition that those trees be of 48-inch box size, and we are also imposing the

plum tree requirement. >> flowering plum. >> 48-internet now box size and flowering plum. -- 48 inch box size and flowering plum. the vote is 4-0. this grant is issued on those conditions. thank you. >> we will call the next item, which is item no. 5, ruth levy versus the department of public works, appealing the denial of minor sidewalk infringement. we will start with the appellant. you have seven minutes.

>> good evening, born. -- board. my family owns the property adjacent to the permit holder. i grew up two blocks from this property. i live in the neighborhood. i have lived there for over 50 years, so i know the neighborhood quite well. my mother had her antique shop on the block. i am quite familiar with it. i live in the city, and i believe the permit holders do not live in the city, so i have concerns about the aesthetics, but i have other issues, too. this all started because of an accessibility issue, and my niece's a special needs of young woman, so i am very sensitive to disabilities. we have tried to bend over

backwards to be in reasonable about this. there seems to be a disconnect between the building and planning, which we discovered, and the department of streets and napkin -- mapping. the proposed ramp is 60 feet long, eight and a half feet wide, and it is described as a minor encroachment. i do not see how a 60-foot long and now is a minor encroachment. it will be eight and a half feet wide, and it will take up most of the sidewalk. of the biggest problem is a safety issue. the cars on this particular block -- i can show pictures. at a diagonal, so most of theed parking is across this

particular piece of property. there are three owners on this block. myself, nopreservation parties, and the property owners. the people across the street do not care. with a diagonal parking, and people getting out of the car would have to walk behind all of the cars to come around to this rounamp. the edge of it goes right to my property. we already have issues about skateboarders. we have graffiti problems. the junior high-school is about half a block away, so we have dozens of young teenagers coming through. they are issues, but the issue of trying to get onto the sidewalk is