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Home My WebLink AboutItem 1 - TRH 15-01_1311 Rodeo RdTRH 15-01 and TRE 15-45 October 27, 2015 Page 1 of 4 DATE: October 27, 2015 TO: Honorable Chairman and Modification Committee FROM: Lisa Flores, Planning Services Manager By: Nick Baldwin, Assistant Planner SUBJECT: HEALTHY OAK TREE PERMIT NO. TRH 15-01 AND OAK TREE ENCROACHMENT PERMIT NO. TRE 15-45 WITH A CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) FOR THE REMOVAL OF ONE (1) HEALTHY COAST LIVE OAK TREE AND ENCROACHMENT UPON SIXTEEN (16) OAK TREES TO ACCOMMODATE A NEW TWO-STORY RESIDENCE AND VARIOUS IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDING A NEW POOL, DRIVEWAY, COVERED PATIO, HARDSCAPE, AND LANDSCAPE AT 1131 RODEO ROAD. Recommendation: Denial BACKGROUND The subject property is a 28,310 square foot interior lot, zoned R-O and located within the Santa Anita Oaks Homeowners Association (HOA). The subject site is developed with a 5,131 square foot house, two story house that was built in 1937. There are eleven Coast Live Oak trees on the lot and an additional five offsite with canopies that overhang onto the property, for a total of 16 Coast Live Oak trees with canopies on the subject property. An aerial photo of the subject site and photos of the property and other homes in the vicinity have been provided (refer to Attachment Nos. 1 and 2). The Homeowners Association Architectural Review Board is aware of the request and has provided a memo in support of the removal of the one Coast Live Oak tree (refer to Attachment No. 3). On May 15, 2015, the Santa Anita Oaks Homeowners Association Architectural Review Board (ARB) approved the design for a two-story, 7,786 square-foot, Italian-style single- family residence, with a detached pool house, swimming pool, and basketball court (refer to Attachment No. 4, Architectural Plans). The new building footprint of the house would require the removal of one healthy oak tree (Oak Tree No. 8) and encroachment into the canopies of Oak Tree Nos. 3, 4, 7, 9, and 15, as shown below. The remaining 15 oaks on the property would have their canopies encroached upon by a pool house, pool, basketball court, walls, hardscape and landscaping. The canopies for Oak Trees Nos. 1 and 2 will be encroached upon by the new driveway, but the impact will be limited since the driveway will be placed in the footprint of the existing driveway. Oak Tree Nos. 9, 10, and 12 will have their canopies encroached upon by the pool and pool house and the new wall that is proposed along the southerly property line. TRH 15-01 and TRE 15-45 October 27, 2015 Page 2 of 4 At the first HOA Architectural Review Board (ARB) Meeting for this project, the board had concerns regarding the retention of all the oaks on the property, the protection of privacy, and the architectural integrity of the proposal. According to the ARB there was one subsequent Architectural Review Board meeting. At the second meeting, the ARB made additional corrections and directed the applicant to work directly with the Architectural Review Board Chairman, Mr. Lynch on finalizing the landscape plan and architectural details. On May 15, 2015, the ARB Chairman approved the final set of plans (see Attachment No. 4) for a 7,786 two-story home that necessitates the removal of one healthy oak tree (Oak tree No. 8) due to location of the oak in relation to the building footprint. The ARB findings and action form can be found under Attachment No. 5. The early version of the design that the Certified Arborist reviewed shows the pool house sited 7’-0” from a second healthy oak tree (Oak Tree No. 12) and he recommended removal of this tree to accommodate the building, however the design was changed by the applicant at the request of the HOA and the pool house was moved 16’-0” away from the tree to protect the tree’s health and there is no longer a request to remove this tree (see Attachment No. 6, Arborist Report and Tree Plan). An evaluation of the existing house was performed by an Architectural Historian in accordance with the City’s Certificate of Demolition requirements to demolish structures 50 years or older. The evaluation found that based on the architecture and the preliminary research on people associated with it during the historic period, the structure is not historically significant. A Certificate of Demolition was approved by staff on October 12, 2015 for the subject property. TRH 15-01 and TRE 15-45 October 27, 2015 Page 3 of 4 ANALYSIS The applicant is requesting to remove a healthy Coast Live Oak tree (referred to as Tree No. 8) that is located near the southerly side property line to accommodate a new two- story single-family residence. A Certified Arborist examined the oaks on the property and found Oak Tree No. 8 to be a mature, healthy specimen that would need to be removed to because it is located in the footprint of the proposed home. Based on staff’s observation, this tree, which is located approximately 22’-0” from the southwest corner of the existing house and 16’-0” from the side property line, could be built around to accommodate a new house. There is approximately 40’-0” feet between rear garage and avocado tree behind it, so there is ample room to accommodate more living area at the rear of the residence that is outside the driplines of the Oak trees and still provide sufficient open space in the rear yard. The house could easily be re-designed to avoid the removal of Oak Tree No. 8 and it would still be compatible with the other homes in the immediate vicinity. The City’s Oak Tree Ordinance allows a healthy oak tree to be removed under the following conditions:  The tree’s removal is necessary;  The tree removal is more desirable than alternative project design; and  Mitigation measures are provided Based on the above analysis, the first and second findings cannot be made. The removal of the healthy oak tree (Oak Tree No. 8) is not necessary because revisions can be made to the design to preserve the tree such as making the home smaller or building around the tree. As for the oak tree encroachment permit, the remaining 15 oaks on the property would have their canopies encroached upon by a pool house, pool, basketball court, walls, hardscape and landscaping. None of these encroachments will be severe enough to put an oak tree at risk according to the Certified Arborist and are therefore acceptable as long as the tree protection measures identified in the Arborist Report are followed (refer to Attachment No. 6). If the request to remove Oak Tree No. 8 is denied and the design is to be revised to be built around the tree, then the Arborist Report will need to be revised to provide new analysis and tree protection measures for the encroachments into the canopy of Oak Tree No. 8. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS The proposed project qualifies as a Class 3 Exemption for New Construction from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under Section 15303 of the CEQA Guidelines. TRH 15-01 and TRE 15-45 October 27, 2015 Page 4 of 4 PUBLIC COMMENTS Public hearing notices were mailed on October 15, 2015, to the property owners within 100 feet of the subject site and no comments were received. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the Modification Committee deny Healthy Oak Tree Application No. TRH 14-04 and Oak Tree Encroachment Application No. TRE 15-45. Attachment No. 1: Aerial Photo with Zoning Information Attachment No. 2: Photos of Property and Surrounding Sites Attachment No. 3: Memo from Santa Anita Oak ARB in support of the Oak Tree Removal Attachment No. 4: Architectural Plans Attachment No. 5: Santa Anita Oaks Homeowners Association ARB Findings and Action Form and Minutes, dated October 19, 2015 ARB Meeting Attachment No. 6: Arborist Report, dated April 2015 and Tree Plan Attachment No. 7: Preliminary Exemption Assessment Attachment No. 1 Attachment No. 1 Aerial Photo with Zoning Information Overlays Selected parcel highlighted Parcel location within City of ArcadiaD n/a n/a n/a Property Owner(s): Architectural Design Overlay: Downtown Overlay: Special Height Overlay: Parking Overlay: Lot Area (sq ft): Year Built: Main Structure / Unit (sq. ft.): General Plan: R-O (30,000) Number of Units: RE Zoning: Property Characteristics 1937 5,131 0 CHENG,FRANK AND SANDRA TRS CHENG FAMILY TRUST Site Address: 1131 RODEO RD This map is a user generated static output from an Internet mapping site and is for reference only. Data layers that appear on this map may or may not be accurate, current, or otherwise reliable. Report generated21-Oct-2015 Page 1 of 1 28,310 Attachment No. 2 Attachment No. 2 Photos of Property and Surrounding Sites Subject Property, 1131 Rodeo Rd., Rear Yard, Southerly View Oak No. 8 to be Removed Oak No. 8 to be Removed Subject Property, 1131 Rodeo Rd., Rear Yard, Southerly View Subject Property, 1131 Rodeo Rd., Rear Yard, Northerly View Subject Property, 1131 Rodeo Rd., Rear Yard, Northwesterly View Avocado Tree in the center of the Rear yard Subject Property, 1131 Rodeo Rd., Rear Yard, Northeasterly View Subject Property, 1131 Rodeo Rd., Rear Yard, Southeasterly View Oak No. 8 to be Removed Subject Property, 1131 Rodeo Rd., View from the Street 1121 Rodeo Rd., Adjacent Property to the South 1141 Rodeo Rd., Adjacent Property to the North 1120 Rodeo Rd., Property across the Street to the Southeast 1130 Rodeo Rd., Property across the Street to the East 1140 Rodeo Rd., Property across the Street to the Northeast Attachment No. 3 Attachment No. 3 Memo from Santa Anita Oak ARB in support of the Oak Tree Removal Attachment No. 4 Attachment No. 4 Architectural Plans