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Planning commission approves removal of strawberry tree at 6 Buckeye, requires larger replacement
Summary
The Belvedere Planning Commission approved a design-review application to remove a 24-inch-diameter strawberry tree at 6 Buckeye Road and required the owner to replace it with a tree comparable in mass and size.
The Belvedere Planning Commission on Jan. 14 voted to approve a property owner's application to remove a mature strawberry tree in the front yard at 6 Buckeye Road, with the condition that the owner plant a replacement tree that better matches the removed tree's size and mass.
City staff told the commission that the property owner applied Oct. 15 to remove the 24-inch-diameter strawberry tree. The city's independent arborist, Arbor Science, inspected the tree Oct. 28 and reported the tree was in good health and presented a low risk of failure; staff therefore did not grant an administrative emergency exemption under Administrative Policy Manual section 15.2. The owner proposed planting a Ray Hartman (ceanothus) should removal be approved.
Commissioners heard from the property owner, who said the tree drops large quantities of fruit that attract coyotes and create a slipping hazard on recently installed concrete steps. The owner said the family has two young children and that daily fruit clean-up was not feasible. Jane Cooper, who identified herself as the city's coyote consultant, told the commission she visited the site multiple times and agreed that fruit-bearing trees attract rats, raccoons and coyotes and that Buckeye Road, a private street, does not receive regular city street cleaning.
Staff noted design review is required when a landscaping change affects a visually significant portion of a property and recited applicable design criteria in the Belvedere Municipal Code. Commissioners discussed whether wildlife concerns (coyotes) should influence design-review findings and whether additional city tree-policy updates are warranted. Some commissioners said the tree ordinance is outdated and that a future ordinance revision should address fruit-bearing species and wildlife.
After deliberation, a motion to approve the removal passed. The approval includes a condition that the property owner, working with staff and the planning commission chair, select a replacement tree that is larger and more comparable in mass and maturity to the existing tree. The commission's approval was not unanimous.
The commission's action permits removal under the city's design-review process; staff will work with the applicant on a planting plan for the replacement species and on any required permits or recordation of conditions in the project file.
