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Board discusses temporary easement to allow tree removal for Bertram Road water main work; staff to place item on consent agenda
Summary
County staff described a proposed temporary construction easement to allow tree removal on two county-owned flood-buyout parcels so the City of Cedar Rapids can finish a water-main extension; county supervisors agreed to place the easement on Wednesday’s consent agenda so work can meet a March 31 bat-protection deadline cited by federal guidance.
Linn County staff described a proposed temporary construction easement March 3 to let the City of Cedar Rapids and its contractor remove trees on two county-owned parcels at 1501 and 1505 Bertram Road SE while the city extends a water main.
Jesse Black, administrative specialist for the Board of Supervisors, said the parcels were acquired through a FEMA flood-buyout program and lie in the floodway; they are nonbuildable county property. Black said Veil Shatek, with Anderson Bogart, is working for the city on the project and asked the county to grant a temporary easement to remove trees up to 10 feet beyond the county’s existing right-of-way line because some work will occur immediately adjacent to or over the existing right of way.
Black said the city and contractor need the tree work finished by March 31 because of bat habitat guidelines from federal wildlife authorities. He described the easement as a short-term measure so tree removal can proceed before the county completes a separate, lengthier process to vacate an additional 10 feet of right of way; Garrett from Secondary Roads supports the longer right-of-way action.
A supervisor asked whether county residents would bear any cost for the tree removal; Black said not for the two county-owned parcels at 1501 and 1505, and said he would confirm whether any work beyond those parcels could impose costs on residents under the city’s jurisdiction. Black also offered to provide an estimate of the number of trees affected; staff said the site is a mixture of brush and some trees and is not a heavily residential area.
Supervisors agreed to put the temporary construction easement on Wednesday’s consent agenda so the city can meet the March 31 timeline. Black said the city had invited county staff to inspect the specific trees and areas proposed for removal.
No formal easement vote was recorded at the March 3 meeting; staff will present the agreement on the consent agenda for the board’s consideration and any formal vote.
