Paso Robles council blocks removal of large oak tied to Vigneto grading; approves timing change to development agreement

Paso Robles City Council on Tuesday unanimously denied a private developer's request to remove a large valley oak (Oak Tree 28) in the Olson South Chandler specific plan area, citing insufficient engineering and grading documentation and directing the applicant to pursue a specific-plan amendment before pursuing tree removal.

The council simultaneously approved an amendment to Operating Memorandum No. 1 of the Olson South Chandler development agreement that extends deadlines for a set of off-site traffic and infrastructure improvements tied to the project, after staff said the work remains under construction and requires more time to complete.

Council members framed the oak decision as a process and public-notice issue rather than a simple tree-preservation dispute. Darren Nash, the city planner presenting the removal request, told the council the applicant said the tree sits on a proposed borrow site the developer needs to provide about 45,000 cubic yards of dirt to balance other grading shortfalls across the large project. Nash said the requested borrows and the extent of mass grading were not shown in the approved specific plan and that staff lacked the detailed grading plans required to judge consistency with the specific plan.

The developer's project manager, Ashley, said the tree has been evaluated by the project's arborist and described Oak Tree 28 as “in decline and possess[ing] an increasing safety risk,” and said the company has planted mitigation trees and prepared designs they say would replace lost canopy. Arborist Lindy Althouse told the council the tree is stressed and isolated after prior grading and that, while it could remain for years, its health is uncertain; she recommended substantial replacement planting if removal were approved. Rick Engineering's Kelly Drews and landscape architect Bianca Koenig presented grading diagrams, cross sections, and conceptual renderings of new open space planting and trail connections if the knoll were lowered.

Councilmembers repeatedly said they did not have the engineering-level grading plans that would be required to show the mass grading's impacts on drainage, sightlines and PG&E easement infrastructure. Councilmember Tim Gregory summarized the concern: without a civil-engineering grading package, “I have real…