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Design Review Board OKs removal of three street trees at Florence School District building
Summary
The Florence City Design Review Board approved a certificate of appropriateness allowing Florence School District 1 to remove three street trees along Pine Street at 319 South Urbie Street; the district will replace trees with smaller, columnar species and repair about 300 feet of sidewalk.
The Florence City Design Review Board voted to approve a certificate of appropriateness allowing Florence School District 1 to remove three street trees that front the school property at 319 South Urbie Street.
Planning staff told the board the site is in the Central Business District and the D3 Arts & Cultural overlay district and that the three oaks along Pine Street are in the public right of way and therefore are classified as street trees. "The main reason for removing these trees is just because of our overall size and growth," Evan Clements, project manager for Healy Horticulture, said, describing the trees' close proximity to the building and how they "blot out that entire side of the landscape."
The removal request had already received Parks Commission approval, a staff report said; the Design Review Board's approval allows the district to move forward with the removal. The applicant said it plans to replace the removed trees with a more diverse set of smaller, narrower trees rather than a row of large live oaks. The applicant also offered to renovate and replace about 300 feet of sidewalk beneath the affected trees as part of the work.
Board discussion noted past instances in which the board denied tree removals; one board member referenced a previous denial where trees were said to be damaging a structure. After brief discussion, a board member moved to approve the application "as submitted," another member seconded, and the chair called the voice vote in favor. The board instructed staff to issue the certificate of appropriateness.
The board's approval applies to the three trees identified in the application; staff emphasized that tree planting and preservation remain citywide priorities under the Unified Development Ordinance.
No specific replacement species were selected at the meeting and the applicant said final planting choices would favor columnar species that would not be sheared by passing vehicles. The removal and subsequent planting, plus the sidewalk work, will proceed subject to any required permits and standard city conditions.
