Planning board approves PUD amendment for 11 Garnett Avenue after tree‑relocation dispute

The Planning & Zoning Board voted April 1 to recommend approval of a PUD text amendment and related changes for 11 Garnett Avenue — the parcel associated with the Ace Hardware store in the San Marco/Anastasia area — after developer representatives detailed efforts to relocate five specimen live oaks and presented a revised mitigation plan.

Why it matters: The project had been approved previously as part of a broader PUD, and tree relocation was an explicit part of earlier approvals. Developers said two of the five trees had fallen in storms and the remaining three were determined by arborists to be structurally compromised and unsafe. The board accepted a mitigation package combining larger mature oaks in the Windward town‑square and increased caliper sizes for trees on the residential side of the shipyard plan.

What the board decided: Members voted to approve the PUD modification that replaces the earlier relocation commitment with a detailed replacement program: (a) five large live‑oaks (proposed at roughly 18–20‑inch caliper) to be installed in the project’s town square, and (b) an increase in the caliper of 19 oak plantings in single‑family/common areas (from 4‑inch to 8‑inch) to accelerate canopy recovery. The developers committed funds and tree‑planting plans; the board asked that final planting locations and guarantees be incorporated into the PUD text or an accompanying agreement so obligations run with the property.

Developers’ account: Windward representatives said they hired a specialist who initially prepared and pruned the roots of the five large oaks for relocation, then strapped and lifted trees; they said the contractor later walked off the job and subsequent contractors concluded the specimens were unsalvageable after storm damage, hollowing in trunks and other decay were observed. The current purchasers (Toll Brothers for the single‑family portion) said they had further tested the trees and decided relocation would be unreliable and unsafe.

Mitigation and next steps: The project team proposed replacing the five specimen trees with five large‑caliper oaks in the public town square, plus larger common‑area plantings on the residential side; the project planner said those replacements would more than offset the code credit deficit caused by the lost specimen trees. The board asked staff and the applicants to finalize language that places replacement obligations and maintenance guarantees in the PUD text or an enforceable memorandum so successors and assigns remain responsible. Board members also asked applicants to specify replacement timing and replacement guarantees in writing before the PUD amendment goes to the City Commission.

Votes: The board approved the amendment by roll call.