Commission advances Arapahoe PUD amendment after extensive debate on trees and traffic

On first reading the City Commission advanced ordinance 2025-11, an amendment to the planned unit development (PUD) for 1500 Arapahoe Avenue, after lengthy public discussion focused on tree relocations, required mitigation plantings and a nearby intersection improvement covered by an earlier development agreement.

Amy Skinner, Director of Planning and Building, described the PUD amendment as a revision to the previously approved tree-removal and mitigation plan for the 55-lot single-family subdivision that is the southern portion of the Shipyards development. The amendment recognizes that five large oaks previously slated for relocation are no longer viable after attempts to transplant them, and the applicant has proposed mitigation that includes 19 southern live oaks (minimum 8-caliper inches) in common areas plus standard lot plantings.

Attorney James Whitehouse, representing the landowner, said the original approvals — including relocation of the oaks — had been made under prior ownership and that the PUD amendment is intended to memorialize a new mitigation approach: plant larger replacement trees in the town-center area and add the oak plantings and other trees in the PUD common areas and lots. Developer representatives said they had already hired an arborist and will try to save any recoverable cedars; they proposed live-oak plantings and additional on-lot trees.

Commission discussion centered on ecological loss and the difference between transplanting mature native live oaks (very large DBH) and planting numerous smaller nursery-grown oaks. Vice Mayor Barbara Blonder and others emphasized that clustered, old oaks provide habitat and tree girth that a set of new smaller trees does not replicate. Commissioners requested a written arborist report on the condition of the cedars that were moved and documentation explaining why the large oaks could not be successfully relocated. Several commissioners also asked for clarity on the development agreement that addresses the nearby US 1/Arapahoe/Iroquois intersection — specifically which parcels are bound, the city’s $500,000 contribution in that agreement, and timing for design/permitting through FDOT.

City staff and the city manager explained that the development agreement covers a different set of parcels and binds successors and assigns within that geography; the PUD before the commission is not currently included in that agreement. City engineering staff reported that the developer has completed an ICE (intersection control evaluation) and is revising designs after a coordination meeting with FDOT; a redesign is expected to take 2–3 months with an FDOT permitting period that could run up to nine months, and construction costs were estimated at about $1.5 million to $2 million. Staff noted FDOT will require a construction bond once it issues its permit.

After debate, the commission voted unanimously to advance the PUD amendment to a second public hearing. The vote included an explicit request that the applicant return with an arborist report on the cedars, a clear description of the mitigation (sizes and locations of replacement trees), and a response to commission concerns about the intersection and the development agreement. Commissioners also asked staff to present a status update on the existing development agreement and mobility projects at a future meeting.