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Planning board debates tighter rules for flexible setbacks to save trees; approves comprehensive-plan edits for transmittal
Summary
Board members discussed tightening the city's flexible-setback rule for saving trees, urging higher DBH thresholds, a short protected-species list and mandatory arborist documentation; staff was asked to draft ordinance language for the board to review.
Board members spent an extended portion of the meeting discussing the city's flexible-setback process, which lets applicants request reduced setbacks to preserve "significant" trees. Staff said the existing flexible-setback rule treats trees with DBH of 8 inches or greater as potentially significant; members expressed concern that the threshold and species list were too broad and had been abused in some recent cases.
Jennifer, planning staff, reviewed staff recommendations and noted a key constraint: state law enacted via House Bill 1159 (2019) means an ISA-certified arborist's written…
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