The Mount Vernon Shade Tree and Beautification Commission on the meeting approved the revised tree-planting plan for the Aristavillas development after a resident raised concerns that trees near his home may be planted on or across the property line.

Resident Jeff Dalt said he believed “they're on the boundary” of his property and asked the commission to add protections for the trees and their roots. “I have trees I think are on the boundary,” Dalt told the commission and passed around photos of the trees.

Tyler Mitten, introduced as a board-certified master arborist working with developer KNG Equity, told the commission that “before any dirt or anything gets moved, they'll need to survey that plot” and that a “designated critical root zone” would be established and must be marked so contractors do not encroach on trees’ root systems. “That would have to be permanently marked in some way that all the contractors on that site will know what that is,” Mitten said.

Commission members and a public commenter, Bob Beck, also asked whether the plan incorporated prior requests on sight lines and tree species. The chair said the revisions addressed sight-line concerns, replaced sensitive species near intersections, and added native shrubs on the southern border to limit invasive species.

After discussion the commission moved to accept the revised plan, finding it met city zoning, the city’s ordinances and ISA standards for tree planting and met the commission’s canopy-coverage and species-selection requests. A roll-call vote recorded four yes votes and two abstentions, and the motion carried.

The commission advised the resident to coordinate directly with the arborist and the developer during the staking/survey stage so stakes and critical root zones can be set before grading begins. The commission also noted that, because the trees appear to be on private property, the developer should not encroach on the resident’s land during construction.

The commission’s action is procedural approval of the planting plan; the meeting record indicates contractors will still need to complete the required survey and staking before any ground disturbance.

What’s next: the developer and the arborist are to coordinate the survey and permanently mark critical root zones before contractors begin work.