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Board denies specimen-tree removal but approves lower ground-floor height for Brookhaven affordable-housing site
Summary
After extended public comment and technical back-and-forth, the board denied a request to remove a 36-inch loblolly pine under the specimen-tree rule but approved a separate variance reducing required ground-floor height from 14 feet to about 10.7 feet, subject to staff conditions.
The board reviewed a contested application that included a request to remove a 36-inch loblolly pine (a specimen tree) and a request to reduce the required ground-floor height for a multi-story affordable-housing development on a site of just under one acre. Applicant representatives (Jill Kelleher of Meridian Studios and project team members) said the tree sits within the small buildable envelope and that removal is necessary for the approved development; they presented a certified arborist assessment and said city arborist staff had agreed with key points in the analysis.
Neighbors and community leaders opposed the specimen-tree removal and raised multiple ordinance-based objections. Speakers cited section 14-56(b) and its requirement that the board find a property has no economic value absent grant of tree removal; they argued the applicant had not proven marketability, feasibility of alternatives, or the required hardship. Opponents also raised separate but connected concerns about off-site parking (applicants plan 53 units with 32 on-site spaces and 21 off-site), open-space shortfalls relative to ordinance thresholds, potential impacts on neighborhood tree canopy and shading, and emergency-access and traffic problems.
Board members asked the applicant to demonstrate alternative designs and to explain how preserving the tree would preclude any economically viable development. Applicant representatives said they had explored alternative layouts, had mailed certified notices to nearby property owners, and intended to address off-site parking via a perpetual parking agreement to be approved administratively. After deliberation a motion to deny the specimen-tree-removal variance under section 14-56(b) passed; later the board voted to approve the ground-floor-height variance (reducing it from 14 feet to ~10.7 feet) subject to staff-recommended conditions.
The record shows the board applied the narrow statutory standard for specimen-tree removal, sought evidence of marketability and feasibility of alternatives, and concluded in the transcript that the applicant had not met the threshold for removal. The ground-floor-height request was treated separately and was approved with staff conditions.
