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Board Upholds DPW Tree‑Removal Permit for Miramar Avenue Median
Summary
The Board of Appeals upheld a Department of Public Works permit to remove six median trees on Miramar Avenue after hearing safety evidence and arborist reports; the vote to uphold the permit was 5–0.
The Board of Appeals on July 1 upheld the Department of Public Works Bureau of Urban Forestry’s permit allowing the Westwood Park Association to remove and replace six median trees on Miramar Avenue (Order No. 178,115). The vote to uphold the department’s decision was 5–0.
Westwood Park Association president Greg Clinton and association members described recurring structural concerns and pointed to a large limb failure on May 11 that narrowly missed a resident’s car and driveway. Clinton said licensed arborist reports (Davy Tree) recommended removal due to the risk of large limb failure and the species’ tendency toward structural problems as it ages. “These trees...pose a serious risk of major limb failure,” Clinton said, describing a failed limb more than a foot and a half in diameter.
Carla Short of DPW’s Bureau of Urban Forestry explained staff independently evaluated each tree and shared assessments with the parties; DPW concurred with the association that the trees presented structural risk in some cases and noted cabling is not generally encouraged as a broad remedy for median trees. The Board acknowledged the neighborhood’s long record of tree stewardship but sided with DPW’s safety assessment and the association’s evidence.
Next steps: The permit to remove and replace the specified median trees stands; DPW and the Westwood Park Association will coordinate replacement planting per the permit order.
