Council reduces tree‑ordinance fine on appeal, orders staff follow‑up on neighbor issues

The council heard an appeal from residents who removed volunteer trees from a slope behind their property and voted to reduce the enforcement fine to the amount that would have been charged for a permit.

Appellants presented two retaining‑wall engineering reports concluding that trees larger than roughly 3 inches in diameter should not grow within the reinforced soil zone behind a segmental retaining wall of the height involved and that cutting certain volunteer trees was consistent with engineering practice to mitigate slope failure risk. The appellants said they had attempted to contact the neighboring developer about slope and fence issues and presented photos of failing fence panels and erosion.

Staff and council discussed whether a geotechnical report was required; staff clarified the earlier staff request for a geotechnical report was to better understand remediation options and persistent slope issues, but several council members said the structural engineer’s reports on the wall addressed the immediate question of whether the volunteer trees should have been permitted to grow in that location.

After debate about process, fines and precedent, the council voted 6–0 to reduce the penalty associated with unpermitted tree removal to the amount equal to the original permit fee (staff to calculate exact amount). Council additionally instructed code enforcement to visit the site to address an adjacent failing fence and other ongoing neighbor issues and encouraged the parties to coordinate on longer‑term stabilization and remediation work.

The council’s action resolved the appeal by lessening the monetary penalty while asking staff to engage in code enforcement and technical follow‑up on slope and neighboring property maintenance.