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Committee recommends forwarding tree-protection changes to council after staff presentation
Summary
A Town Council committee voted to forward amendments that would expand protections for live and laurel oaks, tighten mitigation planting sizes, update the native‑plant list and remove the single‑family exemption for specimen trees; public comment warned of disproportionate impacts on Native Island property owners and staff noted appeal pathways for hardship variances.
The committee reviewed a priority text amendment to the town’s land‑management ordinance intended to strengthen tree protections and recommended it be forwarded to town council.
Missy Lueck, the town’s director of planning, told the committee the draft lowers diameter‑at‑breast‑height thresholds that trigger protection for live oaks and laurel oaks, raises the minimum size of replacement trees in mitigation, updates the approved native‑plant list and removes the single‑family exemption for specimen trees so single‑family lots would be subject to the same protections as other properties. Lueck said the planning commission held a public hearing and unanimously recommended the amendment to council.
Committee members asked whether laurel oaks are shorter‑lived than live oaks and whether mitigation would require a like‑for‑like species replacement. Sean Lanninger, the assistant town manager, said a quick web search cited lifespans of roughly 400–500 years for live oaks and 50–70 years for laurel oaks; staff emphasized the ordinance relies on mitigation equivalency tables so applicants can plant a species shown as acceptable rather than being forced to replant the identical specimen removed.
During public comment Chester Williams supported many protections but cautioned that removing the single‑family exemption could disproportionately affect Native Island property owners and lots approved under earlier rules. Lueck and the Chair noted that the existing code includes an appeal/variance process through the Board of Zoning Appeals for applicants who can demonstrate an unnecessary hardship.
The committee moved to forward the amendment to town council with a recommendation for approval. The transcript records the motion and that the committee proceeded toward public comment and a vote; a specific roll‑call tally was not recorded in the meeting text provided.
The amendment will next appear before full town council for a final decision; staff said they will provide additional explanatory material at that stage, including the mitigation table and references to the appeal process.
