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Brooksville council approves small specimen-tree removals for dental-office site, adds arborist protections
Summary
After coastal engineers described drainage-driven removals for a small commercial site, the council approved the Berry Family Properties request to remove several live oaks with conditions requiring certified-arborist verification for natural-cause deaths and an effort to save a 38-inch oak (tree 367); motion passed 4–0.
The council approved a specimen-tree removal request (TR20262) from Coastal Engineering on behalf of Berry Family Properties for a small commercial project that will host a dental office, with conditions aimed at minimizing net tree loss and protecting preserved trees.
Ford Manuel of Coastal Engineering told the council the request would remove 167 inches of live-oak caliper from four marked trees to accommodate drainage and the planned site layout, while preserving 667 inches of other protected trees on site. He said one tree (a 31-inch live oak labeled dead) is exempt from mitigation because it is dying.
Council members pressed for safeguards. As part of the approval, the council adopted staff-recommended conditions and added language that trees determined to have died from natural causes would not require replacement if a certified arborist so determined. The council also asked the applicant to make an effort during construction to preserve tree 367 (a 38-inch live oak) and to work with staff to reduce mitigation fees if that tree can be saved. "We would just like to say... if it died or was damaged from natural causes... we just don't want that burden on the property owner," Ford Manuel said when requesting the modification; council added the certified-arborist clause to the staff report.
Public commenters urged caution in removing mature live oaks, questioned the mitigation-fee schedule and pointed to the trees' ecological and neighborhood value. Bob Morgan noted that mitigation payment and replacement-per-inch values appeared reversed in the schedule and suggested staff review the fee table.
The council approved the modified staff recommendation and related conditions by voice vote, 4–0.
What happens next: The applicant will work with staff to reflect the added arborist language and any construction-phase tree-preservation efforts; staff will include the certified-arborist clause in the file and enforce the agreed conditions during plan review.
