City orders review and 63-day reappearance after nine live oaks and palms were found damaged

Senior Inspector Bernstein Samberg told the Special Magistrate that a pre-hearing inspection showed nine live oak trees and two royal palms on Andrews Avenue were abused and effectively destroyed, and the city asked the court to impose fines and require replacements. The inspector said the property owners had submitted permit applications (LND-T-260214 and similar) but were awaiting approval and that the city would prefer to issue permits and have the replacement work completed within a set time frame.

Laura Tulie, the city’s urban forester, said she did not expect an owner-hired arborist to reach a different conclusion from the report filed to date: "I do not expect any changes in that," Tulie said. Owner representatives asked for additional time for their arborist to reevaluate the trees; the magistrate allowed an order to reappear and set a 63-day compliance window (to Aug. 27) to permit further plan review and for the owners to pursue the requested permits.

The magistrate emphasized that issuing the permit where appropriate is part of the path to compliance but that replacement work must be completed once permits are in hand. If the permit remains unapproved or required mitigation is not completed within the ordered period, the city indicated it would seek additional remedies, including fine imposition tied to the irreparable loss.

Next steps: owners must submit or follow up on their permit applications and plan for replacement trees consistent with city requirements; the community enhancement staff will monitor the permit review and report at the magistrate’s reappearance date.