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Planning board approves extra tree removals for 1033 Pantano Drive amid preservation credits
Summary
The Planning & Zoning Board approved a developer request to remove two additional significant trees at 1033 Pantano Drive, citing site constraints and available preservation credits; the vote was unanimous after members reviewed project history and site photos.
The Planning & Zoning Board on the record approved a request to remove two additional significant trees and associated canopy for a single-family home at 1033 Pantano Drive.
Planning staff described the application as a Conservation Overlay Zone 3 request tied to an already-approved subdivision. "This is a request for Conservation overlay zone development for significant tree and significant tree canopy removal within Conservation Overlay Zone 3 for the construction of a single-family home at 1033 Pantano Drive," staff said. Staff said the earlier approval allowed removal of 18 protected trees and 5 significant trees; the applicant is now seeking permission for two more significant trees after a buyer changed the desired house footprint.
The applicant told the board that multiple house floor plans and the buyer’s change in footprint left no way to meet minimum setbacks without impacting the two trees. "We have 2 additional trees that we previously thought we were gonna preserve, we now are proposing to, remove," the applicant said, explaining the home had been pushed as far north and west as possible.
Board members weighed the subdivision history — including settlement terms that originally imposed tree-protection conditions — and the practical limits placed by stock floor plans used by the builder. One member summarized the dilemma: the PUD's approval and Toll Brothers' chosen floor plans limit how much the house footprint can be altered to save trees, and forcing a smaller house could invite legal challenges.
After discussion and review of photographs and site visits, the chair moved to approve the application; a second was given and the board approved the request by roll call with all seated members voting in favor. The board and staff noted that the applicant retains credits from other preserved trees on the lot, including a 49-inch live oak and other large specimens that contributed to a surplus of tree-preservation credit.
