Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board presses applicants on tree surveys, native-species mitigation and palm credits
Summary
Members of the City of South Miami planning board repeatedly questioned tree-survey accuracy, mitigation calculations and whether palms count toward mitigation as they reviewed two residential applications; staff flagged specific corrections and follow-up verification.
During review of both DRB items the board focused significant attention on landscape plans and tree mitigation.
Board member Mariano Guerrero pointed out errors on a tree survey for the first application, noting a mislocated power line and urging the surveyor to correct the record. He enumerated mitigation responsibilities for specific trees (for example, an avocado at 24 inches and a mango at 36 inches) and said half of replacement trees must be native and 30 percent of shrubs should be native in the required calculations.
Marcus Liferay (city staff) clarified mitigation practice for palms: palms generally do not provide mitigation credits except in limited street-tree circumstances; palms may be counted as site trees but not for mitigation under the city code approach. The board asked staff to verify species on-site and confirm mitigation amounts before final permits are issued.
