COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
SUBJECT:
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VA-2318: Request for City Council to allow for the removal of a 43 inch historic tree located at 2903 Travelers Palm Drive to allow the construction of a new single family home.
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APPLICANT:
Alan Lancaster
DEPARTMENT:
Development Services
SUMMARY:
The applicant is requesting for Council to allow for the removal of one historic live oak that has a DBH of 43 inches located near the center of the lot. The subject property is located in the platted subdivision of Florida Shores. It has a current future land use designation of low density residential and a zoning designation of R-2. The R-2 zoning district requires the following setbacks:
Front: 30 feet Rear: 20 feet Side: 10 feet
The applicant on the submitted site plan is showing the location of the house set exactly 10 feet on the southern side yard setback of 10 feet. The applicant is proposing a north side yard setback of 30 feet and is meeting the requirements of the front and rear yard setbacks. The approximate under-air square footage of the proposed home is 2,400 square feet with a length of 60 feet and a width of 40 feet.
An arborist report produced by North Star paid by the applicant denotes that “both trees are in excellent health and should be preserved if possible”. The arborist recommended that a waiver for impacting the dripline would be preferable than the removal of said tree. It should be noted that the arborist report also indicated a specimen oak that has a DBH of 35 inches is also illustrated on the site plan to be removed. The arborist opined that said specimen oak is very close to 36 inches in DBH and is also in excellent health. The arborist did not recommend the removal of either tree.
BUDGETED ITEM: ☐ Yes ☒ No ☐ Not Applicable
BUDGET AMENDMENT REQUIRED: ☐ Yes ☒ No ☐ Not Applicable
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Staff recommends City Council waive the drip line requirements of the land development code and to grant a variance from Table V-1 of Article 5 to allow a 5 foot side yard setback in lieu of the required 10 feet for 2903 Travelers Palm Drive in an effort to preserve the historic tree.