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2012 10 25 WS MinutesMINUTES OF THE REGULAR WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN October 25, 2012 The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas met in a Regular Work Session on Thursday, October 25, 2012, at 5:30 P.M., in the Council Chamber of the Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance: Brandon Capetillo Council Member Robert Hoskins Council Member Terry Sain Council Member Scott Sheley Council Member Stephen DonCarlos Mayor Robert D. Leiper Ron Bottoms Kevin Troller Ignacio Ramirez Leticia Brysch Keith Dougherty City Manager Deputy City Manager Assistant City Manager City Attorney City Clerk Sergeant at Arms Mayor DonCarlos convened the October 25, 2012, City Council Regular Work Session with a quorum present at 5:32 P.M., all members were present with the exception of Council Members McCartney and Renteria who were both absent and Council Member Sain who arrived at 5:40 P.M. 1. DISCUSSIONS a. Discuss Potential Tree Preservation Ordinance - Planning and Development Services. City Manager Leiper presented the agenda item to discuss options for a tree preservation ordinance for the City of Baytown. Planning Director, Kelly Carpenter stated that in order for the ordinance to be effective, serious public education will be needed and the question of who to educate may be the biggest challenge. She stated that the primary code elements would be applicability, arborist, credits /debits, appeal process, fees, and costs/benefits. Mayor DonCarlos stated that he does not want the City to regulate individual lot owners for trimming trees and requested having a minimum square footage that this ordinance would apply too and agreed to have the ordinance applicable to new developers, new buildings, pipelines, city facilities, and parking areas. Work Session Regular Meeting Minutes October 25, 2012 Page 2 of 3 Council Member Capetillo stated that he agreed with the comments made by the Mayor and that they are not looking for anything to do with infill, or residential properties, but more on the commercial properties and large acreage. He stated that there may be some issues and the credits seem to be a bit too complicated. Ms. Carpenter stated that staff was looking at an acre minimum amount for consideration, but there were also drainage requirements that come in at an acre and that the area is a bit smaller than what Council talked about. Ms. Carpenter noted that the acreage amount is not included in the current draft. Ms. Carpenter asked as to whether the Council wanted to consider including the ETJ into this ordinance. City Attorney, Ignacio Ramirez stated that we could include the ETJ in the ordinance and add in some exceptions for heavy industrial and other industrial areas to exclude them from this ordinance. Mayor DonCarlos inquired if the ordinance could apply to subdivisions in the ETJ. City Manager Leiper stated that the better way would be to change the subdivision ordinance to require that every new lot have a tree of a certain caliper. Ms. Carpenter provided definitions for a qualifying tree and a significant tree. She stated that a qualifying tree is a tree that is not diseased, dying, or dead and is on the approved tree list with a caliper of at least 6" to be considered for a credit and 4" for a replacement. She stated that a significant tree is a qualifying tree that is at least 10" or larger and required to be protected under ordinance unless exceptions apply. Ms. Carpenter stated that an applicant is debited for any significant tree that is to be removed, unless exemptions apply and receives credit for any qualifying tree over 6" saved. Ms. Carpenter stated that in cases where the applicant disagrees with the findings of the administrator on plan review or inspections, the applicant may appeal the administrator's decision to the Planning and Zoning Commission in writing within ten days of the decision of the administrator. Council Member Capetillo inquired as to how land owners would be notified of the ordinance. Ms. Carpenter stated notification could be done through mailings, Channel 16, and the website. Ms. Carpenter stated that the fees would cover the costs of completeness review, application review, arborist (possible), and inspections. She recommended not hiring and arborist, but putting the arborist on retainer for the more complicated cases instead of all cases. Mayor DonCarlos suggested to Ms. Carpenter to incorporate what was discussed into a draft and bring back to the 2nd meeting in November. Work Session Regular Meeting Minutes October 25, 2012 Page 3 of 3 City Manager Leiper stated for clarification that the ordinance initially would apply in the City only, but he stated the City would look at requiring trees to be added if a subdivision is being built in the ETJ and staying in the ETJ. 2. ADJOURN With there being no further business to discuss, Mayor DonCarlos adjourned the October 25, 2012, City Council Regular Work Session at 6:13 P.M.