Staff Report - Tree Removal Application, 73 Norquay Road

TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT

TO: Council DATE: December 21, 2016 FROM: Dave Podmoroff MEETING DATE: January 17, 2017

Tree Removal Application, 73 Norquay Road

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Council approves the removal of two (2) trees at 73 Norquay Road as requested;

AND THAT as per the Town’s Tree Protection Bylaw 695, that four (4) trees be replanted (2:1 ratio) for these two (2) trees to be removed.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

To address the request for removal of two (2) trees at 73 Norquay Road.

BACKGROUND:

The owners submitted a tree removal/alteration application (see attached letter “Document 01”) on October 13, 2015, requesting the removal of the following trees:

• one (1), 43.0 cm dbh, Douglas Fir tree (Psuedotsuga menziesii) located in the front yard of the property on the north side, immediately adjacent to the neighbour’s house and rock wall at 71 Norquay Road house. See attached images “01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07 and 08”.
• one (1), 56.0 cm dbh, Grand Fir tree (Abies grandis) located in the front yard of the property on the north side, immediately adjacent to the neighbour’s rock wall at 71 Norquay Road house. See attached images “01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 07, 09 and 10”.

The removal was denied (see attached letter “Document 02”) as the trees are protected species within the Town’s Tree Protection Bylaw #695 and appeared to be healthy.

The owners wanted to proceed further with this application and have requested an appeal of the decision to go to Council. They have supplied an arborist report (see attached report “Document 03”) from ISA Arborist, Tom Talbot, of Talbot, Mackenzie & Associates which supports the removal of the two trees as opposed to other options.

As per the arborist report, these trees are relatively healthy but are very close to both house but especially to the neighbouring house and rock retaining wall at 71 Norquay Road. The roots are underneath the rock wall causing damage to occur from the heaving of the ground from root growth. I would also suspect that the roots are underneath the house foundation and into the perimeter drains due to the close proximity to the house. There is also the issue with dropping branches onto the roof of the two houses. The distance measurements are as follows:

• Douglas Fir Tree
  • Tree to neighbour’s house – 2.4 metres from the house foundation, 1.6 metres from the house eaves and 0.9 metres from the retaining wall.
  • Tree to owners house – 3.9 metres from the house foundation and 3.3 metres from the house eaves
• Grand Fir Tree
  • Tree to neighbour’s house – 4.8 metres from the house foundation, 4.2 metres from the house eaves and 0.4 metres from the retaining wall.
  • Tree to owners house – 4.8 metres from the house foundation and 4.2 metres from the house eaves
• The trees are 3.5 metres apart from each other.

These trees should not have been planted or left in these locations and will only continue to grow larger causing more problems and damage. They should be removed to eliminate any hazards and to prevent increasing damage from occurring to either or both of these two residences.

ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION:

Deny the removal of the trees, but allow major pruning of both branches and roots. This does pose a significant risk as the removal of the roots can cause stability issues and increase the likelihood of failure.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Council approves the removal of the two (2) trees at 73 Norquay Road as requested;

AND THAT as per the Town’s Tree Protection Bylaw 695, that four (4) trees be replanted (2:1 ratio) for these two (2) trees to be removed.

SUBMITTED BY: Dave Podmoroff, Parks Supervisor

REVIEWED BY: John Rosenberg, Director of Engineering