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City Council Minutes December 16, 2002 Page 8 · Should the City be more involved with regulating the removal of trees? · Budget needs regarding staf£mg for administering and enforcement of the ordinance. · Increased costs for developers and residents. Scott noted that the Planning Commission recommended approval of the request. Acting Mayor Tveite opened the public hearing. Lewis Pertl - 19796 Lowell Avenue, noted that his request for a variance, which was just reviewed by the Council, addresses issues regarding the proposed tree preservation ordinance. He noted that the proposed ordinance would have an affect on his request for a variance. Ron Halpaus - 19563 Lander Street NW - Mr. Halpaus noted that he was a member of the tree preservation'committee who researched the subject of tree preservation and presented a draft ordinance to City Staff. He noted that the ordinance the Council is reviewing is much different than the ordinance proposed by the committee. He indicated that the purpose of the ordinance from the committee was to protect and preserve trees on construction and development sites. Mr. Halpaus proceeded to review issues in the ordinance which he felt were punitive to residential homeowners. There being no further public comments, Acting Mayor Tveite closed the public hearing. Councilmember Motto stated that he would like to see the ordinance that was proposed by the tree preservation committee. He indicated that this proposed ordinance would be difficult to enforce. Councilmember Kuester indicated that the tree preservation committee has done a lot of work on the ordinance. She noted that the three main issues that came out of the committee included a focus on development, education, and the city acting as a model by adopting a tree preservation approach for the city. Councilmember Kuester had many questions regarding the proposed ordinance pertaining to PUD's not being included in the ordinance, no reference to Oak Wilt, difficulty in enforcement, and responsibility of inspections. Councilmember Tveite indicated that he was glad to see the City taking a step toward tree preservation. He indicated that he was also concerned with the enforcement and budget issues relating to the ordinance. COUNCILMEMBER MOTIN MOVED TO CONTINUE THIS ISSUE FOR A PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED THREE MONTHS TO ALLOW THE COUNCIL AND STAFF TO FURTHER REVIEW THE PROPOSED TREE PRESERVATION ORDINANCE. COUNCILMEMBER KUESTER SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 4-0.