On August 15, 2019, City Administrator Chip Rerig was contacted by Anthony Lombardo & Associates with a demand for height reduction of trees in the City right-of-way at APN 010-421-001 to enhance the viewshed of three clients' properties. City Administrator Rerig declined to take action on the height reduction of the trees and shrubs in question and referred the matter to the Forest and Beach Commission.
Relevant Sections of Carmel-by-the-Sea Municipal Code:
12.28.020 Policy Statement.
It is not the policy of the City to approve requests for tree trimming or tree removal in order to improve the view of any person, including the applicant.
17.48.020 Statement of Intent.
Where tree removal is approved at the request of a property owner or occupant, another tree should be planted in a suitable location, whenever good forestry practice so dictates. It is further intended that City approval of requests for tree trimming or tree removal should be based on protecting public safety and preserving the health of the tree. The City does not trim or remove trees in order to improve the view of any person, including the applicant, except to preserve a significant public view identified in the General Plan/Land Use Plan.
17.12.050 Preservation of Public Viewshed.
The significant coastal view across Block 37, Lots 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, and 24 within this district shall be preserved for public benefit. All site improvements or buildings approved within the R-4 district shall be studied by the Planning Commission for their effect on this viewshed. Existing views from the intersection of Torres Street and Third Avenue and from Lots 3, 5, and 7 in Block 37 zoned as district P-Z and shown on the following illustration (Figure II-7) shall be preserved. No structure shall be approved for construction and no vegetation shall be planted or maintained within the viewshed at a height that exceeds the 350-foot contour elevation as referenced on the topographic survey dated June 1983 by Clayton B. Neill Jr. (W.O. #6415).
17.48.050 Required Permits
B. Trees on Public Property. Any person desiring to remove or prune any portion of a tree or shrub, except Genista, growing in or upon any public street, way, park, or place within the City, or any person desiring to cut any wood, foliage, or roots from any tree on private property when more than one-half of the basal cross-sectional area of such tree is on City property, shall file an application for a permit consistent with CMC 17.48.060, Permit Applications. If, in the opinion of the City Forester, the tree or trees should be removed because of disease, infestation, or clear and present danger to persons or property, the trees shall be removed at City’s expense. (Ord. 2004-02 § 1, 2004; Ord. 2004-01 § 1, 2004).