In accordance with Carmel Municipal Code (CMC) Section 17.48.130, trees, shrubs, and other plants growing on private property may be declared a public nuisance by the City Forester if the plants are infested, diseased, dead, or present any danger to persons or property. Such public nuisances must be removed as directed by the City Forester.
The private property located at the southeast corner of Casanova Street and Eleventh Avenue, belonging to the Estate of Eric Stoesser Trust, contains a dead, 75-foot-tall Monterey pine tree that leans toward the public right-of-way. This dead tree must be promptly removed for public safety and at the expense of the property owner.
To initiate the nuisance abatement process, the Public Works/Forestry Division attempted to contact the owner of this property multiple times, as recently as December 13, 2023 by certified mail. Although this notice was sent to the property owner’s last address of record, we did not receive any response within 30 days. The letter was returned with a label indicating the recipient no longer lives at that address. As such, adequate notice has been given to the property owner, but the nuisance has not yet been abated.
At the April 2, 2024 meeting, the City Council adopted Resolution 2024-025 declaring the tree a Public Nuisance and setting a Public Hearing on May 7, 2024 as a time for hearing objections to the abatement of the Public Nuisance.
The May 7th Public Hearing has been duly noticed in the “Carmel Pine Cone” by the City Clerk. The City Forester also posted “Notices to Abate Public Nuisance” on the property no less than 5 days prior to this Pubic Hearing. Following the opportunity for public comments, Council may authorize the City Forester to abate the nuisance by having the dead tree removed. The stump will remain on the private property.
Staff will keep an account of all actual costs of abatement and submit an itemized statement to the City Council for approval. The statement shall also be sent to the property owner. Following any public comments or objections, Council may raise, lower, or accept the amount of abatement cost, and the determination of Council shall be final. The amount for abatement must be reimbursed by the private property owner, or if not, the amount will be levied against the property via the Assessor per CMC 17.48.130.
Environmental Evaluation
This action does not constitute a project within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act under Public Resources Code Section 21065. It has no potential to cause either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and, therefore, does not require environmental review.