Commission approves removal of 14 trees in Rehoboth
At the request of a property owner on St. Michael’s Place, the Rehoboth Beach Parks and Shade Tree Commission voted unanimously in favor of allowing the removal of 14 Leyland cypress trees that run along the road fence separating Rehoboth from Henlopen Acres.
The applicant, Elizabeth Bergin, 6 St. Michael’s Place, was not in attendance at the Dec. 17 hearing, but in a city tree pruning, planting, removal application, she said she planted the trees 27 years ago.
“The trees have become overgrown and are dying. They are obstructing the curb, as well as the ability to park on the side of the streets,” said Bergin in the Nov. 18 application.
City Arborist Liz Lingo recommended removal of the trees. Reading from a report prepared for the hearing, she said the trees were not planted or approved by the city, and are not considered desirable because they are prone to failure, disease and insects.
Bergin has agreed to pay for the removal of the trees. As part of the application, there’s an estimate from Houston-based Elite Tree Lawn & Landscaping for $1,600, which includes tree, stump and debris removal.
Lingo said the city is not recommending the trees be replaced. However, she said, it should be noted any future planting, or replanting, by adjacent property owners on city right of way also requires shade tree commission approval.
No fee-in-lieu of mitigation
The hearing on the St. Michael’s Place trees was the second hearing for the commission.
The first concerned the removal of a dead oak tree in the backyard of 12 Canal St. and the owners’ request for a fee-in-lieu of mitigation. City code required property owners Brian and Jacqueline Kloss to plant six trees for taking down a 25-inch oak tree that is dead.
The lots in that neighborhood are small and it would be a challenge to plant six trees, Brian Kloss said.
Even without the dead tree, Lingo said the property has four trees, meeting the minimum tree density, three, but it does not meet the minimum inches of diameter by 18 inches.
Lingo recommended the commission require the dead tree be replaced with a similar native canopy tree, 3 inches in diameter, and recommended a fee in lieu of mitigation for the remaining 15 inches of diameter.
Commission member Ned Kesmodel said he didn’t believe a property owner should have to pay a fee in lieu of mitigation for the removal of a dead tree. They can make a donation to the tree fund if they want, he said.
Ultimately, the commission voted unanimously to set the fee in lieu of mitigation at zero and did not require the planting of a replacement tree.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
