new_oak_tree_preservation_policy_060729.html

El Dorado Hills Citizens Alliance
News and Current Issue
August 1, 2006, updated August 14

www.edhca.net email: alliance@edhca.net

County Planning Commission considers oak tree retention policy

EDHCA members, should we adopt and advocate a position on this issue?
Please reply with comments and recommendations to alliance@edhca.net

Last week's Planning Commission meeting chartered a new ad hoc committee of stakeholders to discuss Oak Woodlands Guidelines, for interpreting 2004 General Plan policies on retention of oak woodlands and of native oak trees. If you are interested in oak woodlands issues or have knowledge that would be of value to this committee please call Monique in Planning Services at (530) 621-5355 and ask to attend.

It may be appropriate to take a position which generally supports the proposed policies but which recommends deletion of the special exemptions applying to native oaks with a trunk diameter less than 36 inches.

Links to complete documents on the County web site:
Oak Woodland Policy Issues Memo
Guidelines Outline

At its 7/27/2006 meeting the County Planning Commission considered for the first time interim policies on oak woodlands and retention of native oak trees. No action was taken at this meeting, the agenda item was continued to the August 10th meeting.

An additional policy issues continued to the August 10th meeting include other General Plan policy interpretations, including grade restrictions. One example at the July 27th meeting was approval of construction in SouthPointe on a parcel with a grade steeper than 30%, with restrictions to meet proposed policies on reasonable use.

The policies on retention of native oaks apply to all areas of the county, including urban areas such as El Dorado Hills, not just rural oak woodland areas. At first sight much if not most of the policy on retention of native oaks appears reasonable.
However, one part of Policy 7.4.5.2 virtually cancels protection for native oak trees.

Policy 7.4.5.2 has a stated basic purpose: "It shall be the policy of the County to preserve native oaks wherever feasible". Most of the policy appears reasonable, but there is one clear problem area and one issue that deserve changes and clarification:

A section in the policy which defines "special exemptions" from the County oak tree removal process for which a tree removal permit is not required. These exemptions effectively guarantee ability of landowners to remove oak trees with a trunk diameter up to 36 inches without regulatory review.
Many if not most EDH Common Interest Developments have existing regulations for preserving native oaks. Local permitting and enforcement processes are handled by homeowners associations or by the EDH Community Services District, usually as rules which interpret CC&R provisions in this context. Do the County requirements override or supplement these rules? When they differ, which regulations prevail? How does the permitting process work when permits are necessary at both County and local levels?

Details on exemption problems

Here is the section of the policy that risks being a "poison pill" to defeat the policy, quoted directly and annotated with comments on what they mean to El Dorado Hills... annotations are in blue italics, "dbh" stands for "diameter at breast height"

Special exemptions when a tree removal permit is not needed shall include removal of trees less than 36 inches dbh on

36 inches is too large, almost all oak trees in EDH are smaller. Existing regulations by EDH CSD and HOAs require a permitting process without exception for removal of oaks 6 inches or more in diameter.

1) lands in Williamson Act Contracts, Farmland Security Zone Programs, Timber Production Zones, Agricultural Districts, designated Agricultural Land (AL), and actions pursuant to a Fire Safe plan;

El Dorado Hills has very little land in this category. However, this exemption could be a factor on land surrounding EDH.

2) all single family residential lots of one acre or less that cannot be further subdivided;

This covers almost all residential lots in El Dorado Hills!
In other words, almost all homeowners can remove native oaks up to 36 inches in trunk diameter without obtaining a tree removal permit.

3) when a native oak tree is cut down on the owner’s property for the owner’s personal use; and

This extends the exemption to lots of any size, provided that the owner uses the felled tree personally.

4) when written approval has been received from the County Planning Department.

This bypass for the permitting procedure appears to open a hole in the policy. It seems to authorize removal of native oaks without regard to policy, only concurrence of one employee is required.

Please reply with comments and recommendations to alliance@edhca.net

To comment verbally attend the August 10th meeting of the Planning Commission in Placerville
This is agenda item is scheduled in the afternoon, among business scheduled after 1:30.

Planning Commission meeting agenda
Planning Commission web page