Title
Study session to facilitate community and Historical Advisory Board discussion of the Liquidambar (sweetgums) street trees along Gibbons Drive in the context of the Protected Trees section of Alameda Municipal Code Section 13-21.7 – Interim Review, the process for amending the list of protected trees, and the proposed Gibbons Drive Sidewalks and Trees Plan. This item is for discussion purposes only, and no approval or action is being taken at this time, and it is therefore not a project for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). If future action is taken on the matters discussed in this report, the respective decision-making body will make the appropriate considerations under CEQA.
Body
To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Historical Advisory Board
From: Abby Thorne-Lyman, Interim Director of Planning, Building and Transportation
BACKGROUND
Certificate of Approval Process
Section 13-21 of the Alameda Municipal Code (AMC), Preservation of Historic and Cultural Resources, attached as Exhibit 1, establishes regulations intended to preserve and protect historical and cultural resources. AMC Section 13-21.5 outlines the Certificate of Approval process for alteration, demolition and removal of Historical and Cultural Monuments. Alameda has thirty (30) adopted Historical Monuments. In addition to Historical Monuments, AMC Section 13-21.7 – Interim Review specifies that certain structures, such as buildings constructed prior to 1942, and protected trees, are subject to the Certificate of Approval process prior to demolition or removal. Protected trees include Coastal Live Oaks anywhere in the City and certain trees in the public right of way (street trees) such as palm trees on Burbank Street and Portola Avenue, London Plane trees on Central Avenue, and median trees on Thompson Avenue (Christmas Tree Lane).
Tree Removal Policy and Planning Board Review
Gibbons Drive contains a mature canopy composed predominantly of Liquidambar trees ...
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