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Home My WebLink AboutREP PC 058 09/16/2003 2002-2004REPORT OF TH E COMMITTEE ON PLANNING DATL;: September 16, 2003 Rc: G343/Bill No. 148 PLACE: Councilroom TIME: 1:06 p.m. Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Your Committee on Planning, to which was referred Bill No. 148, transmitted by Arborist Advisory Committee Chair Leonard Bisel per Communication No. 343, dated August 28, 2003, regarding exceptional trees, reports as follows: Bill No. 148 amends Chapter 14, Article ] 0 o1'the Hawaii County Code, as amended, by providing "exceptional tree" status to the following: 1. I~he Monkeypod'I'ree, owned by the County of Hawaii on property located at I~MK: 2-6-12:10 ("Alae Cemetery). 2. The 'Ohi'a Lehua, owned by Robert E. O'Neill on property located at TMK: I-5-1:56 in Ka`ohe Homesteads in Pahoa. Pursuant to Chapter 58, Hawaii Revised Statutes, each County ot~lhe State of Hawaii has to establish an Arborist Advisory Committee to research, prepare and recommend to the county council exceptional trees to be protected by County ordinance or regulation. Pursuant to Chapter 14, Article 10. Hawaii County Code, the County desires to enact protective regulations to preserve exceptional trees within the County. In the County of Hawaii, the Arborist Advisory Committee falls under thejurisdiction of the Planning Department, which entbrces Article 10 and has the police power to take appropriate action to ensure compliance with the provisions of Article 10. As detined in the t Iawai'i Revised Statutes and Section 14-57 of the Hawaii County Code, "exceptional trees" means a tree or grove of trees with historic or cultural value, or which by reason of its age, rarity, location, size, aesthetic quality. or endemic status has been designated by the council as worthy of preservation. The term does not apply to trees planted for commercial forestry operations. Committee Member Leningrad Elarionoff asked if the two trees could be voted upon separately because he had a concern about the'Ohi'a Lehua name. After relating the legend of the'Ohi`a and the Lehua, he stated that the tree name should only be'Ohi'a, because they are two separate entities, and the 'Ohi'a is the tree and the Lehua is the blossom. After hearing the legend of the 'Ohi'a and the Lehua_ Your Committee unanimously agreed with Mr. I?larionoff to change the name to `Ohi'a.. Communication 348 Bill 148 Page 2 Rene Siracusa testified that the same tree should be added to the "exceptional tree" list because it has a circumference of eleven feet and it sits in a grove of other '6hi`a trees with circumferences of eight feet. Rene also provided pictures of the tree, and stated that this tree had yellow blossoms. hhe committee's discussion then turned to the Monkeypod tree located at "Alae Cemetery. Committee Member ,lames Arakaki stated that he does not support the nomination because the roots are upsetting the graves, the falling branches damage the gravestones, and the tree needs to be pruned and the roots contained. If the tree were listed as an exceptional tree, it would he difficult to maintain the tree under the designated rules. Your Chair noted that the Monkeypod tree was nominated by Eltie Wilkins and Craig Smith. Leonard Bisel, Chairman of the Arborist Committee, explained that he was not a part of the Committee when the Monkeypod tree was first nominated back in 2000, but he has become aware of the concerns regarding this tree. He explained that the Committee decided to nominate the tree based on the "professional opinion" of lellow Arborist Advisory Committee member Mike Kraus, who noted that the damage to the surrounding gravesites is preventable and containable by simple maintenance. Committee Member Elarionoff then asked what makes this Monkeypod tree so exceptional because Monkeypod trees are located all around the island. Mr. Bisel explained that some have great stature compared to others, and that size and significance has a lot to do with it. Patricia Engelhard, Director of Parks & Recreation, explained their position that Deputy Parks & Recreation Director, Pam Mizuno, at the Arborist Advisory Committee meeting, had recommended that they not nominate the Monkeypod tree because it was uprooting the graves at the cemetery and the Council had denied the nomination in 2000. Ms. Engelhard circulated pictures of the tree and the damage it has caused to the graves. She explained that it has not reached the point where they need to disinter the corpses as yet, but it will get to that point soon. She also explained that it is a majestic tree and they won't get rid of it, but they need to contain the roots in the future and keep it trimmed. She also explained that because the tree needs a lot of maintenance, they do not want to have to seek the permission of the Arborist Advisory Committee every time they need to trim the branches, etc., and wait until they decide it is alright to prune the tree; and that for emergency purposes, it is better not to proclaim this tree an exceptional tree. Joe Reynolds, Committee Member, stated that he has not seen anything significant about the tree. He also stated that the County has a problem with well meaning organizations that get in the way of county business. He then said he prefers to leave it up to the Parks & Recreation Department to trim the tree as needed and not have to wait fbr the approval from the Arborist Advisory Committee to trim the tree. He later stated that he has seen a lot of Monkeypod trees, but he does not consider them magnificent like the giant redwoods. So he offered a compromise solution by getting rid of this Monkeypod tree and planting younger non-invasive trees. Communication 348 Bill 148 Page 3 Committee Member Bob Jacobson stated that these trees cannot be replaced, and that we need to preserve what we have by working out the concerns with P & R. He then stated that trees have enhanced the cemeteries he has visited, and that either the County's Public Works Department or the Parks & Recreation Department has destroyed trees when they trimmed them. For this reason. the County should hire professional tree trimmers who know what they are doing in order to protect the trees or else they are going to vanish. After Your Chair noted that Mayor Kim signed off on the lorm ro accept the tree as an exceptional tree, Pat Englehard stated the first mistake she made in regard to this issue was to tell the Mayor that she would recommend this tree as an exceptional tree. Mr. Bisel then stated for the record that U~c Mayor appoints the Arborist Conunittec members according to the State law and the Charter. The Committee is not here to get in the way of County business, but arc here to help and serve the community in accordance with the laws. When asked if they have ever contacted an arborist in dealing with something of this magnitude. Ms. Fnglehard explained that fbr an exceptional tree, they would consult the arborist regarding the roots but not for the branches. Committee Member Mike Tulang mentioned he had some reservations about this nomination because the families of those buried in that area have not come forward. and those people should "weigh-in on the decision." For informational purposes, Your Committee unanimously voted in favor of accepting the 'Ohi'a trcc as an exceptional tree. "fhe final vote reflected below corresponds to the vote taken on the Monkeypod trcc, which resulted in the tree not being accepted as an exceptional tree. Your Committee on Planning is in accord with the intent and purpose of Bill No. 148, as amended ro Bill No. 148, Draft 2, and recommends it pass first reading. AYliti NOIfti A & I': I?X I~YI,ILR X nankn~a x cntiNC x I(LARIUNOIT X IIOLtiCIIUII X JACUnSON X RIiYNOI,US X tiAl'ARIIC k I~ULAN(i X Rccpcctlidh sibmitlcd '( MII'TFiFiUN''I,ANNING ~~ \ ~_.. ~~~ Iii T~'LF. R, 111, VICF. & A('TINC ('HAIR C' KIIPUR I' Nu AUOPII{U: ff