CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA

AGENDA BILL

AB 1137
June 6, 2016
Orders

TO:

Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council

Chip Rerig, City Administrator

FROM:

Rob Mullane, AICP, Public Works Director

SUBJECT:

Presentation on replacement options for the City's Holiday Tree from the Centennial
Holiday Tree Subcommittee of the Forest and Beach Comm ission and selection of the
preferred option for implementation as part of this year's Centennial celebration.
AMOUNT OF EXPENDITURE

$ 6,000

AMOUNT BUDGETED

$ $6,000

APPROPRIATION REQUIRED

$ N/A

RECOMMENDATION
Receive a presentation on replacement options for the City's Holiday Tree from the Centennial Holiday
Tree Subcommittee of the Forest and Beach Commission and select the preferred option for
implementation as part of this year's Centennial celebration .
SUMMARY
In preparation for this year's City Centennial, the various commissions were asked for suggestions
on activities or projects that should be included in the City's Centennial Celebration . The Forest and
Beach Commission recommends that the City replace the City's Holiday Tree as part of the
Centennial Celebration. The current Holiday Tree is a redwood that is in decline and in a location in
the Ocean Avenue median that requires the tree to be limbed to provide clearance for delivery trucks
and other vehicles. Moreover, the current tree is in a fairly narrow planter, which provides a limited
area for natural irrigation.
A subcommittee of the Forest and Beach Commission was convened to develop and evaluate options
for replacement of the Holiday Tree. Commissioners David Refuerzo and Maggie Eaton were
appointed to the subcommittee, which was entitled the Centennial Holiday Tree Subcommittee. The
subcomm ittee met several times over the last few months to review options for a replacement holiday
tree, and at a special meeting of March 21, 2016, presented their recommendation for the replacement
tree to the full Commission. The Commission endorsed a variation of the subcommittee's
recommendation: to plant a large (48" box) tree in the southeast corner planter of Devendorf Park.
The preferred species for the replacement tree is a deador cedar. The Commission also
recommended that the City continue to decorate the current holiday tree until the new tree is
sufficiently large or until the existing tree is removed . The vote was unanimous. The minutes of the
March 21 51 special meeting are included as Attachment 1.

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176

The Commission 's recommendation is being forwarded to the City Council for concurrence or
alternative direction. The subcommittee representatives will be in attendance and provide an
overview of the work thus far in a PowerPoint presentation, including the pros and cons of each option,
and the reasons for selecting the recommended option.
The anticipated cost of the new holiday tree is approximately $2,500 to $3,000. The anticipated labor
costs for the installation are $3,000. This is not part of the funding allocated by the City Council for
Centennial Activities for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 budget, and these costs would be borne by the Public
Works Department's operational budget. Alternatively, there may be one or more donors who would be
interested in assisting with the costs for purchasing, delivering, and installing the new holiday tree.
The Forest and Beach Comm ission plans to have the unveiling and introduction of the new tree take
place during the holiday tree lighting ceremony in December. The selection, purchase, and arrangement
for delivery and planting of the new tree will likely take 3 or 4 months. As such, action by the City Council
is requested at this meeting to provide for sufficient time to make these arrangements.
Alternatives :
The Council may concur with the recommendation of the Forest and Beach Commission or may opt for
one of the other alternatives identified by the subcommittee or some new alternative. It should be noted
that the Forest and Beach Commission and the appointed subcommittee have thoroughly looked into the
various alternatives and that the support for the selected option has been unanimous.
Environmental Review:
This project has been determined to be exempt from CEQA pursuant to the general rule under Section
15061 (b )(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines, which states: that CEQA applies only to projects which have
the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that
there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the
activity is not subject to CEQA. The project, which involves planting a replacement holiday tree in an
existing City park does not present any unusual circumstances that would result in the potential for a
significant environmental impact.
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION

The City Council requested input from the various City Commissions and Boards regarding activities and
projects to be included in the City's Centennial Celebration and reviewed this concept on July 6, 2015.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Forest and Beach Commission Minutes - Special Meeting of March 21, 2016
2. PowerPoint presentation handouts
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__.-::.

APPROVED: ~~~

(~((~

Date:

Chip Rerig, City Administrator

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CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA
FOREST AND BEACH COMMISSION
SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
Monday, March 21, 2016
5:00 p.m.-Tour of Inspection
5:30 p.m. - Special Meeting
Vista Lobos Community Room
West side of Torres St. between 3rd and 4th Avenues
Carmel, California

I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL FOR TOUR OF INSPECTION

COMMISSION MEMBERS:

KAREN FERLITO -Chai r

JEFF BARON
MAGGIE EATON
DAVID REFUERZO

COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT:

KATHY BANG- Vice Chair

II. TOUR OF INSPECTION

At 5:00p.m., the Commission met on-site for a Tour of Inspection:
1.

Northwest corner of Junipero Ave. and Ocean Ave.

Ill. ROLL CALL

IV. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Members of the audience joined the Commission in the Pledge of Allegiance.

V. ORDERS OF BUSINESS

1.

Review, receive comments, and determine a replacement plan for the City Holiday Tree as part of
the Carmel-by-the-Sea Centennial activities.
Chair Ferlito outlined why the Commission wa s reviewing this age nda item and provided
background on the formation of the holiday tree ad hoc committee.

Forest and Beach Commission

Minutes- Special Meeting
March 21, 2016
Page 1

178

Commissioner Refuerzo reviewed the updated Powerpoint presentation on the various options the
ad hoc committee had developed for replacement of the current City holiday tree and answered
questions from the Commissioners and the public.
Public comment was opened at 6:05 p.m. Ernest "E" Griffin-Ortiz asked questions about the various
options and asked if funding was available to replace the current tree with one of the options.
Bobbie Richards also asked questions on the options and offered another possible alternative
option.
After further discussion, a motion was made by Chair FER LITO to recommend to the City Council
option lA- planting a large (48" box) tree in the southeast corner planter of Devendorf Park and
possibly continue to decorate the current tree until the new tree is sufficiently large or until the
existing tree in the Ocean Avenue median is removed. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
EATON and carried by the following roll call vote:
Ayes:
Noes:
Abstain :
Absent:

VI.

Eaton, Refuerzo, Baron, Ferlito

None
None
Bang

ADJOURN

There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at
6:30pm.

ATIEST:

Forest and Beach Commission

Minutes - Special Meeting
March 21, 2016
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179

5/26/2016

Centennial Holiday Tree

Analysis of options for the Holiday Tree as we move into
Carmel's

znd

Century

Centennial Holiday Tree

.,_ Why is the Forest and Beach looking at options for a Holiday Tree?
.,. Opportune time to look at new I different options for a Holiday tree
1> recent decline of the current redwood holiday tree
1> Centennial celebration: come up with a plan as Carmel moves into its 2"' Century

.,. Ad Hoc Committee formed: explore various options and make recommendation
1> Maggie Eaton, David Refuerzo, Mike Branson and Matt Feisthamel
1> Met 4 times as an Ad Hoc and had discussions with various interested parties
1> F&B Commission Special Meeting at Vista Lobos on 3/21/2016
1> Evaluated six options, focused on four options

.,. Recommendation:
Mature Deodar Cedar in SE planter of Devendorf Park as repl acement tree;
continue to decorate existing holiday tree until new tree is sufficiently large

180

SE corner of Devendorf

Deodar Cedar Example

181