CU-12-26 Follow-up on Request for Additional Info.pdfC. ewi
January 14, 2013
121 5th AVENUE NORTH ® EDMONDS, WA 98020 m (425) 771-0220 ® FAX (425) 771-0221
www,edmondswa.gov
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Mr. Joseph Hampson
21321 Pioneer Way
Edmonds, WA 98026
TILUNO. PLN20120026
Dear Mr. Hampson:
DAVE EARLINC
MAYOR
This letter is to follow-up on the request for additional information that was sent to you on November 20,
2012 regarding your land use application for a post -event tree cutting permit application located at 21321
Pioneer Way, File No. PLN20120026. As requested in the November 20th letter, your response to several
items is needed before staff can continue with processing your application.
Edmonds Community Development Code (ECDC) Section 20.02.003.D requires the applicant to provide
a complete response to requests for additional information within 90 days. Therefore, a complete
response to the items requested in my November 20°i letter must be submitted by February 18, 2013 in
order to avoid expiration of your application. If the application expires, this matter will be forivarded
back to Code Enforcement, which will require submittal of a new application with associated fees and
could include additional penalties.
For your convenience, the following is a complete list of the information/clarification requested in my
November 201h letter:
A critical areas determination is not on file for your property. Since the subject trees are located
within a critical area (Landslide Hazard Area) and/or its buffer, a critical areas determination is
necessary. Please fill out and submit the enclosed Critical Areas Checklist with the associated $155
fee. Or, you may submit the checklist online at www.edmondswa.gov via the "Online Permits" link.
After the checklist and associated fee are submitted, staff will visit the site and issue a critical areas
determination. This determination will be utilized in concluding whether additional critical areas
study is necessary.
2. Due to the presence of a slope that is steep enough to qualify as a Landslide Hazard Area on/adjacent
to the subject site, a geotechnical report is required. Please submit a geotechnical report prepared by
a qualified geotechnical engineer addressing the proposal's compliance with all applicable
requirements of the critical areas code contained within Edmonds Community Development Code
(ECDC) Chapters 23.40 and 23.80. As part of the report, the geotechnical engineer will need to
review the proposed restoration plan and make any necessary recommendations to ensure that the
proposal will not jeopardize the stability of the slope.
Sister City - Hekinan, Japan
The cover letter prepared by your arborist states that the subject trees were reduced in height due to
"the severity of the slope aspect and the inadequate soil stability where these maples are located."
This is something that your geotechnical engineer will need to address within his response to Item #2
above. If your arborist and geotechnical engineer contend that the trees were hazardous according to
the requirements of ECDC 23.40.220.C.7.b, then Tree Hazard Evaluation Forms prepared by your
arborist must be submitted for all three trees (your submittal only included a form for Tree # 3).
4. Your restoration plan specifies replanting at a ratio of 2 -to -1; however, the proposed species are not
acceptable. Rhododendrons are not considered trees and cannot be utilized to count towards the 2:1
replacement ratio. Your arborist must prepare a proposal for restoration including recommendations
on species and locations of the replacement trees, which must be reviewed and approved by your
geotechnical engineer. Your geotechnical engineer may determine that in addition to the replacement
trees, groundcover and/or shrubs would be necessary to minimize erosion potential on the slope. It
shall be noted that ECDC 23.40.220.C.7.b requires replacement with trees that are native and
indigenous to the site and a minimum of one inch in diameter at breast height (DBH) for deciduous
trees and a minimum of six feet in height for evergreen trees as measured from the top of the root
ball.
Please submit the above information as soon as possible, so that staff may continue processing your
application. Note that if a response is not received by February 18, 2013, your application will expire
due to a lack of information (per ECDC 20.02.003.D). If your application expires, this matter will be
forwarded to Code Enforcement, which will require submittal of a new application with associated
fees and could include additional penalties.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at (425) 771-0220, extension 1224.
Sincerely,
Development Services Department - Planning Division
Jen Machuga
Associate Planner
Cc: File No. PLN20120026
Mike Thies, Code Enforcement
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