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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION <br /> Tuesday,February 18,2020 <br /> 6:00 p.m. <br /> an arborist to help with a free permit. He reiterated that he feels a tiered or sliding scale system may be <br /> the direction to go. <br /> Ressler stated that he agreed with a tiered system. He noted that he did not want to spend a lot of time on <br /> this issue because there is a lot of ground to cover,but noted that some thought should be given to <br /> whether it is a nuisance tree as well. He gave the example of taking down a cottonwood and not having to <br /> replace it with a cottonwood. <br /> Curtis stated that may lead to people clearing their lots of large,mature buckthorn which can create <br /> problems from an aesthetic point and it would qualify as clear cutting. <br /> Erickson noted that Plymouth, at one time, had a full-time forester on staff, so it may be helpful to take a <br /> look at some of their ordinances to see what they have done in some of these situations. He stated that <br /> may be a way to gather information for free without having to consult an arborist. <br /> Ressler stated that he is in favor of a sliding scale of some sort, in lieu of a 1:1 replacement. <br /> Libby stated that he doesn't think any of the ideas are bad,but when it is exposed to scrutiny from <br /> property owners,they may want to know how the City came to these standards without consulting the <br /> experts. He stated that he is concerned that this will expose the City and things will be determined by the <br /> City Attorney rather than an arborist because the City has a rule that was set up arbitrarily by people <br /> simply guessing. <br /> Ressler stated that he feels the spirit of this whole thing is trying to eliminate some of the applications that <br /> the City is receiving that require variances and things of that nature. He stated that if there can be a <br /> language change that helps reduce those applications and not expose the City to other issues such as those <br /> raised by Commissioner Libby, because there will be circumstances where it will not make sense to do <br /> any of the things being put into place. <br /> Libby stated that he is not objecting to Barnhart's proposal but sees a potential avenue for residents <br /> contending this. <br /> Thiesse stated that residents are free to get their own arborist and come in and tell the City how it should <br /> be. <br /> Ressler stated that he thinks that is good feedback for this portion of the ordinance. He suggested moving <br /> the discussion to the process for when there is slope failure. He stated that the discussion that took place <br /> at the work session was that there should be some discretion given to the City Engineer and give the <br /> option of expediting directly to City Council for a hearing, discussion, and ruling for mitigating that <br /> situation. He asked if anyone on the Commission had a different recollection of the work session <br /> discussion. <br /> The Commission agreed that this was what was discussed. <br /> Barnhart stated that the goal of this from the beginning was to address slope failures and try to avoid the <br /> interim use permit process. He stated that the earlier discussion was about the identifying the emergency <br /> slope failures that would skip the interim use process and go straight to Council, possibly without the <br /> Page 27 of 30 <br />