Staff Report
PREPARED BY: MATT MORLEY
Director of Parks and Public Works
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Finance Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 05/02/2017
ITEM NO: 13
DATE: APRIL 19, 2017
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: LAUREL PREVETTI, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: CONSIDER AN APPEAL PURSUANT TO TOWN CODE SECTION 26.10.070 OF A
PARKS COMMISSION DECISION TO UPHOLD A TREE REMOVAL PERMIT FOR
TREES IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY ON WINCHESTER BOULEVARD
ADJACENT TO 17274 VERDES ROBLES. APPLICANT: PG&E. APPELLANT:
VIVEK CORREIA
RECOMMENDATION:
Consider an appeal (Attachment 1) pursuant to Town Code Section 26.10.070 of a Parks
Commission decision to uphold a tree removal permit for trees in the public right of way on
Winchester Boulevard adjacent to 17274 Verdes Robles.
BACKGROUND:
In early 2016, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) met with the Town to discuss the need to
remove trees that potentially create safety concerns around high pressure gas lines. The Town
manages the tree inventory closely and reviewed the proposed tree removals critically at all
levels of the organization. In 2016, PG&E informed the Town that it planned to remove a
number of trees in Los Gatos as part of its Pipeline Safety Initiative project. Town staff closely
reviewed every tree proposed to be removed by PG&E to determine if it the tree poses a safety
concern and on June 9, 2016, the Town issued a Tree Removal Permit to PG&E for the removal
of trees in several locations in the public right of way. PG&E paid for the Tree Removal Permit
and paid into the Town’s tree replacement fund at a level higher than required by the Town’s
fee structure. Over the course of several months, PG&E has removed most of the trees
identified in the approved Tree Removal Permit after posting the trees for public notice and
PAGE 2 OF 5
SUBJECT: CONSIDER AN APPEAL PURSUANT TO TOWN CODE SECTION 26.10.070 OF A
PARKS COMMISSION DECISION TO UPHOLD A TREE REMOVAL PERMIT FOR
TREES IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY ON WINCHESTER BOULEVARD
ADJACENT TO 17274 VERDES ROBLES. APPLICANT: PG&E. APPELLANT:
VIVEK CORREIA
APRIL 19, 2017
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BACKGROUND (cont’d):
conducting outreach to adjacent property owners. The trees at Verdes Robles are the only
remaining trees within the Town jurisdiction that require removal.
Chapter 26 of the Town Municipal Code provides for the removal of trees where safety is a
concern (Sec. 26.10.063 (5)). Decisions on the issuance of a permit are appealable to the Parks
Commission and the Town Council.
An adjacent property owner, Mr. Vivek Correia, appealed the removal of 20 trees and on April
3, 2017, the Parks Commission conducted a public hearing and considered the appeal from Mr.
Correia. The staff report and attachments for the Parks Commission April 3rd meeting are
included in Attachment 2. At that meeting, the Parks Commission denied the appeal and
upheld the Town’s Tree Removal Permit for trees in the public right of way on Winchester
Boulevard adjacent to 17274 Verdes Robles (Attachment 3).
The Parks Commission made the required finding under Town Code Section 26.10.063 that the
trees are “interfering with utility services where such interference cannot be controlled or
remedied through reasonable modification, relocation or repair of the utility service or the
pruning of the root or branch structure of the tree; or where remo val or pruning is required by
a public utility to comply with California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) or Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) rules or regulations.”
DISCUSSION:
Pursuant to Town Code Section 26.10.070, all appeals under the provisions of this Chapter shall
be determined after hearing by the appellate body of all of the evidence concerning the
determination from which the appeal is taken.
On April 12, 2017, the Appellant submitted a request for appeal to Town Council. The reasons
are summarized as:
1. The Appellant does not agree with the decision of the Parks Commission.
2. The Appellant states that he was not given enough time to make an educated case to the
Commission before the meeting on April 3, 2017.
PAGE 3 OF 5
SUBJECT: CONSIDER AN APPEAL PURSUANT TO TOWN CODE SECTION 26.10.070 OF A
PARKS COMMISSION DECISION TO UPHOLD A TREE REMOVAL PERMIT FOR
TREES IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY ON WINCHESTER BOULEVARD
ADJACENT TO 17274 VERDES ROBLES. APPLICANT: PG&E. APPELLANT:
VIVEK CORREIA
APRIL 19, 2017
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DISCUSSION (cont’d):
3. Neither the Town nor PG&E addressed any of the Appellant’s concerns or offered remedies
to mitigate the loss of a natural sound and privacy wall for the property. The Appellant
considered that the construction of a sound and privacy barrier would be needed because
all of the bedrooms would be in direct view of traffic from Winchester.
4. The Appellant believes that the Commission’s findings were incorrect because there is a
good chance that PG&E may have provided false information to the Town of Los Gatos, as it
has to California regulators and federal investigators in part to “hide their wrong doings and
save money.”
5. The Appellant claims that PG&E has deliberately held back or lied to the neighbors of
Verdes Robles, Buena Vista, and Winchester by reaching out to them and withholding
information about the cutting down of all the trees, mentioning only that they would be
trimming and pruning trees.
6. The Appellant request that the Town needs to carefully review everything that PG&E has
presented because they are “branded as a convicted felon” and may have misrepresented
its reasoning for cutting the trees.
As noted in the staff report to the Parks Commission (Attachment 2), PG&E operates and
maintains its utility facilities under the regulatory oversight and jurisdiction of the California
Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). They have provided the Town with the Discretionary Permit
Statement (attached) that summarizes the rights and abilities to protect their utility facilities.
This includes removal of any incompatible vegetation or structures located within the right of
way. According to State Regulations, the CPUC oversight authority preempts discretionary
Town tree removal ordinances with respect to natural gas projects. In summary, PG&E is not
required to apply for discretionary permits nor do they have to adhere to the regulation in the
Town’s tree related ordinances when it comes to tree removal.
Regardless of this exemption, PG&E has been committed to work with the Town on this project
as they realize the impacts that tree removals will have on the community and has complied
with the Town requirements for tree removal and the appeal process allowed under the Town
Code. However, in this case, issuance of a Tree Removal Permit is non-discretionary – the Town
does not have the authority to deny the request at the staff level or upon appeal. Additionally,
attempting to retain the trees could shift significant risk to the Town in the way of safety should
the trees ultimately damage the gas pipeline.
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SUBJECT: CONSIDER AN APPEAL PURSUANT TO TOWN CODE SECTION 26.10.070 OF A
PARKS COMMISSION DECISION TO UPHOLD A TREE REMOVAL PERMIT FOR
TREES IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY ON WINCHESTER BOULEVARD
ADJACENT TO 17274 VERDES ROBLES. APPLICANT: PG&E. APPELLANT:
VIVEK CORREIA
APRIL 19, 2017
https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/attachment/68506/Staff_Report_Final.docx 4/27/2017 2:03 PM MM
DISCUSSION (cont’d):
Under Town Code, the appeal must be heard within 56 days of filing. Although the Appellant
has requested another date for this hearing, PG&E has not agreed to an alternate date.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the Town Council uphold a Tree Removal Permit for trees in the public
right of way on Winchester Boulevard adjacent to 17274 Verdes Robles.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Town Council could grant the appeal of the Permit, in which case the Town would not grant
PG&E the authority to remove the trees. Staff has not recommended this action as PG&E is
regulated by the CPUC and the Town does not have the legal authority to deny the removal.
COORDINATION:
This report has been coordinated with the Town Attorney’s Office.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
Attachments:
1. Appeal to Town Council dated April 12, 2017
2. April 3, 2017 Parks Commission staff report and attachments
3. April 3, 2017 Parks Commission draft minutes
4. Public Comments
5. Communication received from Applicant
PAGE 5 OF 5
SUBJECT: CONSIDER AN APPEAL PURSUANT TO TOWN CODE SECTION 26.10.070 OF A
PARKS COMMISSION DECISION TO UPHOLD A TREE REMOVAL PERMIT FOR
TREES IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY ON WINCHESTER BOULEVARD
ADJACENT TO 17274 VERDES ROBLES. APPLICANT: PG&E. APPELLANT:
VIVEK CORREIA
APRIL 19, 2017
https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/attachment/68506/Staff_Report_Final.docx 4/27/2017 2:03 PM MM
Distribution:
Vivek Correia
17274 Verdes Robles
Los Gatos, CA 95030
PG&E
Rabiah Khalid
111 Almaden Boulevard
San Jose, CA 95115