Planning Commission OKs removal of east side pecan tree

In a case that may tug at the heartwood of tree-hugging Austinites, the Planning Commission approved an variance allowing the cutting of one individual pecan tree during its May 27 meeting.

The variance was granted at the request of nonprofit LifeWorks, who owns the property at 819 Tillery Street that the tree sits on. Its removal will help clear the way for a large affordable housing complex sprawled across 13 acres in East Austin.

The Austin Monitor has previously reported on the tree and the planned development, which will end up providing around 600 units when  completed in its entirety. In a presentation submitted to the commission, LifeWorks said 120 of those would be permanent supportive housing units under the city’s SMART housing program. Another 240 would be at or below 80 percent of the Median Family Income, which in Austin is $104,200 for a family of four. The presentation describes the rest of the units simply as “additional units.” The property at the heart of this case is only 1 acre of the 13 the organization intends to buy and develop, and would be part of the project’s first of three planned phases.

The condemned pecan tree, identified as Tree #3510, has a diameter of 32 inches. That’s what triggered the need for city review under the Heritage Tree Ordinance, which establishes any trees with a diameter greater than 24 inches and belonging to any of more than a dozen species, including all oak species, as heritage trees subject to certain protections, depending on their girth. Trees wider than 30 inches are in the most protected category, the only one to require variances for the trees to be cut down.

In order for a variance to be granted, the applicant has to satisfy certain conditions. For one, they have to demonstrate that the tree is either dead, an imminent hazard, or prevents access to or “reasonable use” of a property. The latter condition is the one LifeWorks is leaning on, though they did provide evidence in their presentation that the tree is, if not dead or seriously diseased, not in excellent health.

In that case, applicants have to prove that there aren’t any alternative designs that could accomplish the same purpose without removing the tree. To that end, LifeWorks provided alternative designs for the property that would preserve the tree along with the tradeoffs they would necessitate, including lost units, lost ADA parking and more convoluted fire lane placement. They argued that because of those tradeoffs, preserving the tree would prevent a reasonable use of the property.

The city’s arborists agreed and recommended the tree’s removal. Evidently, so did the Planning Commission, who voted to approve it along with the rest of the consent agenda, with Commissioner Patrick Howard recused. This followed the Environmental Commission’s earlier recommendation.

The lone voice against the variance came from a speaker over the phone during the public comment on the agenda who identified himself as Nathan Tucker. He said he had heard about the case from the mail notices sent out by the city automatically and said he thought it would be “a shame” to cut the tree down.

“I’m all for it if they want to do that project, great, but let’s do it without cutting the tree down, because that’s what makes our city green,” he said. “You know, it gives us the air we breathe and really just beautifies the city.”

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Posted In: Planning, District 3