What's happening: The Planning Commission approved a new single-family home at Fairway Drive at its July 14 meeting, voting 5-0 per the roll call on the meeting video. No one spoke during the public comment period, per Mill Valley Briefing's review of the hearing recording. The approval replaces a 2,247-square-foot home built in 1957 with a new 2,934-square-foot, single-story residence, per the July 14 staff report, and permits removal of a 66-inch-diameter giant sequoia along with two smaller trees, per that same report.
The property and its trees sit alongside the eastern edge of the Mill Valley Golf Course. (Google Earth)
Why it matters: The removal proceeded without a separate Tree Removal Permit, which city code requires once a developed lot loses four or more protected trees. The applicant's plans called for removing four protected trees in March. By July, the plans called for removing three, after the applicant retained a coast redwood. James Barker, the applicant's representative, addressed that change directly at the July 14 hearing: "Our decisions about the tree are... we're not doing that, putting a tree back so that we can avoid needing a tree removal permit," Barker told the commission, per the Briefing's review of the hearing. "We're putting a tree back because you guys sort of sensibly asked us to try and offset the loss of this giant sequoia."
Subscribe to read the rest
Become a paying subscriber of the daily edition to get access to this post.
UpgradeA subscription gets you:
- Everything shaping life in Mill Valley
- Five days a week, in your inbox at 6am
