Trees cannot be cut down simply to improve a business’s visibility from the street, city council confirmed this week.
At Monday’s meeting, council unanimously backed a staff decision to deny a tree removal permit sought by Skyline Group of Companies for its plaza at 649 Scottsdale Dr.
Skyline representatives told council’s committee of the whole earlier this month it wants to remove six Colorado Blue Spruce trees from in front of the plaza, though one is dead and doesn’t require a permit. The removal request stems from negotiations with a potential restaurant tenant that feels there is a lack of visibility at the plaza, which currently sits mostly vacant.
The real estate company previously applied to remove numerous trees from the property, including those along Scottsdale Drive, but that application was denied earlier in the year. An appeal to council led to the request being revised and subsequently rejected by staff once again.
Both requests were refused because the trees are in healthy condition and their removal doesn’t meet the requirements of the city’s tree bylaw, Rory Templeton, the city’s landscape architect, told the committee.
