§ 12.36.120. Appeals—City-owned tree removal permits.

Any person with standing as defined herein may appeal a city-owned tree removal decision made by the Office of Parks and Recreation to the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission and the City Council.

A.

Standing. A decision of the Office of Parks and Recreation with regard to a city-owned tree removal may be appealed by any concerned resident of the city.

B.

Venue. All appeals shall be made to the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission. The decision of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission may be further appealed to the City Council, whose decision shall be final.

C.

Procedure. The appeal shall be filed within five working days after the date of a decision by the Office of Parks and Recreation, and shall be made on a form prescribed by and filed with the Director of Parks and Recreation. The appeal shall state specifically wherein it is claimed there was an error or abuse of discretion by the Director of Parks and Recreation or wherein such decision is not supported by the evidence in the record.

Upon receipt of such appeal, the Director of Parks and Recreation shall set the appeal for hearing at the next available Park and Recreation Advisory Commission meeting. The Director of Parks and Recreation shall, not less than five days prior to the date set for the hearing on appeal, give written notice to the appellant and any known adverse parties, or their representatives, of the time and place of the hearing.

In considering the appeal, the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission shall determine whether the proposed tree removal conforms to the applicable criteria. It may sustain the decision of the Office of Parks and Recreation or require such changes or impose such reasonable conditions of approval as are, in its judgement, necessary to ensure conformity to said criteria.

Any decision of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission may be appealed to the City Council.

Should an appeal be filed during an officially declared Park and Recreation Advisory Commission or City Council recess, the City Manager shall be authorized to appoint a Hearing Officer to hear the appeal and make a final determination on the appeal. All provisions of this section shall apply to such administrative appeal hearings, and the decision of the Hearing Officer shall be final.

D.

Fee. The appellant shall pay the fee established by the master fee schedule of the city for tree removal permit appeals.

(Prior code § 7-6.083)